Joseph A. Hayden, Jr. Ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners in its 2025 USA Guide
Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. is proud to announce that Joseph A. Hayden, Jr., co-chair of the firm’s Criminal Defense and Investigations practice groups, has once again been ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners in its 2025 USA Guide. This ranking marks 23 years that Hayden has been ranked by Chambers and Partners in New Jersey.
“Joe is often described as one of the deans of the New Jersey criminal defense bar, and with good reason,” said Aidan P. O’Connor, co-chair of the firm’s Criminal Defense and Investigations practices. “His 23 years of Chambers’ rankings and his Band 1 ranking are a testament to his ability to quickly analyze and forcefully represent and defend his clients across a wide range of circumstances.”
Hayden began his legal career as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and was then appointed deputy attorney general in the Organized Crime and Special Prosecution Section of the Division of Criminal Justice. As deputy attorney general, he tried the first wiretap case brought by the state of New Jersey. An esteemed member of the criminal defense bar, Hayden was the founder and first president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (ACDLNJ), in 1985.
Hayden has received numerous accolades and honors for his excellence in trial work. He received the 2020 Daniel J. O'Hern Award by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law, the Lawrence A. Whipple Award for Professional Excellence from the ACDLNJ, and, in 2011, received the Rutgers University School of Law-Newark’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2004, Hayden was named Professional Lawyer of the Year in the area of Criminal Law by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law. He is also the recipient of the Trial Bar Award for Professional Excellence from the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, an organization of civil litigators. In 2014, Hayden received the coveted Justice William J. Brennan Award from the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, in recognition of his contributions to the profession. Most recently, Hayden received the Medal of St. Benedict’s, the highest honor bestowed by St. Benedict’s Preparatory School.
Although criminal defense is a significant part of Hayden’s practice, he has also been substantially involved in complex civil litigation in state and federal courts, serving as either trial counsel or local counsel. In Hayden's view, a trial is a trial – whether it involves a civil or criminal matter. While he relishes his work on complex, high-profile trials, Hayden has said that some of his most significant outcomes were those in which a client was being investigated for wrongdoing but, thanks to his representation, was never charged or civil litigation was never brought.
Hayden frequently tries cases that attract national and regional media coverage. He tried the first case in New Jersey with live television coverage by a major network and has tried four other cases with live TV cameras in the courtroom. He has been involved in such high-profile cases as the trial of a former professional basketball star and represented a former Bergen County Democratic Chairman in a federal prosecution. In addition, Hayden and the firm were appointed special counsel to the General Assembly in connection with the Legislative Select Oversight Committee, which conducted an extensive investigation of the hiring practices of the transition and office of Governor Philip Murphy arising out of allegations of sexual assault during the campaign.
A lecturer to the bench and bar on the topic of advocacy and trial techniques in high-profile cases, Hayden is often asked to provide analysis of legal issues in print, online and broadcast media nationwide. He serves as a trustee for the New Jersey Reentry Services Commission, which provides support services for incarcerated persons, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Integrity House, a prominent New Jersey addiction and mental health treatment facility based in Newark, New Jersey. Hayden was profiled on PolitickerNJ.com for his involvement from the 1960s to the present in the civil rights movement and the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965.
Pashman Stein is a full-service law firm of over 85 attorneys with offices in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. With many attorneys hailing from large, international law firms, clients turn to Pashman Stein for its top-notch legal services at a more cost-effective rate structure than AmLaw firms.
Learn more about Joe Hayden here.
The Chambers USA guide is published by Chambers & Partners. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.