John J. Zefutie, Jr. is a business advisor, advocate, litigator, and trial attorney who counsels clients in a wide array of legal matters and helps them navigate the often difficult landscape of commercial disputes. Over his 15-year career, he was privileged to practice law at several of the country’s most prestigious law firms. He has successfully handled general commercial litigation, contract negotiations, mass tort litigation, financial services litigation, consumer fraud class actions, restrictive covenant cases, and unfair competition litigation. In addition to his trial and litigation experience, Mr. Zefutie has obtained and successfully defended against temporary and preliminary injunctive relief. He also has substantial experience in arbitration proceedings.
Mr. Zefutie frequently appears in both federal and state courts in complex civil disputes. In doing so, he works proactively with his clients in formulating litigation strategies that both protect his client’s legal rights and serve their immediate and long-term business objectives.
A seasoned litigator, Mr. Zefutie works tirelessly to achieve favorable results for his clients. He has tried cases to verdict in various venues across the country, including in the Southern District of New York where he secured a favorable jury verdict and a substantial counsel fee award on behalf of a supply corporation and importer located in Manhattan. Mr. Zefutie also regularly defends wrongful death and survival cases in state and federal courts across the country, as well as cases involving traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical and mental disability. In the toxic tort area, Mr. Zefutie was part of a team of attorneys that defended the City of New York and more than 150 contractors against thousands of personal injury actions venued in the Southern District of New York. Those actions arose from the rescue, recovery, and debris removal effort following the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
Mr. Zefutie also has defended mortgage lenders and servicers facing individual claims and class action cases seeking relief pursuant to the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, as well as other federal statutes and common law causes of action. In addition to financial services litigation, he served as part of a team of independent counsel that, pursuant to a consent order issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, engaged in a look-back review and analysis of a mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices. Mr. Zefutie also provides litigation advice to toy manufacturers and other large companies defending consumer fraud class actions.
Dedicated to public service, Mr. Zefutie currently serves as the Secretary of the Supreme Court of New Jersey District VII Ethics Committee, where he manages the Committee’s work and handles the submission and investigation of ethics grievances filed against attorneys.
Mr. Zefutie attended college on a theatre scholarship where he focused on the works of Stephen Sondheim, Brian Friel, and Eugene O’Neill. Graduating cum laude with degrees in Political Science and History, he was awarded the Henry J. Trainer Award for Performing Arts. In law school, Mr. Zefutie was an editor for the Seton Hall Law Review and a member of the Interscholastic Moot Court Board. He was the winner of the Eugene Gressman Moot Court Competition, a Regional Finalist in the National Moot Court Competition and a recipient of the Seton Hall Oral Advocacy Award.