Judge William Alan Dreier

JUDGE, ATTORNEY, ARBITRATOR, MEDIATOR AND AUTHOR,

HUSBAND, FATHER AND GRANDFATHER, ACTIVE IN JEWISH CAUSES

Hon. William A. Dreier, of New Providence, New Jersey, a prominent New Jersey attorney, retired appeals court judge, arbitrator, and noted legal author and lecturer, died on February 2nd at the age of 86. Judge Dreier retired from the Bench in 1998 after a distinguished judicial career of over 25 years. He then returned to the practice of law as a partner in the Bridgewater law firm of Norris, McLaughlin.

Judge Dreier was a graduate of MIT and then Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. After a judicial clerkship, he practiced law in Elizabeth. While in his 20s, he was elected as a member of the City Council in Plainfield, and then became the City’s Corporation Counsel. At the age of 35, he was appointed to the Union County District Court. He rose through the judicial ranks to become a Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey. As an appellate judge for the last 15 years of his judicial career, he authored thousands of opinions, with over 380 published in the Court’s official reports.

He lectured in New Jersey and nationally, primarily in the fields of Products Liability, Chancery Practice, Evidence Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. His book on New Jersey Products Liability & Toxic Torts Law is still the leading text on the subject. In 2008, the Bar Association’s Products Liability Section instituted the William A. Dreier Annual Award for Excellence in Products Liability law and made him the first recipient. His Chancery Practice book and New Jersey Arbitration Handbook, each now coauthored with a colleague, have become the standard New Jersey references in their fields. In addition, he was a prolific author of law review and other articles published in legal newspapers and magazines.

When he retired from the Bench in 1998, he focused his practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution, primarily arbitration and mediation. Among his numerous cases were a Madoff feeder-fund liability case, and a case involving the legal fees for a Facebook disputed settlement with its alleged co-founders. In recognition of his efforts, in 2010, the Dispute Resolution Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association named Judge Dreier as the Prof. James B. Bosky “ADR Practitioner of the Year.”

Among the many awards he received were the New Jersey Law Journal’s first Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the legal profession, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s premier award, its Medal of Honor, awarded for professional excellence and service to the profession of the law, and the Somerset County Bar Association’s awarded him its Career Professional Service Award. He was named Plainfield’s Outstanding Citizen in 1972 by the Jaycees. He was a Life Member of the American Law Institute, served on the Board of Visitors of Columbia Law School (Emeritus), the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Law Journal, was a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, a Distinguished Neutral for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and a charter member of the New Jersey branch of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, for which he also served on the National Executive Committee. Judge Dreier was also active in working for other retired judges, and became an officer of the Retired Judges’ Association, serving as its President from 2004 to 2006, and on Supreme Court committees.

Bill Dreier came from a family long active in Jewish affairs. He worked on behalf of the UJA campaign and was active at Temple Shalom, originally in Plainfield then Scotch Plains, and was President from 1977 to 1979. Bill was awarded life memberships on its Board of Trustees and was twice given its Annual Award. He was also an active member of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel. For many years Bill was a member of the Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League.

Never a real sportsman, Bill’s family owned Dreier’s Sporting Goods, originally in Plainfield and then in Watchung. He began to play golf as a teenager – a passion that lasted about 70 years. He learned to play at Twin Brooks Country Club (now Watchung Valley Golf Club) in Watchung, and later served on its Board of Governors and as President of the Board in 1997. In 2005, he also became a proud member of Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sandra Hollander from Elizabeth, a retired elementary school teacher. Together they enjoyed their Jewish studies, theater and art, classical music, worldwide travel and, of course, their beloved children and grandchildren.

He is also survived by his daughter Susan Wishnow, her husband, David, and their children Jared and Emma, and his son David, his wife, Shari, and their children Melissa, Allison and Alexander, along with nieces Judy Feldman and Sheryl Silverman and nephews Richard and Mark Feldman and Marc Silverman. Bill was predeceased by his sister Jane Feldman of West Orange. Bill’s family was the delight of his life.