Joel L. Shain, Esq.

After graduation from Rutgers College and Boston University Law School, Mr. Shain entered the Army and served in Vietnam, where as a Captain, he was a company commander and was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Achievement. Upon his return to the States, Mr. Shain took his first legal position with the New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office and served as Chief Counsel to the Department of Banking. Upon entering private law practice, in which he has been engaged for over fifty years, Mr. Shain was honored by his peers through selection as Chairman of both the Banking Law Section and the Administrative Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. In those capacities, he was instrumental in developing and promulgating plain language consumer legislation in New Jersey. Mr. Shain is a former two term Mayor of the City of Orange and is a founder of Suburban Cablevision, now a part of Comcast.

Mr. Shain, who presently serves as Special Counsel to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, provided the legal representation to the Township of Monroe, Middlesex County in the successful establishment of New Jersey’s first customer choice electrical aggregation program. On behalf of the League and AARP, Mr. Shain has testified before New Jersey State Senate and Assembly Committees, has represented both groups at hearings involving the deregulation legislation before the BPU, and has lectured extensively on issues relating to energy deregulation and governmental aggregation of energy services. Of further note, Mr. Shain successfully represented both the League and AARP before the BPU resulting in the establishment of the Universal Service Fund, a $30 million fund to help poor and low-income families pay their gas and electric bills, a program to be financed by a small surcharge on customers’ bills.

In his capacity as Monroe Township’s attorney for 30 years, Mr. Shain and the firm provided day to day legal advice to the Mayor, Council, Business Administrator and Department Heads; prepared and/or reviewed resolutions, ordinances and municipal contracts; attended Township Council meetings; handled numerous tax appeals; provided guidance in personnel matters, including representation at disciplinary and grievance hearings; handled land use matters; and represented the Township in litigation involving a wide variety of issues. Virtually all aspects of municipal law have been dealt with during this representation.

Mr. Shain currently serves as Chairman of the Somerset County Improvement Authority, Deputy Counsel to the County of Somerset, General Counsel to the Southern Skylands Regional Health Insurance Fund and as a Member of the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy.