Former Assistant Attorney General/Chief Counsel to NJABC, J. Wesley Geiselman, Joins Post Polak

November 1, 2018

J. Wesley Geiselman, who served New Jersey with distinction for 34 years in the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (NJABC), has joined the law firm Post Polak Goodsell & Strauchler as of counsel.
 
Wes Geiselman retired from the NJABC after 34 years of service as an Assistant Attorney General.  He served 19 years as the Chief of the NJABC Enforcement Bureau and six years as the Chief Counsel to the Director.  Geiselman was at the forefront of every major legislative and regulatory change and enforcement action in NJ ABC Law since 1984.  As Chief Prosecutor, he was responsible for over 2,000 investigations.  He brought charges at every tier of the industry, including retail, wholesale and supplier.  He oversaw at least four readoption of division regulations, including Retail Incentive Programs (RIPs), sections on violations and charging, and golf course regulations.  Geiselman has presented seminars at both national and regional conferences and has been a frequent lecturer for the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), as well as a participant with the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA).  In addition, he has trained officers in over 300 police departments and has given seminars to municipal officials, municipal attorneys and the bar itself.  
 
Doug Sherman, who chairs Post Polak’s Hospitality, Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Law Group practice, welcomes Geiselman’s arrival as an integral part of this growing practice group. “Wes brings even more decades of the highest level of hands-on experience and skill to a practice group already filled with experience and skill,” said Sherman.  In addition to ABC law veterans Sherman and David Epstein, Geiselman joins fellow NJABC alumnus Jerry Fischer, the longest-serving NJABC Director in State history, and Jeffrey Warsh, former NJABC Staff Attorney and a long-time alcoholic beverage and cannabis industry attorney
 
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Wes to Post Polak,” said John Post, Founding Partner, “Wes has better than three decades of institutional knowledge and the top-shelf expertise necessary to best serve our hospitality clients.  This reunion of AAG Geiselman with former NJABC Director Jerry Fischer, former NJABC Staff Attorney Jeff Warsh and our team of experienced alcoholic beverage and cannabis law attorneys continues to demonstrate that Post Polak is the firm to serve the legal needs of the hospitality industry.”
 
Fred Polak, Founding Partner and a former Assistant United States Attorney, noted, “Wes was an extraordinary AAG, completely dedicated to quick and effective problem solving.  His deep understanding of how to best conduct business within a complex legal and regulatory framework will provide enormous value to our clients.  That is what drives us at Post Polak.”
 
Jerry Fischer, the former NJABC Director, commented, “I am very much looking forward to practicing side-by-side with Wes again.  His demeanor, knowledge and professionalism will immeasurably assist with the complex problem solving Post Polak is retained to manage on behalf of our clients.”
 
“During my career of service to the Division, Post Polak demonstrated, in terms of the intellectual quality of their lawyers, their extraordinary success in the representation of their clients and their collegial demeanor, that they were the place for me to re-enter the private practice of ABC law. I truly look forward to practicing once again with colleagues and friends and to representing Post Polak’s clients to the best of my abilities,” said Wes Geiselman.
 
Post Polak counsels national and locally-based clients in the hotel and restaurant industries, as well as alcoholic beverage distributors, manufacturers and retailers on a wide range of issues in the alcoholic beverage and hospitality fields. Our practice includes coordinating and processing liquor license transfer applications, license application amendments and license renewals, assuring compliance with other regulatory reporting requirements, appearing before regulatory agencies and courts on alcoholic beverage and hospitality-related matters (including compliance matters) and providing ancillary real estate, leasing and land use counseling.
 
J. Wesley Geiselman graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a BA in Political Science and he received his Juris Doctorate from University of Louisville School of Law.  Geiselman is admitted to the New Jersey and Federal Bars.
 
Founded in 1971, Post, Polak, Goodsell & Strauchler, P.A. is today a mid-sized New Jersey law firm serving regional and local businesses, local governmental organizations, and individuals, as well as the local needs of national and multinational entities. Since our founding, Post Polak has grown to meet the specific and evolving needs of our clients.  We have assembled a talented group of attorneys who not only combine exceptional legal skills and experience, but who have business acumen in their particular areas of practice as well.
 
Post Polak is prepared to meet the legal requirements of most businesses and individuals. In addition, we have specific areas of concentration, including Airport Law, Hospitality/Alcoholic Beverage, Municipal Law, Land Use/Redevelopment, and Corporate/Commercial Litigation.