Justice Walter F. Timpone (Ret.) is Senior Counsel with Calcagni & Kanefsky.  A former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice, Federal prosecutor, and private practice litigator, Justice Timpone is the consummate attorney.  He brings his extensive experience to bear on internal and government investigations, corporate compliance and governance, complex regulatory concerns, crisis management, white collar criminal defense, and arbitration and mediation.

Justice Timpone joined CK directly from the New Jersey Supreme Court.  Before being sworn in as an Associate Justice, he was a partner at a preeminent national law firm.  Justice Timpone also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Newark for over a decade, becoming Chief of Special Prosecutions and leading the Office’s investigations and prosecutions of corruption and fraud against the public.

Justice Timpone served as the first Federal Election Monitor in Passaic County with one of CK’s founding partners, Thomas R. Calcagni.  They were charged with ensuring the voting rights of the County’s Hispanic citizens and the County’s compliance with Federal and State consent orders.

A seasoned trial attorney and accomplished jurist, Justice Timpone has wide-ranging experience benefitting clients in varied industries facing high-stakes matters.

Before joining Calcagni & Kanefsky, Justice Timpone served on the Supreme Court of New Jersey.  He was nominated to the State’s highest court by New Jersey Governor Christopher J. Christie and sworn in as an Associate Justice in 2016.  He  served until his retirement from the Court in 2020.

During his time on the Supreme Court, Justice Timpone wrote 30 majority opinions, several in high profile, often-cited cases.  In one case between the City of Hoboken and Shipyard Associates, Timpone, writing for the majority, found that the city did not have a right to change zoning ordinances after a development project was approved.

In another high-profile case involving police brutality, Justice Timpone led the court in upholding a guilty verdict against Orlando Trinidad, a Bloomfield police officer who was caught on video beating a black man during a police stop.

In a dissenting opinion in State v. Michael Ross II, Justice Timpone wrote that a trial judge’s extensive cross examination of witnesses “crossed that fine line that separates advocacy from impartiality.”

Before serving on the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Justice Timpone was a litigation partner at a preeminent national law firm.  There he successfully negotiated Deferred Prosecution Agreements for public and private healthcare organizations.  During private practice, he also served as Associate General Executive Board Attorney for an international labor union and Acting General Counsel for a major New Jersey hospital.

Justice Timpone served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey for eleven years.  While with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was elevated to Chief of Special Prosecutions, leading the Office’s investigations and prosecutions of corruption and fraud against the public.

He served as Commissioner on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, where he employed his experience in campaign finance regulations and laws.

Justice Timpone began his legal career as a judicial clerk for the late United States District Judge Vincent P. Biunno in the District of New Jersey.

• Appointed by the United States Department of Justice and the New Jersey Attorney General to serve as the Election Monitor for Passaic County, New Jersey, overseeing County compliance with Federal and State consent orders aimed at eliminating past racially-discriminatory election practices and protecting voter access for the County’s Hispanic citizens.
• Successfully negotiated Deferred Prosecution Agreements for public and private healthcare organizations.
• Served as Associate General Executive Board Attorney for an international labor union, rooting out organized crime and investigating, charging, and taking to hearing union members for violations of the union’s constitution and ethics procedures.
• Represented a variety of labor union trusts and committees.
• Served as ombudsman to the United States Department of Defense, overseeing a Defense Department contractor who entered a guilty plea concerning failed parts prepared for inclusion in Patriot missiles.
• Served as Acting General Counsel for a New Jersey medical school, negotiating the deferred prosecution agreement for the then-troubled institution and working with the federal monitor to correct the school’s deficiencies in practices and procedures.
• Conducted numerous, sensitive internal investigations and compliance reviews for various corporations, public institutions, and nonprofits.

In addition to a storied career as a public servant with the Supreme Court of New Jersey and the United States Attorney’s Office, Justice Timpone served as the first Federal and State Election Monitor in Passaic County, where he was charged with ensuring the voting rights of the County’s Hispanic citizens.  He also served as Commissioner on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission from 2010 to 2016.

Justice Timpone served, at the appointment of New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer, on the panel charged by New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman with investigating problems surrounding the Department of Motor Vehicles Inspection Program.

The United States Department of Defense appointed Justice Timpone as ombudsman overseeing a Defense Department contractor who entered a guilty plea concerning failed parts prepared for inclusion in Patriot missiles.