Meri J. Van Blarcom-Gupko
Counsel
Meri Van Blarcom-Gupko grew up in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. She received her bachelor’s degree, with Honors, from Rutgers University, Newark College of the Arts and Science in 1994. While at Rutgers, Meri was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honor Society.
Meri joined Wiley Malehorn Sirota & Raynes in 1998 and was promoted to the position of Counsel in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, Meri was Law Clerk to the Honorable Stephen F. Smith, Jr., New Jersey Superior Court, Morris County, 1997-98.
She is admitted to the bars of New Jersey, New York, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Meri has co-authored continuing legal education seminar materials for the National Business Institute and Morris County Bar Associations on a wide variety of topics, including employment discrimination, school law, trial evidence, and human resources. She also provided a seminar through NBI on school law issues.
Since 2005, Meri has been presenting an annual seminar on Legal Issues in Racing at Motorsports at its Atlantic City and Philadelphia area locations. She also presented legal issues seminars for racing promoters from all over the East Coast for the years the Promoter’s Summit was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Meri has been published numerous times in the area of motorsports. She was a consulting expert for SB Nation’s Motorsports writer, Jordan Bianchi, on his articles "Tony Stewart’s grand jury case, explained" (September 18, 2014) http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2014/9/18/6354181/tony-stewart-grand-jury-evidence-criminal-charges-kevin-ward-jr-death and "Potential criminal and civil cases against Tony Stewart, explained" (August 22, 2014) http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2014/8/22/6053307/tony-stewart-kevin-ward-jr-criminal-charges-civil-lawsuit. Her article "Racers Need More Than Proper Safety Equipment to Protect Themselves" was published in Area Auto Racing News, Vol. LI, No. 7 (February 19, 2013). Meri had a two-part series, "How Do You Handle A Potential Sponsor Concerned About Liability" and "Winning Over A Potential Sponsor Concerned About Legal Liability" published in the February/March and April 2008 volumes of Ernie Saxton’s Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News. Her law journal article "Should NASCAR Be Allowed to Choose the Tracks at Which it Runs its Races?" 16.2 Seton Hall J. Sport L. 101 (2006), released in 2007, was cited by the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS) in its brief filed in Kentucky Speedway’s lawsuit against International Speedway Corporation.Her other published articles include "Can Toyota’s Entry in NASCAR be Dodged through Litigation with Bill Davis Racing?" 14 Seton Hall J. Sport and Entertainment L. 101 (2004); "A Pit-Stop in the Courts Applying the Brakes to Keep Another From Crashing: A Comment of the Conflicts Between Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Championship Auto Racing Team", 7 Seton Hall J. Sport L. 513 (1997).
Meri’s practice areas serve the diverse needs of her clients and include employment/labor law; civil litigation; personal injury; school law; business law and commercial transactions; representation of public entities; insurance defense; and intellectual property. She has handled trial matters in the New Jersey state courts as well as the Office of Administrative Law.
She received her Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997, where she served as the Research Assistant to Professor Elizabeth Defeis for two years. Meri was a member of the Seton Hall Journal of Sports Law. She has an internship with the Sports Law Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association researching various areas including statutes regulating athlete agents and an externship with the Internal Revenue Service focusing on intellectual property and related issues. Meri also participated in the Consumer Law Clinic where she advised and represented underprivileged clients on various consumer legal issues.
Meri is a breast cancer survivor and has been involved with the Young Survival Coalition, Northeast Region. She and her husband reside in Northern New Jersey with their son.