Peter H. Tanella

Peter Tanella is Chair of the Firm’s Business Law Practice Group and its National Veterinary Law Center, as well as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. He is a nationally experienced business lawyer and trusted advisor to his clients. Peter’s practice focuses on representing entrepreneurs, veterinarians, emerging growth companies, privately owned mid-cap enterprises and owner-managed businesses. Having worked with many companies throughout his career, Peter brings a depth of legal and business knowledge to his clients, coupling experience with practical and creative advice that provides clients with the ability to effectively achieve their goals while also respecting the client’s deadlines and budget. Peter has extensive experience in a diverse range of practice areas, including commercial transactions, corporate governance, corporate divorce, mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment law, healthcare and life sciences, commercial real estate, commercial lending, intellectual property and risk management.

As Chair of the National Veterinary Law Center, he represents veterinarians in all phases of their careers including, but not limited to, acquisitions and sales of practices, private equity roll-ups, structuring management services organizations, associate buy-ins and succession planning. Having worked with many veterinary practice owners and associate veterinarians across the country throughout his career, Peter brings a depth of legal and business knowledge to his clients, coupling experience with practical and creative advice that provides clients with the ability to effectively achieve their goals while also respecting the client’s deadlines and budget. Peter has extensive experience in a diverse range of practice areas, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, labor and employment law, commercial real estate, and commercial lending.

Peter regularly serves as outside general counsel to business owners and management to efficiently find creative solutions in order to manage their businesses and professional assets, while acting as a key resource for facilitating transactions. He is particularly skilled in representing companies in all facets of the business life cycle from corporate formation and structure issues, capital raising, structuring and documenting mergers and acquisitions, complex contract negotiations and drafting, joint ventures, management service organizations, corporate restructurings and capitalization, forming operating and investment partnerships, employee/employer issues including executive employment structuring and business succession planning. He also has extensive experience advising clients on the complexities of co-owner dispute resolution and business separation. Peter provides comprehensive business counseling to clients navigating contentious matters in order to achieve a client’s desired result while preserving the underlying business.

Peter represents clients in a diversity of industries that are located regionally, nationally, and internationally in the retail, manufacturing, wholesale, pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science, computer software, transportation, technology, construction, real estate development and hospitality, amongst others.

Peter prides himself on adding value to clients’ businesses by making mutually rewarding introductions. As a result, he regularly connects his clients to other professional service providers, customers, and investors. He works under the premise that connecting quality people with one another enhances the likelihood of success for all involved.

Beyond his law practice, Peter has a strong commitment to community service, non-profit and charitable causes. He is a proven leader in his community where he just completed his fourth term as Mayor and currently serves as a Councilman in his hometown of Cedar Grove, New Jersey. Peter is the first Mayor in Cedar Grove history to serve back-to-back mayoral terms. Peter is a member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges, the largest association of YMCAs in the State of New Jersey. He is a former Chair of the Essex County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and recipient of the ECBA Young Lawyers Achievement Award. He served as a member of the ECBA’s World Trade Center Disaster Relief Task Force providing free legal services to families and victims of the 9/11 attacks.

After graduating from law school, Peter served as a law clerk to the Honorable James G. Troiano, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division. Following his clerkship, Peter was a Deputy Attorney General with the New Jersey Attorney General Office, Division of Law where he served as general counsel to numerous state agencies.

Peter and his wife, Kimlani, were married in Cedar Grove, NJ where they reside with their three children.

Professional Affiliations:

• Mayor, Township of Cedar Grove
• Chairman, Cedar Grove Republican Committee
• Township of Cedar Grove Planning Board, Member
• New Jersey Republican State Committee, Member
• Essex County Republican County Committee, Member
• Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges, Member of the Board of Directors
• Essex County Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Association

Practice Areas:

• Business Law (Chair)
• National Veterinary Law Center (Chair)
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Labor and Employment
• Real Estate
• Dental Law

Bar Admissions:

• State of New Jersey, 2000
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 2000

Education:

• Quinnipiac University School of Law, J.D.
• Montclair State University, B.A.