Bruce H. Stern is an expert Civil Trial Attorney as certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. He is also a member of the firm’s Accident & Personal Injury practice.
Mr. Stern specializes his practice in representing the victims of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and wrongful death. In July 2004, Bruce began publishing the Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog as a way to share his knowledge as a brain injury lawyer. Additionally, he is the author of numerous articles and a frequent lecturer on the subject of traumatic brain injury litigation, evidence and trial techniques. He also co-authored a book entitled “Litigating Brain Injuries” published by Thomson Reuters and a chapter entitled “Brain Injuries” which is included in AAJ’s Litigation Tort Case Series, published by AAJ Press. Bruce is the Treasurer of the North American Brain Injury Society and the past Treasurer of the International Brain Injury Association.
Bruce served as the President of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) from 2019-2020. He has been a member of the AAJ since 1982.
He is a member of the AAJ Executive Committee and the National Board of Governors. He is a past chair of the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and a past chair of AAJ’s Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Section. Bruce is a past president of the New Jersey Association for Justice (formerly ATLA-NJ) and recipient of its highest award, the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service.
Additionally, Bruce handles construction incidents and has obtained an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certificate through a 30-hour outreach training program for the construction industry.
Bruce is certified as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney by both the New Jersey Supreme Court and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is also a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and has been selected a fellow in the International Society of Barristers. Both organizations are highly selective and have rigorous standards for membership.
Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney
- J.D., Rutgers Law School, 1981, cum laude
- B.A., Duke University, 1977, cum laude
- Speaker, Depositions: Fact and Expert – Classic Perspective. 2025 AAJ Annual Convention. July 21, 2025.
- Co-Chair, NJAJ Boardwalk Seminar. April 30-May 2, 2025.
- Speaker, The Role of Life Care Plans in Personal Injury Litigation: A Plaintiff Attorney’s Perspective. The American Academy of Physician Life Care Planners. April 25, 2025.
- Speaker, Reclassification of Traumatic Brain Injury and the New ACRM Definition of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. 2025 TBI Med Legal Conference. April 11, 2025.
- Speaker, Strategies to Effectively Cross-Examine Neurologists, Neuropsychologists and Neuroradiologists. 2025 TBI Med Legal Conference. April 10, 2025.
- Co-Chair, Personal Injury: Be A Mountain… or Lean on Some: GIANTS OF ADVOCACY. 2024 NJAJ Boardwalk Seminar. April 18-19, 2024.
- Speaker, Case Studies in Complex Personal Injury Cases. New Jersey State Bar Association Fall Conference. November 20, 2023.
- Speaker, Cross Examination of Experts in TBI Cases. Traumatic Brain Injury: Taking Your Settlements & Verdicts to the Next Level. October 22-24, 2023.
- Convention Co-Chair, NJAJ 2023 Boardwalk Seminar. April 26-28, 2023.
- Speaker, Increased Risk After TBI. Brain Injury Association of California TBI Med Legal Conference. March 9-12, 2023.
- Speaker, Identifying, Handling and Trying the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case. Florida Justice Association’s John Romano Workhorse Seminar. February 24, 2023.
- Speaker, Damages: Identifying and Proving Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. 2022 NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar. November 18, 2022.
- Speaker, Cross Examination of Experts. International Brain Injury Association Conference on Medical and Legal Issues in Brain Injury. September 24, 2022.
- Speaker, Identifying, Handling, and Trying the Mild TBI Case. Kentucky Justice Association Annual Convention. September 15, 2022.
- Speaker, Increased Risk of Disease Following Traumatic Brain Injury. Nashville Connectionology TBI Seminar. May 3, 2022.
- Convention Co-Chair, NJAJ 2022 Boardwalk Seminar. April 27-29, 2022.
- Co-Chair, Personal Injury: Tenacity at Trial: Bringing Your “A” Game. NJAJ 2022 Boardwalk Seminar. April 28-29, 2022.
- Speaker, Cross Examination of Experts in the TBI Case. NJAJ 2022 Boardwalk Seminar. April 28, 2022.
- Speaker, Using Demonstrative Evidence to Enhance Your Case, NJAJ 2022 Boardwalk Seminar. April 27, 2022.
