William P. Cunningham

A partner at Toms River, New Jersey-based Starkey, Starkey, Kelly, Kenneally, Cunningham, Turnbach & Yannone, William P. Cunningham has been certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a criminal trial attorney since 1981. Providing representation to clients throughout Ocean and Monmouth counties, his main areas of practice are criminal defense and education law. He devotes 90 percent of his practice to litigation.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey since 1975, Mr. Cunningham is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He served as an instructor on the Fairleigh Dickinson University Master's level program between 1998 and 2001. He is also a lecturer at the Ocean County Police Academy, a position he has held since 1977. Between 1977 and 1979, Mr. Cunningham was an instructor in criminal law at what was then known as Trenton State College.

Highly regarded by his fellow professionals, Mr. Cunningham has received an AV Preeminent* peer-review rating through Martindale-Hubbell and an "Excellent" peer-review rating through Avvo. He was named one of New Jersey's "Top Legal Minds" in 2012 by the Star-Ledger. The previous year, he was given the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law. In 2005, the Ocean County Bar Association presented Mr. Cunningham with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mr. Cunningham attended Seton Hall University where he majored in business and marketing and minored in mathematics, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1971. He then went on to attend Seton Hall University School of Law, where he was awarded his Juris Doctor in 1975. He is a member of a variety of legal organizations, including the Association of Government Attorneys in Capital Litigation and the Ocean County Bar Association, and the New Jersey State Bar Association.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.