Jonathan Robert Nelson
Nelson Madden Black LLP, lawyers for churches and other religious institutionsI am a trial lawyer and litigator. I also provide corporate advice and representation to religious institutions and represent foreign nationals in applications for religious asylum. I have actively practiced as a lawyer since graduating from law school in 1983. After eight years of training in big firms in Chicago and New York, I established my own law office in New York City. In summer, 2016, I joined with two other experienced lawyers to form Nelson Madden Black LLP. Our firm focuses on the representation of churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other religious institutions, and individuals who have legal issues that relate to religion in some way. We have been featured on the Wall Street Journal's blog and in other publications. My law degree is from Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, where I was managing editor of the Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business. I earned a master's degree in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Yale College. I have been listed as a Super Lawyer since 2012 and have been rated "AV Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell since 1998. Extensive information about my legal experience is available at my firm's website: http://nelsonmaddenblack.com
- Appeals & Appellate
- Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
- Arbitration & Mediation
- Business Arbitration, Consumer Arbitration, Family Arbitration
- Business Law
- Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Religious Institutions Law ("Church Law")
- Constitutional Law
- General Civil
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Credit Cards Accepted
MasterCard, VISA, American Express -
Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Most matters billed on an hourly basis, with an initial retainer.
- New York
- French: Spoken
- Spanish: Spoken
- Founding partner
- Nelson Madden Black LLP
- - Current
- New York City lawyers representing churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other religious institutions. Advice and representation relating to governance, bylaws, construction, property, employment, constitutional and civil rights, free speech, free exercise, and other legal issues.
- Attorney at Law
- JONATHAN ROBERT NELSON, P.C.
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- Sole practitioner since 1991; incorporated 2008.
- Partner
- RAE & NELSON, LLP
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- Associate
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
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- Litigation Department
- Associate
- Chapman and Cutler
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- Municipal Finance and Litigation Departments
- Tufts University
- M.A. (1984) | International Business Relations
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- Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
- Northwestern University
- J.D. (1983)
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- Activities: Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business, Managing Editor
- Yale University
- B.A. | American Studies
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- New York State Bar  # 2201184
- Member
- - Current
- “Shaking the Pillars: An Asylum Applicant Shakes Loose Some Unusual Relief” (Interpreter Releases, January 3, 2006)
- Interpreter Releases
- “Judge-Made Law and the Presumption of Arbitrability: David L. Threlkeld & Co. v. Metallgesellschaft Ltd” (Brooklyn Law Review, 1992 – 1993)
- Brooklyn Law Review
- “The Implementation of the Refugee Act of 1980: A Decade of Experience” (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Refugee Project, March 1990)
- Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
- Risks for religious institutions in the management of real property, "Managing Risk at Your Church", New York, NY
- Christian Legal Society, New York City Chapter
- Website
- Website for Nelson Madden Black LLP