- Stern, Bruce and Owens, Tanya Rutherford. Collateral Source Rule Approaches and Its Implications for Usual, Customary and Reasonable Pricing. Journal of Life Care Planning, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 27 (2022).
- Presenter, Identifying, Preparing, and Handling the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case. Federal Bar Association. February 24, 2022.
- Presenter, Increased Risk Due to TBI. Canadian Bar Association TBI Conference. September 23, 2021.
- Presenter, Cross examination of experts in the mild TBI case. Harry Philo Invitational Seminar 2021. September 11, 2021.
- Author, Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries: Proving the Permanence of the Condition. Journal of Emerging Issues in Litigation, Volume 1, No. 3, Summer 2021.
- Featured, NJBIZ Honors Stark & Stark Shareholder Bruce Stern as ICON Award Honoree. Insider NJ, Patch.com — Hopewell-Pennington, American Towns – Hopewell, & Mercer Me. June 28, 2021.
- Presenter, Analyzing the Importance of Neuroquant, American Association for Justice. May 26, 2021.
- Speaker, Bruce H. Stern, Trial Lawyer View Podcast. May 18, 2021.
- Presenter, Identifying, Handling and Trying the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case, Federal Bar Association. March 25, 2021.
- Presenter, How To Deal With Pre-Existing Conditions and Increased Risk in Your TBI Case, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. January 30, 2021.
- Presenter, Traumatic Brain Injury Webinar Series: Essentials of Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation A 30,000 Foot Look At a TBI Case, American Association for Justice. November 9, 2020.
- Scoring Judge, 2020 National Board of Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions. Baylor University School of Law. November 5,2020
- Presenter, Identifying, Preparing and Trying the Mild TBI Case, Louisiana Association for Justice. October 28, 2020.
- Presenter, Key Literature In mTBI Cases, Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. September 22, 2020.
- Featured in Insider NJ, Asbury Park Patch, Tapinto New Jersey, American Towns – Asbury Park, & Princeton Patch. August 19, 2020.
- Presenter, How to Recognize and Treat Clients with Traumatic Brain Injuries in Auto Accidents, NJAJ 2020 Boardwalk Seminar. August 7, 2020.
- Co-Chair, Personal Injury: Perfecting Plaintiff Portraits, NJAJ 2020 Boardwalk Seminar. August 5, 2020.
- Presenter, AAJ Welcome, South Dakota Trial Attorneys. July 10, 2020.
- Presenter, Installation of the new officers, Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. June 19, 2020.
- Author, Oversight Hearing on “Police Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability”. American Association of Justice. June 10, 2020.
- Presenter, Cross-Examination of Experts in the Traumatic Brain Injury Case. TBI Med-Legal Web Jam sponsored by Brain Injury Association of California. May 28, 2020.
- Contributor, Amid coronavirus, blanket legal immunity will prolong pandemic. May 18, 2020.
- Presenter, Traumatic Brain Injury — An Increased Risk of Future Consequences: Are The Future Consequences Recoverable? AAJ Webinar. May 8, 2020.
- Presenter, AAJ Update. Delaware Trial Lawyers Association Townhall Meeting. May 8, 2020.
- Featured, AAJ Announces Bruce Stern as New President of Plaintiff Trial Bar. The American Association For Justice. July 31, 2019.
- Quoted, Supreme Court Won’t Hear Case on Military Medical Malpractice Lawsuits. Fox46. May 21, 2019.
- Using a Life Care Planner when the Injury is Traumatic Brain Injury – Perspectives of an Attorney. Journal of Life Care Planning – Brain Injury Edition, Volume 16, Number 1. 2018.
- In Memoriam Robert Voogt. Journal of Life Care Planning – Brain Injury Edition, Volume 16, Number 1. 2018.
- Author, The Affordable Care Act – What Affect Does It Have on Life Care Plans? Brain Injury Professional Vol. 13, Issue 4. 2017.
- Protecting Access to Justice for Injured Athletes. NJ.com. March 13, 2017.
- Quoted, Jury Awards Navy Servicewoman $2M for Car Crash Injuries. NJ.com. November 21, 2016.
