Alan L. Zegas

Alan L. Zegas has received many prominent honors over the course of his career, and he has achieved successful results in some of the most difficult cases litigated in the State of New Jersey.   He was featured on the front cover of NJ SuperLawyers 2017, which did its feature story on his career and his involvement in the "Bridgegate" case, which received media coverage internationally.

Mr. Zegas has been named in "The Best Lawyers in America", "The Best Lawyers in New Jersey", "Superlawyers", "The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Prominent Attorneys", and "Who's Who in America".

Mr. Zegas has served on the adjunct faculty of Rutgers Law School - Newark, and he regularly lectures for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He is a former president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, and a former Chair of the Criminal Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He has also served as a trustee for the New Jersey Bar Association.

A graduate of Rutgers Law School - Newark, Mr. Zegas served as the Editor-In-Chief of the Rutgers Law Review. Mr. Zegas received a Bachelor's of Science Degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from The Harvard Business School.

Among the celebrated cases that Mr. Zegas has litigated, include his having served recently as an attorney in the Bridgegate case, where Mr. Zegas had all charges against his client dismissed.  Mr. Zegas has also served as co-counsel to Newark's former Mayor, Sharpe James, as counsel to Bryan Grober in the "Glen Ridge" case, which involved the alleged assault of a mentally-challenged woman by high school athletes.  Books have been written about the case, which was also the subject of a movie.  In addition, Mr. Zegas represented Margaret Kelly Michaels in a landmark case that set standards law enforcement must follow in sexual assault cases.  CBS 60 Minutes did a feature story on the Michaels case, which was dismissed by the Court.

Mr. Zegas obtained acquittals in federal court for Victor Botnick, the former chief of staff for New York Mayor Edward Koch, and Peter Obi, who was charged with Medicare fraud. 

The New Jersey Supreme Court has asked Mr. Zegas to sit on numerous of its special committees over the years, including the Evidence Committee, the Committee on Criminal Practice, and the Criminal Charge Committee.

Mr. Zegas has frequently been quoted as an expert attorney by The New York Times, Star Ledger, New Jersey Law Journal, New Jersey Lawyer, Bergen Record, CBS radio and he makes frequent appearances as a commentator on Court TV.  He  has also appeared on "60 Minutes" and on numerous news stations in major United States markets.

The author of numerous articles on criminal and civil trial and appellate practice, Mr. Zegas is also a regular Lecturer for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Criminal Law, Federal Practice, Appellate Practice, Computer Crimes, and Trial Practice.

Mr. Zegas has run in five New York marathons, enjoys playing the piano and is an avid reader of biographies. 


Admitted: 1981, New Jersey and U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; 1982, New York and U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit; 1984, U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; 1987, U.S. Supreme Court 

Law School: Rutgers University Law School, J.D., with honors, 1981 

College: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, B.S., 1974; Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, M.B.A., 1978 

Member: The Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (President, 1998-1999);New Jersey State Bar Association (Trustee, 1986-1988; Vice-Chairman, Young Lawyers Division, 1985-1986; Trustee, Criminal Law Section, 1987—; Second Vice-Chair, Criminal Law Section, 1993-1994; Chair, Criminal Law Section, 1995-1996; Member, Executive Committee Federal Practice, 1990; Trustee, 1989-1994; Secretary/Treasurer, 1994-1995; Vice Chair, 1995-1998).

Biography: Editor-in-Chief, Rutgers Law Review, 1980-1981. Law Clerk, Honorable H. Lee Sarokin, U.S. District Court, 1981-1983. Listed in: The Best Lawyers in America; Best Lawyers in New Jersey, New Jersey Monthly; National Directory of Criminal Lawyers; Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys (General, Criminal and Civil Trial, and Appellate Practice). Author: "Summary of Criminal Law Decisions of the New Jersey Supreme Court," New Jersey Law Journal, 1992—; "Personal Letters: A Dilemma for Copyright and Privacy Law," 33 Rutgers Law Review 134, 1980. Lecturer: Civil, Criminal, Appellate and Federal Law, Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1987—. Adjunct Faculty Member, Rutgers Law School, 1984-1988. Chairman, Sub-Committee on the Availability of Legal Services for the Elderly, New Jersey State Bar Association, 1982-1984. Executive Committee, Essex County Representative, Young Lawyer's Section, New Jersey State Bar Association, 1983-1985. Member, Availability of Legal Services Committee, New Jersey State Bar Association, 1982-1985. Alumni Council, Rutgers Law School, 1983—. Member, New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Criminal Practice, 1993—. Reader, New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners, 1985. Secretary, University of Pennsylvania Alumni Club, 1986-1987. Chairman, Lawyers Referral Service Committee, Essex County Bar Association, 1986-1987. Moderator, National Criminal Law and Procedure Forum, Lexis Counsel Connect, 1994—. Master, C. Willard Heckel Inns of Court, 1993—.

Born: Newark, New Jersey, October 28, 1952