John F. Gross
Top rated Business & Corporate attorney in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Gross McGinley, LLP
Practice areas: Business & Corporate, State, Local & Municipal, Real Estate; view more
Licensed in Pennsylvania since: 1998
Education: Villanova University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2026 Details
John F. “Jack” Gross is Managing Partner at Gross McGinley, a seasoned business attorney deeply rooted in the Lehigh Valley and intimately familiar with its business, legal, and real estate landscape. Jack expertly guides businesses of all sizes through a wide array of complex legal matters, ranging from business formation, purchases, sales, and mergers and acquisitions to succession planning. His expertise extends to manufacturing, construction, as well as intellectual property matters including copyright, trademark, and licensing. Additionally, he has significant experience in non-profit law and First Amendment issues affecting the media and publishing industry.
As a real estate attorney and licensed Pennsylvania Title Agent, Jack represents both commercial and individual clients in the purchase and sale of residential and commercial properties, while also advising on leasing and financing matters. His comprehensive understanding of both business and real estate law informs his municipal law practice, where he serves as Solicitor to Whitehall Township, Salisbury Township, and the City of Allentown, and as Board Chair of the Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority.
Jack’s commitment to the Lehigh Valley extends beyond his legal practice. As a leader in numerous nonprofit organizations, he actively contributes to the community’s growth and well-being, embodying Gross McGinley’s community-minded values. His clients consistently seek his counsel on a wide range of issues, solidifying his reputation as a trusted advisor that serves with integrity and respect.
His recent Awards & Recognition include:
- 2025 – Top Lawyers in the Lehigh Valley, “One of the Best – Commercial, Business, Real Estate, Government,” The Morning Call
- 2024-2025 – Pennsylvania Super Lawyers®
- 2020-2025 – Power 100 List, Lehigh Valley Business
- 2022-2024 – Power List for Lawyers & Lobbyists, Lehigh Valley Business
Practice areas
Business/Corporate, State, Local & Municipal, Real Estate: BusinessFocus areas
Business Formation and Planning, Landlord/Tenant, Limited Liability Companies, Partnership, State, Local & Municipal Litigation, Sub-chapter S Corporations
- 50% Business/Corporate
- 30% State, Local & Municipal
- 20% Real Estate: Business
First Admitted: 1998, Pennsylvania
Professional Webpage: http://www.grossmcginley.com/attorneys/john-f-gross/
Bar / Professional Activity
- Solicitor, Whitehall Township, 2020
- Solicitor, City of Allentown, 2023
- Solicitor, Salisbury Township, 2023
- License Pennsylviania Title Insurance Agent
- Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority, Board Member (2002 – present); Vice Chair (2003 – present), 2003
- Muhlenberg College, Adjunct Faculty, Communications Department
- Northampton County Bar Association
- Bar Association of Lehigh County
- Pennsylvania Bar Association Internet Law Updates (annually 2005 to present) – Presentations regarding internet advertising law. Technology Law Forum (2006 and 2007) – Presentions regarding advertising and internet law and a case law update. Advertising Law (2008) – Course planner and presenter
- Allentown Zoning Hearing Board, Former Member
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, the only thing seemingly spreading faster than the virus is misinformation. On social media and in various other platforms, groups and individuals have distributed content claiming to be medically and factually based, only to have it be flagged by the parent tech company and/or fact-checking organizations. In some instances, these groups are claiming their content was censored, violating their First Amendment freedoms. One such claim was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Attorneys Malcolm Gross, John F. “Jack” Gross and Samuel Cohen were utilized as PA local counsel, in defense of a fact-checking organization in an antitrust suit. Overview of the antitrust case The Plaintiffs in the case formed a social media group of several thousand members and used this space as a forum for discussion and exchange of information related to COVID-19, with a focus on various treatment strategies. As they formed in May 2020, they allege that the social media platform secretly demoted and/or banned content that they posted, administered, or moderated on their page. Further, the Plaintiffs claim that the fact-checking organization, defended by Gross McGinley, marked their content with labels identifying it as fake or misinformation, dissuading others from reading it. As such, they filed a multimillion dollar antitrust suit against the social media platform and its defendants, including the fact-checkers. Terms and transfers While the claim was filed in Pennsylvania, engaging the help of Gross McGinley, it was the desire of the Defendants to have the case transferred to another court, as per the terms of their platform. The Plaintiffs and all groups and individuals who engage on the social media platform must agree to these terms prior to joining and engaging in this space. Moreover, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania stated: A court “should not sever if the defendant over whom jurisdiction is retained is so involved in the controversy to be transferred that partial transfer would require the same issues to be litigated in two places.” Sunbelt Corp. v. Noble, Denton & Assoc, 5 F.3d 28, 33-34 (3d Cir. 1993). In other words, “[l]itigating these facts in separate [jurisdictions] would make little sense, as it is likely that many of the witnesses and much of the evidence would overlap . . . and trying these cases in two different places could result in inconsistent results.” Pioneer Mech. Servs, LLC v. HGC Constr., Co., No. 18-cv-0507, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209349, at 14-15 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 12, 2018) (declining to sever claims against different defendants because all claims “relate[d] to the same occurrence”). Gross McGinley helped the Defendant with the Motion to Transfer Venue and the claim will now be handled in the preferred jurisdiction. , 2021
Representative Clients
- Arbor Insurance, 2020
- Julabo USA, Inc., 2020
- Medical Associates of the Lehigh Valley (MATLV), 2020
- Cumberland Commons, a new pocket neighborhood and the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley region., 2013
- Unistar Property, 2020
- Whitehall Township, 2020
Transactions