- Author, Lawyers’ Opinions Divided on ‘Feel of the Case’ Repeal by NJ Supreme Court. New Jersey Law Journal. October 3, 2016.
- Author, For These Drugmakers, No Accountability When People are Harmed. NJ.com. August 26, 2016.
- Author, Railroads: Accountability Equals Safety. NJ.com. December 17, 2015.
- Presenter, Proving Damages in Traumatic Brain “Injury Cases.” American Association for Justice’s Weekend with the Stars. December 11, 2015.
- Author, Neuropsychology and Traumatic Brain Injury. American Association for Justice. October 2015.
- Co-Author, The Dangers of Working in the Construction Industry. com. September 10, 2015.
- Presenter, Identifying, Preparing & Handling the Traumatic Brain Injury Case. Kentucky Justice Association’s Understanding Your Case & Your Jury Seminar. June 26, 2015.
- Author, Diffusion Tensor Imaging – Objective Truth of Traumatic Brain Injury. New Jersey Lawyer. August 2014.
- Author, Guest Editors’ Message. Brain Injury Professional Magazine Vol. 11 Issue 3.
- Co-Chair, Accident & Personal Injury Program. New Jersey Association for Justice Boardwalk Seminar. May 2014.
- Author, Rethink Cross-Exams in Traumatic Brain Injury Cases. American Association for Justice. April 2012.
- Author, Clinicians as Expert Witnesses in Traumatic Brain Injury Cases. International Brain Injury Association’s Neuro-Trauma Letter. December 18, 2008.
- Author, Beware of the Literature. New Jersey Law Journal. September 22, 2008.
- Author, Myths of Traumatic Brain Injury. New Jersey Law Journal. February 12, 2007.
- Author, Discounting to Present Value: Is It Necessary to Reduce? The New Jersey Lawyer. August 2006.
- Author, Proving a Brain Injury – PET Scans are the Gold Standard in Detecting a Traumatic Brain Injury. New Jersey Law Journal. September 19, 2005.
- Author, Recognizing Traumatic Brain Injury Cases in the Workplace. Workers First Watch, Workplace Injury Litigation Group, American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA), Vol. 3, No. 3. 2003.
- Author, Admissibility of Neuropsychological Testimony After Daubert and Kumho. NeuroRehabilitation 16. 2001.
- Author, Admissibility of PET Scan Results Under Daubert and Kumho Tire. The Trial Lawyer. January/February 2001.
- Author, Representing The Mildly Brain-Injured Client. Trial. September 2000.
- Author, Representing The Professional With Traumatic Brain Injury. Brain Injury Source. Summer 2000.
- Author, The Low Impact Defense: How To Put The Brakes On Its Use. The Barrister, Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, Issue 56. June 2000.
- Author, Putting The Brakes on the Low-Speed Collision Defense. Trial. January 2000.
- Author, The Low-Speed-Impact Defense: How To Put The Brakes on Its Use. The Trial Lawyer, Vol. 22, No. 4. July – August 1999.
- Author, Admissibility of Neuropsychological Testimony. The Trial Lawyer, Vol. 22, No. 1. Jan – Feb. 1999.
- Author, Use of Medical Treatises in the Traumatic Brain Injury Case. The Trial Lawyer, Vol. 21, No. 6 (Nov. – Dec. 1998).
- Author, Preparing a Traumatic Brain Injury Case. New Jersey Lawyer (August 10, 1998).
- Author, Diffusing the Defendant’s Biomechanical Engineer Testimony in a Low-Impact Collision Case. Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan. – Feb. 1998).
- Author, Sequence of Evidence and Witnesses in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case – Who’s on First? Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 20, No. 6 (Nov. – Dec. 1997).
- Author, Anticipating the Defenses – A Proactive Approach to Handling Traumatic Brain Injury Cases. Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Jul. – Aug. 1997).
- Author, Lay Witnesses in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case. Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Jul. – Aug. 1996).
- Author, Introduction and Admissibility of Quantitative EEG (Brain Mapping). Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3 (May. – Jun. 1996).
- Author, Developments in Pediatric TBI. The Neurolaw Letter, Vol. 5, No. 7 (March, 1996).
