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Chosen among 120 attorneys nominated by at least three of their peers, Blair Zwillman ’73 was named one of the “Top Ten Leaders in Criminal Law in North Jersey.”
A government and law graduate, Zwillman’s 28-year career began with a clerkship in Hudson County, N.J., for Superior Court Judge Joseph Thering. Later he served as assistant deputy attorney general in Princeton, and until two years ago, he practiced criminal law with his brother Evan.
He now works for Wilentz Goldman and Spitzer of Woodbridge, N.J, which, with approximately 150 lawyers, is one of the largest firms in the state.
“The good thing is, you don’t have to worry about running a business or bringing in business,” Zwillman says. “You can center your energies on actually defending your clients, rather than the business aspect, which took a lot of time in a two-person firm.”
The most rewarding aspects of the job, he notes, are giving people the satisfaction of being dealt with fairly and assisting those who have the full weight of the state and federal governments against them.
He has handled more than 70 criminal trial cases; 27 of the defendants were acquitted by a jury.
“I remember Paul Fretcher (former professor of government and law) energized his students and he promoted my interest and gave me a good background for law school,” Zwillman says.
He earned his law degree from New England School of Law in Boston and was appointed to the Law Review in 1978.