Mike earned his BA in History magna cum laude from Syracuse University, while working with the U.S. Army to fund his education. He became a member of Phi Beta Kappa and four other national honor societies, was listed in Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities, and received Syracuse's first Phi Kappa Phi graduate award as well as its first Flight 103 Remembrance Scholarship. Outside the classroom he was a member of the Syracuse rugby team and SGA, and taught a GED course for low income adults.

 

He proceeded to earn his JD from Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Environmental Law Review, and served as a volunteer with the Harvard Big Brother/Big Sister Program. While in law school, he served with the US Attorney's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (Boston), and was named a Monmouth County Bar Association Scholar each of his three years of study.

 

Mike represented the 12th Legislative District as a member of the New Jersey State Assembly from 2004 - 2008, and served as the Vice-Chairman of the Assembly Banking and Insurance Committee. He also served as a member of the Assembly Transportation and Environment Committees, and the National Conference of Legislators Budget Committee.

 

He authored numerous pieces of key legislation in the areas of ethics reform, environmental protection, veteran's affairs, animal welfare, law enforcement and healthcare which became New Jersey law, and was a vocal opponent of new tax initiatives. Mike was also the primary sponsor of the Garden State's minimum wage increase and stronger anti-stalking laws, and received a variety of awards from organizations committed to domestic violence prevention, senior citizen advocacy, animal protection and health care reform, among others.

 

His efforts have been featured in national publications ranging from the New York Times to Stars and Stripes, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, and he has appeared on programs such as NPR's All Things Considered and Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.

 

He is also a co-founder and partner of Realty Data Systems LLC (www.rdsnj.com), one of New Jersey's leading providers of real property data collection services to local governments, and a technology licensor in the private sector.  He plays a leading role in a variety of community and charitable organizations.

 

our professionals

 

Michael J. Panter

 PANTER AND KELLY FINANCIAL LLC

 Mike is the managing partner of Panter and Kelly Financial, responsible for overseeing corporate pension plan strategies and implementation.

 

He previously served as a Vice President in the investment banking division of Salomon Smith Barney, New York. In this role, he advised a variety of Fortune 500 companies in their merger and acquisition activities. He also spent several years practicing as a corporate attorney in New Jersey and New York