Janesa Urbano

JANESA URBANO has more than twenty years' experience as an outside counsel, advocate and in-house counsel in both the private industry and the public sector. Ms. Urbano practices construction law and litigation, including complex commercial litigation, commercial and corporate transactions, real estate development and financing, commercial real estate transactions and leasing, franchise law, and advice and counseling to varied sized entities regarding their business ventures and disputes. Ms. Urbano is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

As in-house counsel, Ms. Urbano has worked with a leading hospitality management company, a construction management/general contracting firm, and served as Vice President and Chief Counsel for the New Jersey Schools Development Authority ("NJSDA"). As in-house counsel, Ms. Urbano was a member of the executive team and an active daily participant in management of the organizations. In 2015, Ms. Urbano was recognized as a Top Corporate Counsel by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

During her tenure with NJSDA:

 

• Within three years, recovered more than $13.5 million through the vigorous pursuit of cost recovery for design errors, omissions and construction defects discovered in NJSDA school facilities projects.
• Within three years, recovered more than $10.8 million through the vigorous pursuit of environmental cost recovery actions for clean-up costs incurred by NJSDA.
• Reduced legal fees paid to the Office of the Attorney General from $1.2 million annually to less than $300,000 through the establishment of in-house expertise.

 

In private practice, Ms. Urbano has experience in a broad range of practice areas and has tried several cases before federal and state juries and judges and arbitrated and mediated hundreds of disputes. Among other areas, she has advised and assisted clients with contract drafting and negotiation, including leases, confidentiality agreements, design and construction agreements, and design-build contracts. She has advised and assisted clients with risk management strategies and litigation management. Ms. Urbano specializes in complex commercial litigation for corporations and individuals, including the representation of construction and varied business professionals.

Highlighted Matters:

• Secured defense verdict for property management company in matter where tenant was seeking $4 million in damages for alleged breach of a lease.
• Secured summary judgment in favor of contractor where public agency alleged that contractor failed to meet self-performance goals.
• Won ability for public contractor to pursue its additional payment claim against DRPA on appeal.
• Successfully defended several bid protests for lowest responsible and responsive bidder with respect to NJ public projects.
• Assisted client in successful purchase of land and associated construction financing of student housing project in excess of $100 million.
• Assisted a 19-club Planet Fitness franchisee in the sale of its interests to United PF Partners, the largest Planet Fitness franchisee.

Ms. Urbano is an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law where she teaches pre-trial advocacy and trial advocacy. She is a visiting professor with Emory University School of Law's Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques and an adjunct professor at Temple University where she teaches Legal Environment in Business. She holds a Bachelor in Business Administration (cum laude), a Master in Business Administration (summa cum laude) and a Juris Doctor degree from Temple University.