William F. Cook
Partner
360 Haddon Avenue, Westmont, NJ 08108
Tel: 856-854-8900 / Fax: 856-858-4967
wcook@brownconnery.com
Labor and Employment / Litigation / Government Litigation
William F. Cook is a partner with the firm. He concentrates his practice in civil trial and appellate litigation in various areas, including civil rights and discrimination, public entity liability, insurance coverage, commercial litigation, and employment-related claims. He represents public entity and private clients, including municipal and county governments, public officials, police departments, police officers, political subdivisions, and businesses. He has litigated and tried cases involving civil rights claims, as well as cases involving wrongful death and catastrophic injury.
Mr. Cook regularly advises public entities and officials in handling various personnel matters. He has conducted public entity internal investigations and training, and has further served as lead negotiator for collective bargaining. He has also handled arbitrations and administrative trials on a variety of claims facing public entities.
Mr. Cook frequently serves as a speaker on various areas, including civil litigation and trials, federal litigation, pretrial preparation, and employment matters.
From 2008 to 2014, Mr. Cook served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers-Camden Law School teaching the “New Jersey Practice” course. The course covered all aspects of civil and appellate practice in the New Jersey court system. From 2011 to 2016, he organized and served as a regular speaker for “New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation” seminars for new attorneys.
From 2010 to 2019, Mr. Cook served as an appointed member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Committee. During that time, he served a two-year term as the Chair of the Inadvertent Disclosures Subcommittee coordinating and drafting amendments to N.J.R.E. 530 as to the conditions of privilege waiver, thus leading to significant changes regarding how electronic discovery is conducted in New Jersey. Mr. Cook also served a two-year term as the Chair of the Government Records Subcommittee, addressing the interplay between New Jersey’s hearsay exceptions for business records and government records.
With the Camden County Bar Association, Mr. Cook has served as co-chair of the Civil Practice Committee, as co-chair of the Employment Law Committee, and chair of the Public Education Committee. He produced and appeared on the Bar Association’s weekly television program, “Legally Speaking.” He has also served as a Trustee of the Association.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Cook served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Michael Patrick King, Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. From 2003-2004, Mr. Cook served as a Deputy Attorney General for the Education Section of the Division of Law of the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety.
Mr. Cook was admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2003. He is also admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Cook is a member of the American and the New Jersey Bar Associations.
Mr. Cook graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science. He earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003.
*Martindale-Hubbell Notable® Rating – This award is conferred by Martindale-Hubbell. A description of the selection methodology can be found at https://www.martindale.com/ratings-and-reviews/. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.education
University of Pennsylvania (B.A, summa cum laude, 2000)
University of Pennsylvania School of Law (J.D., 2003)
admissions
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
professional affiliations
American Bar Association
New Jersey Bar Association
recognition
Martindale-Hubbell Notable® Rating*
University of Pennsylvania, Phi Beta Kappa (2000)
publications
“Proportionality? Say What? Understanding The 2015 Federal Rule Changes,” Susan M. Leming and William F. Cook, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, Federal Practice Issue, 295-AUG N.J. Law. 56 (August 2015).
“Civil Practice Update,” Camden County Barrister (January 2014, February 2014, March 2014).
“EEOC Filing Requirements in Disparate Impact Cases,” New Jersey Law Journal Employment Quarterly (2010).
“New Jersey Supreme Court Issues Key Ruling on Retaliation Claims Under the Law Against Discrimination,” Brown & Connery Labor and Employment News (2007).
“The New Jersey Division of Civil Rights – An Overview,” Brown & Connery Labor and Employment News (2007).
“Happy New Year in May? Employers Can Be Liable for End-of-Year Bonuses Even Where Terminated Employee Does Not Remain Employed At Year’s End,” Brown & Connery Labor and Employment News (2006).
“The New Jersey Bill of Rights and a ‘Similarity Factors’ Analysis,” 34 Rutgers L.J. 1125 (2003)
“From Barrister to Jurist: Judge King on Insurance Law, Evidence, and Advocacy,” 35 Rutgers L.J. LI (2004).
speaking engagements
“Civil Practice Update,” Camden County Bard Association (2021)
NJICLE, 2019-2020 Civil Practice Update (2020)
“Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 502, eDiscovery and Attorney-Client Privilege: What You Need to Know in 2017 Live Webcast,” The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series (2017)
“Understanding Psychological Fitness-For-Duty Evaluations,” Camden County Bar Association Lunch & Learn (2017)
“Civil Practice Update,” Camden County Bar Association (2016)
“New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” Camden County Bar Association “CLE on Tap” (2016)
“Advanced Employment Law – Preparing for Electronic Discovery in Litigation,” National Business Institute Seminar (2016)
“Advanced Employment Law – Recent Developments in State and Federal Employment Law,” National Business Institute Seminar (2016)
“Civil Practice Update,” Camden County Bar Association Seminar (2015)
“New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” Camden County Bar Association (2015)
“Human Resources Law from Start to Finish – Controlling Unemployment Costs,” National Business Institute Seminar (2015)
“Human Resources Law from Start to Finish – Other Employment Laws You Need to Know,” National Business Institute Seminar (2015)
“The Proposed Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure,” District Court for the District of New Jersey, Trenton Vicinage (2015)
“Civil Practice Update,” Camden County Bar Association Seminar, (2015)
“New Proposed Federal Rules That are Currently Under Review,” National Business Institute Seminar (2014)
“The Proposed Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure,” District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage (2014)
“New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” Camden County Bar Association (2014)
“Civil Practice Update,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2013)
“New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2013)
“Civil Practice Update,” Camden County Bar Association (2013)
“New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2012)
“Civil Practice Update,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2011)
“New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” Camden County Bar Association (2011)
“Civil Practice Update,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2010)
“Employment Law Update Seminar,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2010)
“Civil Practice Update,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2009)
“Civil Practice Update,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2007)
“Legally Speaking,” Producer, Television Program, Camden County Bar Association (2007-2009)
“Understanding Disabilities,” Legally Speaking Television Program (2009)
“Alternative Dispute Resolution,” Legally Speaking Television Program (2009)
“Understanding Attorney Ethics,” Legally Speaking Television Program (2009)
“What Do Lawyers Do?” Legally Speaking Television Program (2007)
“Jury Selection and Perceptions,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association (2007)
“Succeeding in Federal Court: The Masters on the Federal Rules, Local Rules, Civil Case Management and Discovery,” Moderator, Camden County Bar Association Seminar (2006)
