It is with heartfelt sadness that Sterns & Weinroth mourns the loss of its founder and friend, Joel H. Sterns, who died on Monday, February 21, 2011. He was 76.

Joel established the firm across from the State House in Trenton in 1969 and guided the firm to the strong and vibrant force it is today. Under Joel's leadership and guidance, the firm has grown to a full service commercial firm. He was a strong and honest advocate for his clients, a formidable adversary and a recognized leader in the legal community.

It was not just Joel's talent and experience that made him a successful advocate and leader, but his interpersonal skills as well. Bill Bigham, managing director of the firm and Joel's partner for over thirty (30) years, put it this way. "Everybody loved Joel, he had a real warmth. You hear a lot about what a great lawyer he was, but there was so much more to him than that. Joel had this special skill of connecting with people and bringing them together." It was that ability that caused others to seek his advice, both in and outside the firm. His counsel was sought not just by colleagues and clients, but by judges, legislators and administrative agencies on a variety of matters from environmental law to banking and insurance to corporate and shareholder litigation.

While Joel was recognized as a leading practitioner in many areas of the law, he is perhaps best remembered for his representation of Resorts International, which in 1977 was seeking to become the first casino operator in New Jersey. Joel worked closely with the New Jersey Legislature and the office of Governor Brendan T. Byrne to shape the New Jersey Casino Control Act. Resorts became the first casino licensed in New Jersey, and opened its doors in 1978. Thereafter, under Joel's guidance, Sterns & Weinroth attorneys became recognized throughout the nation, in Canada and Europe as leading practitioners in the gaming industry. Joel also was the long-time legal counsel to New Jersey's Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association.

Joel was raised in Montclair, New Jersey, and graduated from Northwestern University in 1956. He received a master's degree from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs in 1958 and later a law degree from New York University. While a student at Princeton he was assigned as an intern to Governor Robert B. Meyner's 1957 campaign for re-election against magazine publisher Malcolm S. Forbes. He soon found favor among the Meyner advisers, and, on graduating from Princeton, was offered a position as executive assistant to Salvatore A. Bontempo, the State's Commissioner of Conservation and Economic Development. In 1960, Joel handled assignments with the campaigns of John F. Kennedy for President and Thorn Lord for U.S. Senate.

With Kennedy's victory—Lord lost to Clifford P. Case—Joel's career took him to Washington, D.C. where he served in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations as Assistant to the Director of the Alliance for Progress and Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Import Export Bank of the United States.

Returning to Trenton in 1965 to assist in the re-election campaign of Governor Richard J. Hughes, Joel was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the newly-formed Department of Community Affairs where he also served as Acting Commissioner. Joel served as chief legal counsel to Governor Hughes in 1968 and 1969, and enjoyed a close personal relationship with the former Governor and later Chief Justice, who joined the firm when he retired as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Joel was a former President of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys, an elected member of the American Law Institute, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Lawyers' Advisory Committee of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

Joel will always be remembered by his partners, associates and staff as a mentor and a friend. His career and reputation were larger than life, yet he was such a warm and caring man. He was the heart of Sterns & Weinroth and he will be greatly missed.

Joel is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Joanne Glickman Sterns; his daughters and sons-in-law Rachel and Brent Becker of Los Angeles and Leslie and Eric Johnson of West Tisbury, Massachusetts, a son David of Los Angeles, and his five grandchildren, Justin, Julia, Sydney, Jackson, and Phoebe.

Joel was buried in a private ceremony in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. A memorial service will be held on March 19, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. at the Princeton University Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in memory of Joel H. Sterns to a charity of donor's choice.