WILLIAM STRAZZA
contact me at William@CitizenSoldierLaw.com
Bill Strazza brings over twenty years of experience to the firm.
In 1997, after serving as an associate with a prominent white-collar criminal defense firm in Morris County, (now known as Arseneault & Fassett), Bill struck out on his own and opened The Law Office of William Strazza, based in Union County. In his solo practice, Bill continues to represent targets of grand jury investigations in both state and Federal Court. Bill also frequently represents witnesses summoned to appear before such investigative bodies. In this area of his practice, Bill views his role as helping his clients avoid being charged in the first place. For example, Bill recently successfully convinced an investigating agency not to file charges against his client who was suspected of various theft and campaign finance violations. Bill also continues to represent individuals charged with government, insurance and election fraud violations in both State and Federal Court. Bill often represents physicians charged with insurance fraud, and has been routinely successful in preserving his clients’ liberty and their licenses to practice.
A graduate of Seton Hall School of Law, Bill was admitted to practice in 1992, and was immediately hired as an associate by Jack Arseneault, Esq. Bill handled a wide array of white-collar criminal cases, in addition to the related complex civil litigation which would sometimes accompany those criminal investigations. Bill gained invaluable experience handling cases for the firm in State and Federal Court, both at the trial and appellate levels. Over his five years with the firm, Bill represented clients who were targets of stock fraud investigations, FDA investigations and insurance fraud investigations. Bill also represented clients charged with election fraud violations, in addition to Federal and State criminal and civil RICO violations. While with the firm, Bill was also routinely involved in representing law enforcement officers who had been charged either criminally, or with administrative violations. Through this work, and through the relationship he developed with members of the law enforcement community, Bill also developed an expertise in handling disability pension claims for law enforcement personnel.
In 1994, the firm became involved with a community health initiative and offered its services, pro bono, to represent individuals with developmental disabilities. Bill was charged with heading the firm’s affiliation with this initiative, and at an early stage in his career, successfully represented a client in a claim against the Division of Developmental Disabilities who had been wrongfully denied benefits for almost 10 years.
Immediately before opening his own practice, Bill successfully defended a firm’s client at trial who was concurrently charged in Federal court with a RICO indictment and in State court with murder.
In addition to furthering his experience with white-collar matters, Bill has also expanded his criminal defense practice to include representing clients in State and Federal Court charged with, among other things, murder, robbery, assault, eluding, arson, theft, sexual assault, and drug and weapons offenses. During his 17 years as a solo practitioner, Bill has successfully defended numerous clients in jury trials in both State and Federal court, and is highly regarded by his peers in the defense community, and by prosecutors, as one of the best trial attorneys in the State.
During Bill’s solo practice as a criminal defense attorney, he has also developed two areas of specialized experience.
Drawing from his experience handling his former firm’s community health initiative, and drawing on some personal experience as well, Bill frequently represents juveniles and young adults who are developmentally disabled, but who are charged with crimes. Bill has developed a strong working knowledge of State and Federal Laws concerning the rights of students in special education who have Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) and the rights of the developmentally disabled. Bill has taken that knowledge and his familiarity with those laws, and has frequently assisted such clients in getting charges dismissed, and in working through the criminal justice system while remaining sensitive to any specialized needs the client has and convincing courts, police and prosecutors to provide accommodations tailored to the clients’ disability.
Bill’s experience with criminal and civil RICO matters led him to a somewhat unexpected area of expertise in his solo practice – namely, the representation of individual animal welfare and animal rights activists, in addition to animal welfare activist and animal rights activist groups.
In 1998, Bill was contacted by an animal rights organization in Middlesex County which was conducting a series of protests against a local furrier. The organization had just been sued by the furrier in Federal Court and charged with various violations of the Federal Civil RICO statute. Bill successfully defended the organization, which then lead to his representing an enormous array individuals and groups throughout various courts in New Jersey and throughout the Country, in various civil, criminal and administrative matters. For example, Bill represented one group in a series of civil RICO cases filed by targets of the group’s protest activity, thereby having to defend, simultaneously, cases filed in New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Texas and California. Bill has also represented countless individual activists charged with crimes for protest related activity. Bill was involved with the first Animal Enterprise Terrorism case filed in Federal Court in the District of New Jersey. In addition, Bill was lead counsel back in 2000, the first year New Jersey attempted to re-initiate a statewide bear hunt. Through Bill’s efforts, that hunt was called off by then Governor Whitman.
Between 1997 and 1999, Bill also expanded his criminal defense practice to include work in New Jersey’s Municipal courts, thereby handling misdemeanor type drug offenses, assaults, and thefts, in addition to all motor vehicle matters, including defense of clients charged with DWI. This experience led to Bill being appointed as a Municipal Public Defender in the Union Township Municipal Court. He was then appointed as Chief Municipal Public Defender for the Union Township Municipal Court, and has held that title for over 10 years. As a result, Bill has handled, quite literally, thousands of cases in Municipal Court, and has successfully defended hundreds of clients charged with DWI offenses.
While Bill’s practice is still, primarily, a criminal defense practice, with roughly 80% of his practice dedicated to criminal defense matters, Bill also handles a select set of matters involving civil litigation, appeals and business formation. In his solo practice, Bill has continued his work representing law enforcement personnel in employment disputes and those seeking disability pensions and benefits. Bill also handles select employment discrimination and civil rights matters for plaintiffs. Bill has handled several matters successfully where clients have brought claims for malicious prosecution, in addition to cases involving claims against educational institutions that have violated the rights of the developmentally disabled.
Bar Admissions:
New Jersey
- United states District Court for the District of New Jersey
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
Pro Hoc Vice Admissions:
- New York Supreme Court, Queens County
- New York Supreme Court, Bronx County
- New York Supreme Court, Westchester County
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- United States District Court for the District of Louisiana
Affiliations:
- Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, NJ
- New Jersey Lawyers in Defense of Animals
- National Lawyers’ Guild, Animal Rights Committee
