Corzine Chief Counsel Bill Castner Joins Gibbons

January 27, 2010
Enhancing its already impressive roster of prominent former public sector attorneys, Gibbons has announced that William J. Castner, Jr., has joined the Firm as a Director. Castner, who most recently served as Chief Counsel to former Governor Jon S. Corzine and was recently appointed to the State Commission of Investigation (SCI), has been one of Trenton's most prominent and widely respected figures for well over a decade. He will work out of the firm's Newark and Trenton offices.

“Bill Castner is unquestionably one of the finest attorneys in the State of New Jersey, someone whose broad legal and public policy experience, bipartisan relationships, and results-driven approach will serve our clients extremely well,” said Patrick C. Dunican, Jr., the Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons. “His unique background and skills will help to ensure that we pursue every possible path to success in the matters we handle for our clients.”

As Chief Counsel, Castner provided advice to the Governor on an wide array of legislative, judicial, legal, regulatory, and policy matters. Prior to joining the Corzine Administration, he served as Executive Director of the New Jersey General Assembly Majority Office, becoming the youngest director in that office’s history. He is also the former General Counsel and Deputy Executive Director of the Assembly Majority Office, where he served as the chief legal adviser to the General Assembly. In recent years, he has been named among PolitickerNJ.com’s “New Jersey’s 100 Most Politically Influential Personalities,” InTheLobby.Net’s “Ten Greatest Partisan Staffers Who Ever Lived,” and PoliticsNJ.com’s “Rising Stars” and Power Lists.

During the New Jersey Supreme Court’s 2000-2001 term, Castner served as a law clerk to then-Associate Justice James R. Zazzali, who went on to become Chief Justice of the Court and is now Of Counsel to Gibbons. Chief Justice Zazzali appointed him to the Court’s Ad Hoc Committee on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education in 2007, and in 2005, former Chief Justice Deborah Poritz named him to the Court’s Joint Working Group on IOLTA and Financial Institutions. Bill also served as a law clerk to Presiding Judge for Administration of the Appellate Division Sylvia B. Pressler during the 1999-2000 term.

Castner graduated magna cum laude from Rowan University, and received his law degree from Rutgers Law School in Camden. He received a master's degree from the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

He joins an already exceptional litigation team at Gibbons, which consistently ranks in the first tier of New Jersey litigation practices, according to the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. In addition to former Chief Justice Zazzali, John Gibbons, former Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and Herman Michels, former Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Appellate Division, the firm's ranks include numerous former Assistant United States Attorneys.

“I am very pleased and excited to be able to join one of my mentors, Chief Justice Zazzali, and the other extraordinary attorneys at Gibbons,” said Castner. “The reputation of the firm, coupled with its unique commitment to diversity and social justice, made it the ideal place for me to continue my legal career.”