- Jack Gross represented Treatment Trends, which provides superior addiction treatment for adults, adolescents and their families, in securing a successful expansion of Treatment Trends’ drug and alcohol treatment program. (Non-Profit), 2012
- Jack Gross successfully represents Glemser Technologies in front of the City of Bethlehem’s zoning hearing board regarding the software company’s desire to renovate the former Bethlehem Club., 2010
- Represented an owner with the rezoning of an Allentown property to allow for the first Cottage Community Housing Project in the Eastern United States., 2013
- Jack Gross participated in a case which succeeded in obtaining the approval of the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas for a client, a local outdoor advertising company and a landowner, to construct a digital billboard along a major highway., 2010
- Completed closing and issued title insurance for a 2.4 million dollar refinance of a commercial office building., 2013
- Jack Gross represented Casa Guadalupe, which provides important health, education, social services and community development to predominantly Latino and minority residents of the Lehigh Valley, to obtain approval to use an existing warehouse as Casa Guadalupe’s community center. (Non-Profit), 2012
- Jack Gross recently represented the Lehigh County Historical Society (LCHS) in the sale of the George Taylor Mansion to the Borough of Catasauqua. In 1971, the George Taylor Mansion was designated as a national historic landmark. The LCHS conducted school tours and public tours of the mansion until the transfer of the property to the Borough of Catasauqua., 2009
- Assisted with the subdivision of a multi-tenant, multi-use commercial property in Luzerne County., 2013
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Licensed Real Estate Title Agent
Pro bono / Community Service
- Lehigh Country Club, Board of Governors (2020 – present), Secretary (2022 – present), 2020
- Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, Board Member, 2019
- Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority, Chair, 2018
- Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, Board Member (2017-2019), 2017
- Da Vinci Science Center, Board of Trustees (2016 – present), Vice Chairperson (2020 – 2023), Chairperson (2023 – present), 2016
- Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative, Board Member (2015 – present), 2015
- American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley Board of Directors, Chairman (2013 to 2022), Former Vice Chair (2011 to 2013), 2011
- Allentown Zoning Hearing Board, Alternate Member (2007 – 2009), 2009
- Communities in Schools of the Lehigh Valley, Board Member and Member Executive Committee (2005 – 2014), Chairperson (2012 – 2013), Leadership Circle (2024 – present), 2005
- Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Health Care, Board Member and Secretary (2000 to present), 2000
- PNC Bank, Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Advisory Board
Educational Background
- Muhlenberg College, B.A., magna cum laude
- Villanova University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, Order of the Coif, Law Review
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Jack Gross co-presented with Estate Attorney R. Nicholas Nanovic to businesses and business owners about succession planning. Jack highlighted how to prepare your business (buy-sell agreement, etc) and value your business (tangibly and intangibly). Nick went on to address aspect of estate planning for owners. , Co-presenter, Your 2020 Vision: Planning for Business Success(ion), EZ Micro IT Solutions, Business, 2020
- In a one-hour educational seminar to retirement community citizens of Moravian Village in Bethlehem, PA, Jack discussed privacy rights of Americans. In less than 50 words, the First Amendment addresses five rights. What it protects is a constant topic of conversation and confusion. After a short history of "how we got here," Jack dug deeper into the current state of freedoms of speech and press., Presenter, "Wrestling with the Right to Privacy", 2019
- Presenter, "Legal Issues in Advertising", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2011
- Presenter, "Legal Issues in Advertising", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2008
- Presenter, "Technology Law Forum", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2007
- Presenter, "Technology Law Forum", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2006
- Presenter, "Internet Law Update", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2005
- Presenter, "Internet Law Update", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2007
- Private Client Presentations
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Elected firm Managing Partner , 2018
Honors
- Top Lawyers Lehigh Valley 2025 recognized outstanding attorneys across the region., Top Lawyers in the Lehigh Valley, "One of the Best - Commercial, Business, Real Estate, Government", The Morning Call, 2025
- Every year, Lehigh Valley Business publishes a list of 100 individuals who hold positions that give them the ability to shape Lehigh Valley communities and influence its quality of life. To identify them, the editorial staff of Lehigh Valley Business considered those who make laws, build homes and highways, protect health and safety, educate children, support the vulnerable, and provide the spark that inspires innovation and economic growth. This is not a ranking. There is no score. The intent is to introduce readers to the people who make the decisions., Power 100 List, Lehigh Valley Business, 2025
- Power List for Lawyers & Lobbyists, Lehigh Valley Business, 2024
- On June 21, Lehigh Valley shared their list of 30 attorneys who, through their roles as leaders, help fashion policies, settle disputes and ensure fairness in the Lehigh Valley. The Power 30 is a list that recognizes those who shape local communities and influence our quality of life. This is not a ranking, but a vehicle to introduce readers to the people who impact the way we live. , Power 30 in Law list, Lehigh Valley Business, 2021
- The attorneys chosen for the 2017 Local Legal Leaders listing are nominated by and voted on by their peers in the field of law who felt they were deserving of recognition for their performance as an attorney. The pool of peer-nominated candidates was then evaluated on the following criteria: special licenses or certifications, outstanding achievements in the field of law; and education and employment., Local Legal Leader, Lehigh Valley Magazine, 2017
Industry Groups
- Banking
- Energy
- Manufacturing
- Municipalities
- Real Estate
Selections
3 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2026
