William John Kearns, Jr. General Counsel Biography

Mr. Kearns is a graduate of Saint Peter's College [Jersey City NJ] where he received his B.S. in American History & Political Science and of the School of Law [Newark NJ] of Rutgers University where he received his Juris Doctor degree.He is admitted to practice before the Courts of New Jersey as well as before the US District Court, US Court of Appeals, US Tax Court and US Supreme Court.

Mr. Kearns is Senior Partner in the firm of Kearns, Vassallo, & Kearns, located in Willingboro, Burlington County, New Jersey. He is the General Counsel for the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and is the Municipal Attorney for Florence Township. He has served as Municipal Attorney for Willingboro Township and as Special Counsel and as Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment attorney for several municipalities. He is the attorney for two Municipal Joint Insurance Funds. Mr. Kearns serves on the Privacy Study Commission mandated by the Open Public Records Act, and is Chair of the Commission's Technology Subcommittee.

He was elected to three terms as a member of the Township Council in Willingboro, where he has also served twice as Mayor and has served on the Planning Board. He has served as Chair of both the Local Government Law Section and the Women's Rights Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He served on the New Jersey Supreme Court's Task Force on Women in the Courts. He is a Past President of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and a Senior Trustee of the New Jersey Institute of Municipal Attorneys.

Mr. Kearns is a Past President of the Burlington County Bar Association, the Burlington County Chamber of Commerce, the Burlington County United Way, and Family Service of Burlington County. He has received numerous awards and honors for his community service. He is one of nine attorneys from across the country to be the first to received the designation as a “Local Government Fellow” of the International Municipal Lawyers Association. He has been awarded the “Diplomate in Local Government Law” by the New Jersey Institute of Municpial Attorneys and is the recipient of the 2001 Fred G. Stickel Award for excellence in Local Government Law.

He has lectured and written on a number of local government and legal topics for the Rutgers Center for Government Services, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the New Jersey Municipal Law Review, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the International Municipal Lawyers Association and the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering Continuing Education Program. He serves on the Curriculum Committee and teaches courses in Land Use and Municipal Procedure for the Diplamate in Municipal Law program. In addition, he has been the author of a wine column and a classical music column.