Mr. Donat focuses primarily on factual investigations, motion practice, and appeals in connection with commercial and criminal litigation. His experience includes trials in various state and federal courts and before alternative dispute resolution tribunals. Mr. Donat also litigates a wide range of employment and labor law matters, with an emphasis on defending private companies in both federal and state court actions involving alleged discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims arising under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and other federal and state laws. In addition, Mr. Donat’s intellectual property practice concentrates on patent litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, where he serves as co-counsel and local counsel to national law firms litigating patent issues in the District of New Jersey.
While in law school, Mr. Donat served as editor of the Seton Hall Law Review and worked with the Impact Litigation Clinic at the Seton Hall Center for Social Justice, where he represented indigent clients in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to joining Gibbons, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Katharine S. Hayden of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and Justice Lee A. Solomon of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Credentials
Education
Seton Hall University School of Law (J.D., cum laude)
- Seton Hall Law Review, Member
Manhattan College (B.A.)
Professional Admissions
State of New Jersey
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Professional Activities
Federal Bar Council
Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey
Essex County Bar Association
John C. Lifland American Inn of Court
National Institute for Trial Advocacy
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
Judicial Clerkship(s)
Law clerk to the Honorable Katharine S. Hayden, U.S.D.J., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Law clerk to the Honorable Lee A. Solomon, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey
Civic/Charitable Activities
Mentor, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County
Mentor, NJ LEEP
Legal Employment
Clinical student, Seton Hall Center for Social Justice, Seton Hall University School of Law
Judicial intern, Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey
Judicial extern to the Honorable James B. Clark, III, U.S.M.J., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey