Francis X. Garrity

Graduated magna cum laude from Seton Hall University and Rutgers University School of Law. Admitted to New Jersey Bar in 1973. Law Secretary to Honorable Morton I. Greenberg, 1974. Entered private practice, joining the firm of Bergamino and DeGonge, P.A. in 1974, and becoming a partner of the firm in 1979.

Mr. Garrity has devoted his entire professional career to advising clients on all aspects of insurance issues and has litigated a number of landmark cases in the State and Federal Courts.

Mr. Garrity is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association, Defense Research Institute and New Jersey Defense Association. He has lectured extensively on various casualty insurance coverage topics to claim departments of multiple insurance companies, the Women In Insurance of New Jersey, and on several occasions the New Jersey Defense Association. He has been named to New Jersey Super Lawyers 2007-2019¹ and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell².

Areas Of Practice:

First party and casualty insurance coverage, construction and litigation in the following areas:

Commercial general liability
Trucking
Business and personal auto
Medical Malpractice and Legal Malpractice
Construction Law
Excess and Umbrella Insurance Policies
Directors and officers
Employment legal liability

Bar Admissions:

State of New Jersey, 1973
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1974
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, 1974

Education:

Rutgers University School of Law, Newark, New Jersey
Juris Doctor, 1973

Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey,
Bachelor of Arts, 1969

Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a rigorous multiphase rating process.  Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third-party research.  Each candidate is evaluated on twelve indicators of peer recognition and achievement. See http://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.

²WHAT ARE MARTINDALE-HUBBELL PEER REVIEW RATINGS™?
The Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGSTM are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.  The first review to establish a lawyer’s rating usually occurs three years after his/her first admission to the bar.

LexisNexis facilitates secure online Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ surveys of lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and geographic locations, in similar areas of practice as the lawyer being rated.  Reviewers are asked to assess their colleagues’ general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice.  The ratings appear in all formats of the Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory, in the online listings on martindale.com, Lawyers.com^SM, on the LexisNexis services, on LN mobile apps.  Your Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ can also be displayed on your LinkedIn® Lawyers Ratings Application.

The Rating Explanation
Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ reflect a combination of achieving a Very High General Ethical Standards rating and a Legal Ability numerical rating.  A threshold number of responses is required to achieve a rating.

The General Ethical Standards rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.  Those lawyers who meet the “Very High” criteria of General Ethical Standards can proceed to the next step in the ratings process – Legal Ability.

Legal Ability ratings are based on performance in five key areas, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest).  These areas are:

• Legal Knowledge – Lawyer’s familiarity with the laws governing his/her specific area of practice(s)
• Analytical Capabilities – Lawyer’s creativity in analyzing legal issues and applying technical knowledge
• Judgment – Lawyer’s demonstration of the salient factors that drive the outcome of a given case or issue
• Communication Ability – Lawyer’s capability to communicate persuasively and credibly
• Legal Experience – Lawyer’s degree of experience in his/her specific area of practice(s)

The numeric ratings range may coincide with the appropriate Certification Mark:

• AV Preeminent (4.5-5.0) – AV Preeminent is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.
• BV Distinguished (3.0 – 4.4) – BV Distinguished is an excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience.  A widely respected mark of achievement, it differentiates a lawyer from his or her competition.
• Rated (1.0 – 2.9) – The Peer Review Rated designation demonstrates that the lawyer has met the very high criteria of General Ethical Standing.

See http://www.martindale.com/products_and_services/peer_review_ratings.aspx