Richard
D. Catenacci has over forty years of
litigation experience in diverse
areas of the law specializing in
federal trial practice. He has had
more than 100 jury and bench trials
in the state and federal courts. Mr.
Catenacci is one of New Jersey’s
foremost appellate advocates, having
argued more than 200 appeals. He was
among the first lawyers to be
designated by The
Supreme Court of New Jersey, Board
of Trial Attorney Certification, as
a Certified Civil Trial Attorney.
Mr.
Catenacci was a Member of the Board
of Editors and Case Editor of the
Notre Dame Law Review.
Thereafter, he was a Judicial Law
Clerk to Honorable Robert Shaw,
United States District Judge,
District of New Jersey. Mr.
Catenacci served as an Assistant
United States Attorney from
1966-1968 when he joined the firm.
He was made a partner in 1972 and
has served the firm as a member of
the Executive Committee, a Managing
Partner and as Chairman.
Mr. Catenacci has served as a member
of the Board of Directors of the
Notre Dame Law Association for
almost 30 years heaving served in
various positions including
President.
For more than 30 years, he has been
an active member and has held
numerous leadership positions in the
American Bar Association having
chaired five different committees of
the Litigation Section. He also
served in various leadership roles
in the Federal Bar, New Jersey State
Bar, and Essex County Bar
Associations.
Additionally, Mr. Catenacci was one
of the first selected Best Lawyers
of America for Appellate Practice
and a long standing selection of
Best Lawyers for Business and
Commercial Litigation.
Represented Bethlehem Steel for more
than twenty-five years in a wide variety
of litigated matters ranging from
building collapses to alleged
underground pollution of municipal water
supply. Under Mr. Catenacci’s
supervision, the firm served as national
counsel for Bethlehem’s asbestos and
toxic tort cases;
•
Represented A&P suits over the
disposition of $400 million surplus in
pension trust;
•
Served as defense liaison counsel In
Re Corn Derivatives in antitrust
case involving allegations of national
price fixing conspiracy in the corn
derivatives industry with damages
alleged to be $700 million;
•
Represented Package Shop v. Anheuser
Bush antitrust, restraint of trade,
geographical beer distribution system;
•
Litigation Counsel for Chase Manhattan
Bank having successfully headed a team
of eight attorneys in litigation of more
than $200 million of Chase claims,
including a lengthy bench trial before a
Federal Judge;
•
Lead Counsel in the Global Landfill
cases (1,000 plaintiffs v. the
owner-operator and more than 50 other
defendants) where the initial demands of
settlement exceeded $100 million;
•
Represented IFA Insurance Co.,
supervising defense of more than 1,000
personal injury lawsuits over the past
25 years including all major jury
trials;
•
Represented NJM Insurance Co., in NJM
v. Comm., a dispute between the
entire automobile insurance industry and
the Commissioner of Insurance (State of
New Jersey) over the liability for
payment of a $141.3 billion deficit of
the MTF (a state run insurance
facility);
•
Represented Wakefern (Shop Rite) suit by
cooperative in Chancery to restrain
sales of five (Shop Rite) supermarkets
to its competitor (Pathmark) and enforce
the oral contract to sell Wakefern;
•
Anthony M. Geracitano and John B.
Carnett, III v. Microsoft Corp.,
Docket No. A-0646-05T1. Successful
defense of Microsoft against anti-trust
class actions;
•
Caspi, et al. v. MSN and Microsoft
Corporation, 323 N.J. Super. 118, 732 A. 2d 528
(1999). Successfully defended Microsoft
in class action suit;
•
In Buttitta v. Allied Signal, et al.,
represented the family of a man who died
of mesothelioma related to asbestos
exposure while working in an auto parts
warehouse while in college. The matter
was tried in Bergen County and resulted
in one of the largest asbestos verdicts
in New Jersey history, over $30M;
•
In The Matter of Estate of Cantor,
represented the daughter of a decedent
in a $100M+ estate litigation. The
matter was tried over 5 months in Morris
County.
Served as an Adjunct Professor for more
than ten years, Uniform Commercial Code
(Sales and Secured Transactions, Banking
and Commercial Paper), Seton Hall Law
School
•
Best Lawyers in America,
Business/Commercial Litigation
(2005-2009) and Appellate Practice
(2007-2009)
•
National Board of Directors, Notre Dame
Law Association (1980-2005)
•
National President, Notre Dame Law Association
(1999-2000)
•
President, Notre Dame Alumni Association of New
Jersey (1975-1979)
•
Life Fellow, American Bar Foundation
•
Master, John J. Gibbons American Inn of Court
(Intellectual Property Law)
•
District Representative: Executive Council,
Young Lawyers Division, American Bar Association
(ABA)(1976-1977)
•
Board of Fellows: Young Lawyers Division, ABA
(1986-2006)
•
Chair: Resource Development, Litigation Section,
ABA (1991-1994)
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Chair: Constitution-By-Laws, Litigation Sec tion,
ABA (1981-1985)
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Chair: Committee of Communications, Litigation
Section, ABA (1986-1989)
•
Chair: Task Force on Excessive Litigiousness,
Litigation Section, ABA (1988-1989)
•
Chair: Program Evaluation and Utilization,
Litigation Section, ABA (1988-1989)
•
Trustee: Essex County Bar Association
(1982-1985)
•
Member, Judicial Selection of the New Jersey
State Bar Association
•
Trustee: Young Lawyers Section, New Jersey State
Bar Association (1973-1976)
•
Vice President, Federal Bar Association
(1988-1992)
•
Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of New
Jersey from 1994 to 2000
Author, New Jersey: A Basic Legal
Guide for Foreign Business, Trade
Regulation, Chapter 7 (1991)
•
Author, “Hyperlexis or Hyperbole;
Subdividing the Landscape of Disputes
De-Fusing of the Litigation Explosion”,
Tex. Rev. of Lit., Vol. VIII, No. 3
(October,1989)
•
Author, “Sparks Revisited”,
Tort and Insurance Law Journal,
American Bar Association Vol. XXIII, No.
3 (Spring, 1988)
•
Richard D. Catenacci, Book Note, 41
Notre Dame L. 837 (1965-1966)
(reviewing Howard Felsher, The Press In
The Jury box (1966)
•
Richard D. Catenacci, Antitrust —
Section 1, Sherman Act — Tying
Arrangements,
39 Notre Dame L. 719 (1963-1964)
•
Richard D. Catenacci, Note, Federal
Criminal Procedure - Proposed Rules on
Notice of Alibi, Depositions, and
Pre-Trial Conference, Vol.
39, No. 1 of Notre Dame Lawyer (1963).
Notre Dame Lawyer is the predecessor
title to Notre Dame Law Review
