John C. Whipple, P.C., lawyers in Morristown, NJ, New Jersey

There is exciting news at the WHIPPLE LAW FIRM, P.C. On March 1, 2007 the firm merged forces with some of the most well regarded attorneys in the State of New Jersey. The new firm, ARSENEAULT, WHIPPLE, FARMER, FASSETT & AZZARELLO, LLP brings together a team of seasoned, highly-renowned trial lawyers, widely recognized for their experience and abilities, united by dedication to a single enterprise: the focused and tireless pursuit of the optimal result for clients facing complex and daunting legal challenges. The address and contact information is as follows:

The new firm combines the strengths of leading New Jersey criminal defense attorneys Jack Arseneault, John C. Whipple, former New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer, Jr., David Fassett, and John Azzarello. The firm employs a total of eleven (11) attorneys and has expanded it's practice to provide a wide range of services to it's clients. Please visit the firm's new website at www.awffa.com.

John C. Whipple and Mary Gibbons Whipple have practiced law in New Jersey for over twenty years. Mr. Whipple opened the firm on January 1, 1998 after ten years of practice with his previous firm, Whipple, Ross & Hirsh, P.A and six years of public service. This well recognized and top rated boutique practice specializes in white-collar criminal defense, trials and appeals, attorney ethics matters and complex civil litigation. The firm's civil practice focuses primarily on the defense of civil rights and other employment related claims.

In 1988, Mr. Whipple was designated a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court and was re-certified in 1996 and 2004. He has been recognized in Corporate Counsel Magazine, New Jersey Monthly Magazine and New York Magazine. He has also been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America and Top Lawyers in New Jersey in the practice of Criminal Defense. In 2005 and again in 2006, after a comprehensive rating process, he was named by his peers to the top 100 New Jersey Super Lawyers. Mr Whipple was also separately recognized as a New Jersey Super Lawyer in the specialty of white collar criminal defense. His legal abilities and ethics have been rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbel, the well known attorney rating index. He has lectured on criminal and civil trial practice, administrative and criminal investigations/prosecutions of law enforcement officers and state/federal grand jury investigations. He has also appeared on Court TV and the MSNBC documentary "Cops Caught on Tape".

Mr. Whipple has tried numerous criminal jury trials in the federal and state courts. In April, 2006, he completed a (7) month trial in the U. S. District Court, Trenton, New Jersey; the longest criminal environmental trial in the history of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice. Mr. Whipple's client, the Environmental Manager (and licensed engineer) of a New Jersey company was acquitted on all three counts he faced including a massive conspiracy charge alleging violations of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, defrauding the United States, false statements to the EPA and obstuction of justice. The two remaining counts charged a specific false statement to the EPA/NJDEP and a violation of the Clean Air Act. Mr. Whipple has also tried (5) federal RICO cases one of which was the largest police corruption case ever prosecuted in New Jersey, state or federal. Based upon Mr. Whipple's aggressive and skillful defense to the allegation that the entire municipal police department was a criminal "enterprise", the jury acquitted all four defendants of the racketeering charges.

The firm's practice is not limited to criminal and civil trial work. The firm has a wide range of experience in litigating appeals of both criminal and civil matters. Mr. Whipple has argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and New Jersey's Appellate Division on several occasions. The appellate practice and complex motion practice is the main focus of Mary Gibbons Whipple, a former Assistant United States Attorney who is Of Counsel to the firm.

Based upon Mr. Whipple's skill and reputation as a top rated trial attorney, he is often able to persuade investigating authorities not to prosecute. In addition, favorable results are often obtained for clients who have been formally charged. The firm has successfully litigated cases pretrial resulting in dismissal either by motion or diversionary type programs. The firm is routinely assisted by top notch investigators and experts to help defend against the enormous resources of prosecuting agencies.

Mr. Whipple began his legal career in 1982 as an Assistant Prosecutor in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As a newly admitted attorney, he learned the "nuts and bolts" of trial work for a period of three years. In 1985, he joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey where he continued to develop his trial and criminal defense expertise in complex matters including securities, bank and mail fraud, narcotics offenses, political corruption, RICO offenses and Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In addition, the Defender office was structured such that representation began upon arrest and continued to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. Thus, Mr. Whipple developed a keen sense of litigation of criminal cases on appeal as well.

Mr. Whipple was admitted to the New Jersey and U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey bars in 1982, the bar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1988, and the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1995. He is a member of the American, New Jersey State and Morris County Bar Associations, the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Trial Attorneys of New Jersey. After several years as a Trustee of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, Mr. Whipple was recently elected Vice President and is slated to lead the organization as President in 2008. He also co-chairs the organization's Lawyers Assistance Committee which focuses on representation of criminal defense attorneys in difficult situations with judges and over zealous prosecutors. He was appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a member of the District X Ethics Committee and completed his four year term in August, 2000. In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS: Licensed professionals including attorneys, doctors, accountants, engineers and investment advisors; corporate officers, elected officials, appointed state, county and municipal officials, including two Superior Court Judges, labor officials, law firms, medical groups, construction companies, state agencies, county prosecutor offices, municipal entities; law enforcement officers of all rank including federal agents, county prosecutor detectives, county sheriffs, corrections officers and municipal officers; police unions and their elected officers.