York, Michael B.

A partner with the firm, Michael York has been in practice with Novins, York & Jacobus since 2005. His practice covers a wide array of areas, including real estate, land use and planning, banking and corporate matters and all areas of civil litigation.

A native of Ocean County, Michael graduated from Toms River High School South in 1990 before attending Lehigh University. He majored in English and minored in Political Science, earning a Bachelor’s degree in 1994. During his tenure at Lehigh, he served as an intern to former United States Senator Bill Bradley in Washington, D.C. During that time he worked closely with the 1993 Base Closure Commission to ensure that New Jersey’s military bases would remain fully open. Following graduation, Michael took a position with Senator Bradley’s Political Action Committee, Participation 2000, which led to a position on the campaign trail in California.

Michael returned to the East Coast in 1995 where he began a career in the entertainment industry as an NBC Page while assisting in the production of both Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Saturday Night Live. He then worked with various professional athletes, actors and actresses at both the William Morris Agency and IMG. As an agent, he was fully committed to negotiating clients’ multi-million dollar contracts in sponsorship and commercial opportunities as well as managing business decisions for those clients.

After deciding to pursue a law degree, he enrolled at Fordham University School of Law, in New York City. During that time, he earned a position on the Journal of Corporate and Financial Law as well as an internship as a practicing attorney at the Office of the Corporation Counsel for the City of New York under then Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The following year, he was an Associate with the prestigious white collar criminal defense firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iasson and Silberberg, in Manhattan, which has represented many high-profile clients, most notably Martha Stewart.

Upon graduation in 2002, Michael joined the firm of Martin, Clearwater & Bell, in New York City specializing in the defense of health care institutions, manufactures and other professionals. In his practice he managed multiple lawsuits against physicians and hospitals in defending medical malpractice suits including trial preparation and defending and taking depositions in a variety of personal injury lawsuits involving significant exposure to his clients.

Professionally, Michael is admitted to practice in both the New Jersey and New York State Courts as well as the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Jersey, Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York. He is a member of the American Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, Ocean County Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York County Bar Association, Bar Association of the City of New York and New York Trial Lawyer’s Association. Michael is an active member of the local community and serves as an Associate Member of Ocean County Board of Realtors, Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Board, National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Manhattan Society of the New York Multiple Sclerosis Society, Community Medical Center Foundation Board Member, Kiwanis Daybreak of Toms River – Board Member, Ocean County College Foundation Board Member, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, Ocean Mental Health Services Board of Trustees, Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation, The Historic Strand Theater, The United Way of Ocean County, The American Cancer Society, Family Planning Center of Ocean County, Inc., Jewish Federation of Ocean County – Board Member and the Ocean County YMCA.

An avid golfer, Michael is a member of Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, New Jersey. Michael's wife, Lori, a Cornell University graduate, is an agent specializing in the representation of film and television producer.