Alan L. Zegas (born October 28, 1952) is an American

criminal defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various j ...

. He was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, received a Bachelor of Science degree from

The Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1974, an MBA from

The Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which publishes business books, leadership ...

in 1978, and a J.D. from

Rutgers School of Law-Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

in 1981. He said that he became a lawyer to defend the “little, powerless person against the powerful forces of government.” He has law offices in Summit, New Jersey. The

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

magazine named Zegas as one of the "50 Most Interesting People in NJ". He was Editor-in-Chief of the

Rutgers Law Review The ''Rutgers Law Review'' was a quarterly, scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, published by an organization of second- and third-year law students at the former Rutgers School of Law–Newark, in Newark, New Jersey. It was the flagship l ...

between 1980 and 1981, and clerked for judge H. Lee Sarokin of the U.S. District Court between 1981 and 1983.

Notable cases

In 1989, Zegas represented one of the football players at

Glen Ridge High School Glen Ridge High School (GRHS) is a comprehensive six-year public middle school / high school serving students in seventh through twelfth grades from Glen Ridge, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondar ...

involved in the rape of a developmentally disabled female student, the only defendant that was acquitted of all substantive sexual assault charges. Zegas participated in the case of Kelly Michaels in the

Wee Care Nursery School abuse trial Wee Care Nursery School, located in Maplewood, New Jersey, was the subject of a day care child abuse case that was tried during the 1980s. Although Margaret Kelly Michaels was prosecuted and convicted, the decision was reversed after she spent five ...

. Although Michaels was initially prosecuted, the decision was overturned in 1993, after she had spent five years in prison. Zegas represented Michaels on her appeal before the New Jersey Supreme Court, which overturned her conviction. In 1999, Zegas won the acquittal of David Ford, a teacher who was accused of molesting a dozen girls. Prosecutors had described Ford as a sexual predator while Zegas said he was the victim of hysteria and rumors. Zegas won an acquittal for Victor Botnick, a chief aide of late New York Mayor, Edward Koch, in a federal prosecution for air piracy in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Zegas also represented former Newark Mayor, Sharpe James, in a federal prosecution in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. In 2017, Zegas represented David Wildstein, one of the principal defendants in "Bridgegate" or the George Washington Bridge Lane Closure Case. Zegas obtained a probationary sentence for his client.

Fort Lee lane closure scandal

In 2014, Zegas became prominent in the Fort Lee lane closure scandal as legal counsel to

David Wildstein David Wildstein (born September 1961) is an American businessman, former Republican Party politician, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the New Jersey political news website ''New Jersey Globe''. A former mayor of Livingston, New Jersey, he ...

, indicating that his client would offer to shed light on the scandal on the condition that he is given

immunity from prosecution Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. S ...

.David Wildstein, player in NJ bridge scandal, will talk for immunity
AOL.com. January 17, 2014.

References

External links

Law Offices of Alan L. Zegas
1952 births Living people Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Harvard Business School alumni Wharton School alumni {{US-law-bio-stub