His accomplishments have been celebrated with a wide array of accolades, including being listed on the top 100 lawyers in Pennsylvania and the top 100 trial lawyers in America
NORRISTOWN, PA, June 27, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — The Honorable Bruce L. Castor Jr. has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Castor has built a distinguished career as a lawyer, commissioner, and attorney over nearly 40 years. He is a lawyer at van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim, where he practices general civil litigation and occasional criminal defense. Before joining his current practice, Mr. Castor was in private and government practice for decades. He is noted for his deep knowledge of general civil litigation, grand juries, trial strategy and tactics, and civil or criminal investigations. Mr. Castor has had many high-profile cases, including leading the defense in the 2021 presidential impeachment trial. He prides himself on being more interested in the strategy of persuasion and the intellectual challenges of his job than in financial gain – enjoying the ”thinking” aspect of the work.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Castor pursued public service through several noteworthy positions. In 2016, he took on the role of Solicitor General and acting Attorney General of Pennsylvania during a tumultuous time in that office. Mr. Castor gained much of the experience he needed for his future roles while serving as Commissioner of Montgomery County, a role for which he won election twice serving from 2008 to 2016. He was also elected twice as District Attorney of Montgomery County, serving from 2000 to 2008, where he earned a national reputation for vigorously (and successfully) investigating and prosecuting homicide cases. Mr. Castor’s career in public service began in 1981, when he completed internships at the Philadelphia (PA), and Northampton County (PA) District Attorney’s Offices, and then the Montgomery County (PA) District Attorney’s Office before going on to become an assistant district attorney, special deputy attorney general for various counties, special assistant district attorney for various counties, deputy district attorney, first assistant district attorney and the district attorney beginning in 2000. Mr. Castor remained affiliated with the prosecution of criminal cases from 1981 through 2017, or 36 years.
Mr. Castor’s success across multiple fields was made possible through solid family, religious, fraternal, and academic foundations. He received a Bachelor of Arts in government and law, with minors (then called “concentrations”) in American History and international affairs from Lafayette College in 1983. It was during an extended break between semesters at Lafayette College that Mr. Castor was encouraged by his parents to begin an internship with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. That experience motivated him to earn a Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1986 with a prize in criminal law. Furthering his credentials, Mr. Castor attended the FBI National Academy and is a member of the bar in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania.
On top of his day-to-day duties, Mr. Castor engages with the legal world at large through membership in such organizations as the Montgomery Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and as a senior fellowship with the Litigation Counsel of America-a Trial Lawyer Honor Society where he is one of a handful of inductees as both a trial and appellate member. His accomplishments have been celebrated with a wide array of accolades, including being listed on the top 100 lawyers in Pennsylvania and the top 100 trial lawyers in America, being named to the National Academy of Jurisprudence, receiving the Trial Advocacy Award from the National Association of Government Attorneys, and being named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2005 to 2008 and 2011 to 2024. Mr. Castor was inducted into the Pennsylvania Police Hall of Fame in 2007, a rare honor for a prosecutor.
Beyond his professional life, Mr. Castor is committed to improving his community through civic engagement. He coached in the Harleysville Baseball youth community baseball organization and taught confirmation classes at the Abington Presbyterian Church where he grew up. Mr. Castor attributes his success to having the opportunity to grow his knowledge while working in the district attorney’s office and discovering how much he loved applying the skills he learned there. He also believes his experience in politics and government and understanding of how the system works from the inside have greatly improved his capabilities as an attorney.
Outside of his career, Mr. Castor finds joy in classic cars, antique firearms, golf, and riding horses. While in law school, he herded cattle, and considers himself a (now somewhat lapsed) expert horseman. Looking to the future, Mr. Castor hopes to fulfill one of the last professional ambitions he has yet to achieve: prosecuting war crimes in a tribunal at The Hague. When the opportunity presented itself twice before, Mr. Castor could not step away from his responsibilities in the DA’s Office. Now, however, he is prepared to move to Brussels should this opportunity arise, after which he would be ready to begin the process of retiring, at peace in the certainty that he has made a lasting impact on his professional field.
About Marquis Who’s Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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