Gary S. Stein

The Honorable Gary S. Stein (Ret.) joined Pashman Stein Walder Hayden in 2002, after serving on the New Jersey State Supreme Court for more than 17 years. During his tenure, the sixth-longest in the state Supreme Court’s history, Justice Stein wrote more than 365 published opinions. Before his tenure on the bench, Justice Stein served as director of the Governor’s Office of Policy and Planning from 1982 to 1985, during the administration of Governor Tom Kean.

During his years at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, Justice Stein has continued to devote significant time and effort to public interest issues. His experience in election law, which he has been teaching at Rutgers Law School since 2007, prompted the Brennan Center for Justice to enlist him to file an amicus brief on behalf of the Sunlight Foundation, et al., in the landmark United States Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010).

Justice Stein has also written and published numerous articles about other high-profile election law issues, including gerrymandering and the Voting Rights Act. He helped lead the New Jersey State Bar Association’s efforts to assure that the tenure reappointments of Supreme Court justices and judges were processed in a manner consistent with the judicial appointments provisions of New Jersey’s Constitution. In 2016, Justice Stein was instrumental in organizing the New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that has since spearheaded the filing of a major public interest lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s extreme racial and socioeconomic segregation of its public schools as unconstitutional. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Education Law Center and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the ACLU of New Jersey.

As special counsel to Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, Justice Stein has focused his practice on mediation, arbitration, and assisting other law firms with significant appellate matters. His practice has included a multiyear appointment by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission as the operating trustee of the Tropicana Casino. In addition, Justice Stein served as Paramus Borough attorney and counsel to the New Jersey Election Law Revision Commission. He is a former counsel to the Teaneck Board of Adjustment, former chairperson of the Bergen County District Ethics Committee, and former chairperson of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Complementary Dispute Resolution.

Justice Stein is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, as well as a member of the Bergen County and New Jersey State (including a previous position as chairperson of its Committee on State Legislation) Bar Associations. He earned both his BA and JD degrees from Duke University.

Justice Stein is proud of the results he has achieved for clients, some of which are noted here and under the “Experience” section of this biography.  Of course, each legal matter is unique on many levels, and past successes are not a guarantee of results in any other pending or future matters.

Community & Professional

• Member, Board of Trustees, Educational Law Center
• President, New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools, Inc.
• Former Member, Board of Trustees, A.C.L.U. New Jersey