James H. Knox

PRIMARY AREAS OF PRACTICE

Mr. Knox's primary practice areas involve the representation of land owners and real estate developers in achieving the land use approvals necessary for real estate development. This practice involves a wide range of uses including single-family and multi-family homes, office projects, retail and other commercial projects, and various special purpose uses such as motor vehicle service stations, mini-marts and fast food restaurants. Mr. Knox is regularly involved in applications to local planning boards and boards of adjustment, as well as the ancillary applications also often required, for stream encroachment permits, wetland permits, D.O.T. highway access permits, and other specialized approvals. In addition, his practice includes a substantial amount of litigation relating to land use issues.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Mr. Knox's land use clients include individuals and families who desire to obtain land use approvals in connection with the sale of family held property; small developers of single-family homes; medium sized residential and commercial developers; and some of the largest development companies in the United States. On the specialty commercial side, Mr. Knox has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in connection with service station locations, mini-marts, fast food restaurants, automobile dealerships, and other uses.

In the land use litigation field, Mr. Knox has represented developers and landowners of all types, as well as municipal entities, in connection with a wide range of land-use related disputes, involving a host of issues, including the approval of routine subdivisions, the applicability of wetland regulations, and very substantial litigation involving the issue of Mt. Laurel housing.

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

James H. Knox graduated with honors from Harvard College in 1965. He was then commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corp where he served for five and one-half years as an aviator, resigning with the rank of captain. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating in 1973. He immediately joined a major New Jersey law firm in Newark, New Jersey, where he engaged in commercial litigation until joining the firm of Gebhardt & Kiefer in 1977. He became a partner in 1981.

Mr. Knox engaged in extensive litigation and trial practice for a period of approximately 20 years before narrowing his practice to land use issues and related litigation.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Mr. Knox is a former trustee of the Red Mill Museum in Clinton and a former member of the board of directors of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce. He was a founding member and trustee of the Hunterdon Economic Partnership, and was a candidate for the New Jersey State Assembly in 1981.