tmillermediation@outlook.com

Thomas C. Miller, (A.J.S.C.) (Ret.), formed Thomas C. Miller Mediation & Arbitration, LLC following his retirement from the Superior Court bench in January 2022. Along with former Superior Court Judge Michael F. O’Neill, he co-founded the Sidebar Solutions ADR website in March 2023. Sidebar Solutions was established to highlight the mediation, arbitration and special master / case management services offered by Judge Miller and O’Neill — on either an individual or joint basis — throughout New Jersey, metropolitan New York and Pennsylvania.

Judge Miller was appointed to the Somerset County Superior Court Judge, Vicinage XIII on May 5, 2011 and served until January 12, 2022. He served in the Family Division from September 2011 through September 2013. In 2013, he was then assigned to the Civil Division where he was appointed as the Presiding Judge in that Division. He served as the Presiding Civil Judge in Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties from September 2013 until 2020. During his tenure in the Civil Division, he also served as Designated Judge for Affordable Housing (Mt. Laurel) cases, Complex Commercial cases, Environmental matters, Open Public Record Requests litigation and Prerogative Writ matters, in addition to the regular Civil Calendar. From June 2020 until reaching mandatory retirement age in January 2022, Judge Miller served as Assignment Judge of Vicinage XIII, which includes Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties.

During his time in the Judiciary, he was appointed to and attended the Judicial Leadership Program Council in April 2016. Judge Miller was appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve as the Special Master in the “Abbott School Case” in December 2021. Judge Miller served in that position through May 2023.

Prior to serving in the Judiciary, Judge Miller worked as Self-Employed Attorney and a partner in several law firms in Somerville, New Jersey including the Law Firm of Miller, Robertson and Rodgers, formerly known as Lieberman, Ryan, Richardson, Welaj and Miller and Welaj, Miller and Robertson.

From 1979 to 1991 he engaged in general practice of law but specializing in real estate matters including residential and commercial transactional work and litigation; zoning and land use; banking and business law matters and municipal law including serving as a municipal attorney for several Somerset County municipalities.

During his legal career, Judge Miller specialized in residential and commercial real estate, zoning and planning and land use work and litigation in those areas. Judge Miller primarily represented residential, commercial, and industrial developers in the Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren Morris and Middlesex County area since 1983. Judge Miller also represented several New Jersey Banking Institutions including acting as general counsel to Somerset Valley Bank. As bank counsel, he handled various types of legal matters for those institutions included collection, defense, foreclosure matters and general legal advice.

In December 1991, Judge Miller was appointed as the Somerset County Counsel. As part of those responsibilities he represented the Somerset County Freeholder Board. Judge Miller held that position for seven consecutive three-year terms (a total of twenty years) until he was appointed to the bench in 2011. During his tenure as County Counsel, he maintained his own private law firm in addition to performing his duties as Somerset County Counsel.

Also during his tenure as County Counsel, Judge Miller specialized in governmental law and particularly representing governmental entities. In conjunction with those responsibilities, Judge Miller represented governmental agencies in litigation matters, including defending governmental entities.  Judge Miller’s defense of governmental entities including a wide variety of matters, including but not limited to matters involving claims of negligence (personal injury and property damage), employment, eminent domain, construction, constitutional and contractual matters. As County Counsel, Judge Miller also represented insurance companies that provided insurance coverage for those public entities.

Judge Miller is an Honors Graduate of Rutgers University (1974). He received his Juris Doctor degree (cum laude, class rank 7/200 +/-) from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1978. During his time in law school, he worked as a legal assistant for the New Jersey Real Estate Commission and served as a member of the Law School’s Legislative Bureau. After graduation, he worked as a Law Clerk in Somerset County for Honorable Wilfred P. Diana.

Judge Miller is currently a member of Somerset County Bar Association, the Hunterdon County Bar Association, the Warren County Bar Association, and the New Jersey State Bar Association. He served as a Prosecutor for the local ethics committee for several years. Judge Miller has also lectured on various legal topics including Mediation and Arbitration, Affordable Housing, Zoning and Land Use and other current legal issues including Implicit Bias in the Justice System.