PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
John H. Gross, Esq., is a distinguished attorney with more than forty years of experience representing school districts, colleges, municipalities, non-profit organizations, and private clients in complex matters of municipal law, education law, public sector labor law, employment law, and corporate governance. A seasoned litigator, negotiator, and educator, Mr. Gross has maintained an active trial, appellate, and administrative practice while simultaneously serving in numerous leadership roles within the New York State legal community. He is a former Senior Managing Partner of Ingerman Smith, LLP. He is a recognized authority on labor relations, collective bargaining, and education law.
EDUCATION
Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, B.S.
Cornell Law School, Juris Doctor
LEGAL EXPERIENCE
John Gross has been actively involved in representing school districts, colleges and municipalities in matters involving municipal law, education law, public sector labor law, employment law and corporate matters as general and labor counsel for over forty-five years. In addition to having an active court litigation and appellate practice, Mr. Gross frequently litigates before the Commissioner of Education, teacher tenure discharge tribunals, the State Division of Human Rights, labor, commercial and construction arbitration tribunals, the courts, and before the New York State Public Employment Relations Board in improper practice charge and representational proceedings. He has negotiated hundreds of labor contracts during the past forty years through in some instances mediation and fact finding under New York State's Taylor Law. Also, New York State Commissioner of Education. He has litigated before teacher tenure discharge tribunals, the New York State Division of Human Rights and Labor, commercial, and construction arbitration tribunals.
He has represented chief school officers including a Chancellor of the City School District of the City of New York and several Superintendents of large city school districts throughout the country.
ACADEMIC & TEACHING EXPERIENCE
John Gross has addressed numerous organizations and has participated in a great number of seminars and instructional programs concerning municipal law, public sector labor relations, labor negotiations and education law. In addition, Mr. Gross has taught courses on the subjects of education law, collective bargaining, and labor law. He has served as an adjunct professor with New York University and as a member of the faculty of the Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations Program in New York City.
PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP & BAR ASSOCIATION SERVICE
Mr. Gross served in the following professional leadership positions:
Former President, Suffolk County Bar Association (3,500 members)
Former Vice President, New York State Bar Association Executive Committee
Former Vice President, New York State Bar Association, Tenth Judicial District (three-year term)
Chair, New York State Bar Association Awards Committee (Gold Medal Selection)
Former Chair, New York State Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
Former Member, NYSBA House of Delegates
Former Member, NYSBA Statewide Nominating Committee
Former Suffolk County Bar Association Delegate to the American Bar Association
Former Member of the Presidents Rapid Response Advisory Committee
Former Chair of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee
Chair of Annual N.Y.S. Bar Association Gala Committee
REPRESENTATION AS COUNSEL OF LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS
Counsel to Suffolk County Bar Association for the past thirty years
Suffolk County Board of Ethics
New York State Bar Association (Special Counsel)
JUDICIAL & PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
Founding Member, New York State Judicial Institute on Professionalism in the Law, appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye (1999)
Former Chair, New York State Judicial Institute on Professionalism in the Law, appointed by the Chief Judge of the State of New York
Treasurer, New York State Fair Trial–Free Press Conference
FOUNDATION & PUBLIC SERVICE
Past President, New York Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the New York State Bar Association
Former member of the Foundation's Board of Directors
BAR ASSOCIATION TASK FORCE PARTICIPATION
He has served on various New York State Bar Association Task Forces including:
Co-Chair of Task Force on the Post-pandemic Future of the Profession (2023)
Co-Chair of Task Force on the School to Prison Pipeline 2022
Member of Task Force on Ethics of Local Public Sector Lawyering 2022
Member and Sub-Committee Chair of Task Force on Human Trafficking
AWARDS
2023 Presidents Award, New York Bar Foundation
Suffolk County Bar Association, President's Award 1993 and 2015
Suffolk County Bar Association, Directors Award awarded twice
PERSONAL
Mr. Gross is married and resides in Northport.
He served as an officer in the United States Army, Military Police Corps.