John M. Blume
Designated as a Super Lawyer 2005 – 2014 (top 100 in 2008 and 10th-consecutive year listed in Super Lawyers) in the fields of personal injury & medical malpractice; named Lawyer of the Year in 2009 and again in 2012 by Best Lawyers for his work in Product Liability matters; and consistently listed in Best Lawyers annually.
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John Blume was designated as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey from 1980 – 2008. John was one of the first attorneys in New Jersey to receive this designation since the Supreme Court instituted the criteria in 1980.
According to the National Law Journal, “John M. Blume is the attorney named by most other prominent New Jersey litigators as a leading trial attorney.”
Mr. Blume, along with fellow Blume Forte principal attorney Carol L. Forte, was recognized in the May 8, 2000 National Law Journal under the title “Jersey Giants,” an article citing 12 litigators from the State of New Jersey. This article, recognizing Mr. Blume’s superior trial work, notes that he won multiple verdicts and obtained dozens of settlements of $1 million or more.
After practicing commercial law with his father Charles for several years, John Blume began handling personal injury and wrongful death cases exclusively in 1963. A graduate of Rutgers University School of Law (J.D. 1956), Mr. Blume was recognized as an outstanding trial attorney with a record of jury verdicts and settlements that includes $10.5 million in a wrongful death case, which at that time was the largest ever obtained in New Jersey.
He was a leader in the legal profession, having served as President of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates for four years and as a member of its National Board of Directors for eight years.
John was recognized by the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey with its Trial Award in 1990 and received the Essex County Bar Association “Civil Trial Attorney Achievement Award” in 1991. He was honored with election as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. John Blume was recognized as one of “New Jersey’s Top 100 Lawyers” by Rutgers School of Law. He lectured extensively to trial lawyers groups and was one of the first New Jersey Masters in the Inns of Court Program, which is a mentor program for younger lawyers. Mr. Blume was listed in Best Lawyers in America every year since that publication’s inception and was honored with their designation as New Jersey Personal Injury Litigator of the Year for 2009.
The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed several of John’s significant case decisions, which established new case law. For example, in Black v. Public Service, Blume argued, and the Court affirmed, that power companies were responsible for injuries sustained by people who came in contact with overhead power lines.
In the case of Crispin v. Volkswagen, Blume developed a law permitting injured persons to recover damages from motor vehicle manufacturers with design defects in their vehicles.
The case of Alfone v. Sarno, which was Blume’s first medical malpractice matter, reached the New Jersey Supreme Court and created a new cause of action for New Jersey litigants.
Under Mr. Blume’s leadership, Blume Forte has become one of the best known and most successful personal injury law firms in New Jersey, with more verdicts and settlements of over one million dollars than any other firm in the state.
