William H. Mergner, Jr.
Co-Managing Partner
WILLIAM H. MERGNER, JR., graduated from the Catholic University of America Magna Cum Laude in 1982. He received his Juris Doctor from the Marshall Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in 1985. He became associated with the firm following graduation and subsequently has become a partner in the firm, currently serving as co-managing partner.
Since joining the firm, he has been involved in daily trial work, having tried more than two hundred twenty jury trials to verdict in state and federal courts in New Jersey. He currently handles catastrophic loss cases as well as coverage matters with an emphasis on risk transfer issues. He has successfully handled the defense through trial of construction site accidents, multi-party construction defect cases, environmental/toxic tort claims, products liability claims, class action litigation, professional liability claims including medical, engineering, agents/brokers claims, as well as a wide variety complex general liability claims involving serious injury or death. He has handled a significant number of appeals before the New Jersey Appellate Division, the New Jersey Supreme Court, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and has numerous favorable published and unpublished decisions.
He counsels private clients on issues related to effective contractual risk transfer. He regularly provides seminars to clients of the firm and attorneys in New Jersey regarding a wide range of issues ranging from contractual risk transfer, products liability law, as well as developments in insurance coverage law, trial techniques and handling of cases subject to the Complex Business Litigation Program, teaching an average of eight seminars per year over the last twenty years.
He is the President Elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and is anticipated to become President of the NJSBA in May 2024. He serves on the NJSBA Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee. He is a member of the NJSBA Amicus Committee, having previously served as Chair of the committee. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Civil Trial Practice Section of the NJSBA having previously served two terms as Chair. He currently serves as a member of the NJSBA Meeting Arrangements and Programs Committee. He is a member of the NJSBA’s Insurance Defense Committee, where he has been a member since its formation. He is also a Trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation
He previously served three terms as a Trustee of the NJSBA. He also served as a member of the NJSBA Pandemic Task Force and served as Chair of the subcommittee on Restarting Jury Trials. He served as a member of the Judiciary Working Group on COVID-19 Jury Operations. He served as the Chair of the NJSBA Special Task Force on the Practice of Law.
He is Serving his second term as a member of the Supreme Court Civil Trial Practice Rules Committee and serves on the Discovery Subcommittee. He previously served two terms as a member of the Supreme Court Committee on the Rules of Evidence, the Joint Supreme Court/NJSBA E-Courts Committee, as well as serving on the Supreme Court Committee on Expediting Civil Actions.
He has been selected as a "Super Lawyer" by New Jersey Monthly Magazine every year since the award was initiated and is "AV Preeminent" rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Attorneys and is a Fellow of the American Bar Association. In 2019, he was honored by the Civil Trial Bar Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association with the James J. McLaughlin Award, which recognizes civility, professionalism, and competence in the practice of law.