- Author, Opening Statement in the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case. Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 19, No. 1. (Jan. – Feb. 1996).
- Author, Biases In The Civil Justice System: The TBI Perspective. The Neurolaw Letter, Vol. 4, No. 12 (August 19, 1995).
- Author, Cross-Examination of the Defendant’s Neuropsychologist in a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case. Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 18, 137-144 (1995).
- Author, The Neuropsychologist in a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case – How to Conduct the Direct Examination. Trial (June 1995).
- Author, Psychological Injury and the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. National Trial Lawyer, New Jersey Trial Lawyer (January, 1994).
- Author, ‘A Hedonics Primer For Economists and Attorneys’ Complied and Edited by John O. Ward – A Book Review. National Trial Lawyer, New Jersey Trial Lawyer (July, 1993).
- Author, A Need To Protect Victims of Drunk Drivers – Dichotomy Between Criminal and Civil Penalties. National Trial Lawyer, New Jersey Trial Lawyer (September, 1992).
- Author, ‘Neuropsychology for the Attorney’ by Robert J. Spordone, Ph.D. – A Book Review. National Trial Lawyer, New Jersey Trial Lawyer (September, 1992).
- Author, Representing the Mildly Brain-Injured Client: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. National Trial Lawyer, New Jersey Trial Lawyer (May, 1992).
- Author, Loss of Enjoyment of Life: A Quantitative Approach. National Trial Lawyer, New Jersey Trial Lawyer (March 1992).
- Author, The Bottom Line: A Re-Examination of Tenore v. Nu Car Carriers. New Jersey Trial Lawyer (January 1991).
- Author, Underinsured Motorist Coverage – Erosion of Consumer Expectations. In Brief (January 1992).
- Author, Oswin v. Shaw. In Brief. (October – November 1991).
- Author, Behind Every Ball – Handling the Child Dart-Out Case. Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 13, Number 3 (Fall, 1990).
- Author, The Good Hand? Liability for Failure to Advise of the Availability of Increased Uninsured/Underinsured Coverages. New Jersey Trial Lawyer, and National Trial Lawyer (July, 1990).
- Author, Discoverability and Admissibility of Expert Reports and Opinions. New Jersey Trial Lawyer (January, 1990).
- Co-Author, New Jersey Auto Insurance: A Consumer’s Guide. (1989).
- Author, Michigan Verbal Threshold – Not the Solution. New Jersey Law Journal, 123 N.J.L.J. 1090 (May 4, 1989).
- Author, New Jersey Verbal Threshold – What Can Be Expected. New Jersey Law Journal, Volume CXXII-No.14 (October 6, 1988, reprinted Philadelphia Law Journal).
- Author, The Adverse Inference Charge. New Jersey Trial Lawyer (February, 1989).
- Author, The Adverse Party As Your Witness. New Jersey Trial Lawyer (August, 1988).
- 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list issued by Lawdragon (Methodology)
- New Jersey Super Lawyers List issued by Thomson Reuters (Methodology)
- 2005 – 2025; Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff
- Best Lawyers List issued by Woodward/White, Inc. (Methodology)
- 2003 – Present; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Howard Twiggs Award presented by the American Association for Justice (AAJ)
* No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Professional Organizations
- National Traumatic Brain Injury Association (NTBIA), Executive Committee
- American Association for Justice – Past President; Past Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer; Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group; Past Chair, Motor Vehicle, Premises and Highways Section; Past Chair
- New Jersey Association for Justice – Past President, Chair of In Brief, Senior Trustee
- International Brain Injury Association – Senior Trustee
- North America Brain Injury Society – Treasurer
- Brain Injury Association of New Jersey – Past Member, Board of Trustees
- New Jersey State Bar Association – Executive Board of the Civil Trial Section, Past Chair
- Mercer County Bar Association – Past President
- New Jersey Supreme Court’s Civil Model Jury Charge Committee
- Belli Society – Past President
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- International Academy of Trial Lawyers
- International Society of Barristers
- National Trial Lawyers
- Trial Law Institute – Member
- Diversity Law Institute – Member
- Order of Centurions – Barrister
- Litigation Counsel of America – Senior Fellow
- Litigation Counsel of America – Fellow
