Bruce D. Buechler of West Orange was one of 12 superior court judges confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate in March. Buechler, a partner at the Roseland law firm Lowenstein Sandler LLP, served as vice chair, Bankruptcy and Restructuring Department. He left his long-held position to join the New Jersey Superior Court Bench on April 6, where his assignment is to the Civil Division in Essex County.
After practicing law for 33 years, as a superior court judge Buechler will serve at the trial level. He will conduct trials and rule on various pre-trial motions. The cases will run the gamut from complex commercial litigation to breach of contract and personal injury lawsuits. While in the civil division, he will also handle malpractice cases, landlord-tenant disputes, civil rights and discrimination litigation. His position covers a broad jurisdiction where hundreds of different types of cases can come before him. Judges rotate among the civil, criminal and matrimonial divisions.
Buechler’s appointment, sponsored by former governor and current New Jersey State Senator Richard J. Codey, will run for seven years. At that time, he will be up for reappointment for another seven years when, if confirmed, the position will be permanent until the current mandatory retirement age of 70.
A lengthy process preceded the nomination. After being vetted by the county and state bar associations, Buechler submitted to a New Jersey State Police background check before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation. Confirmation by the full Senate followed with his appointment then signed by Governor Murphy.
A longtime resident of West Orange, Buechler held a seat on the Board of Trustees at Ahavas Achim B’nai Jacob and David (AABJ&D), where he also served as chair. He and his wife Debbie (Cashmere) Buechler joined the shul when they moved to town in 1989. Their three children graduated from Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (JKHA/RKYHS) in Livingston, where Debbie teaches art at RKYHS.
Over the years, raising three children in West Orange, Buechler, a graduate of Rutgers College and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, has been an active member of AABJ&D. He also held a position as a member of the West Orange Zoning Board of Adjustment from 1998-2018. During his tenure, he served as chairperson and vice chair. Buechler looks at becoming a judge as another way to give back to the community.
It has been quite an exciting time for Buechler, who met his first grandchild just before the Senate confirmation hearing. His son Aaron (JKHA ’12) made aliyah and is married to Nediva (Susman) from Teaneck. The young couple’s son Yonah (Yoni) Azariah was born on August 18, 2020, in Jerusalem. Due to the pandemic lockdown, Buechler and his wife, with other family members and friends, joined the bris via Zoom. They welcomed their grandson to their home with his parents on March 18 for a month-long visit.
On March 25, Aaron stated, “I want to wish incredible mazel tov to my father on having the New Jersey Senate confirm his nomination as a Superior Court judge this morning!…I am happy that it worked out and that I could be there in person cheering you on! May this well-deserved position enable you to help ensure justice always wins and continue giving of yourself to help better society!”
A chocolate gavel set was custom-made for Judge Buechler at Chocolate Works in Livingston, where his daughter Deena Buechler Bernstein (RKYHS ’09) is store manager. Deena and her husband Henry live in Teaneck.
Daughter Rachel Buechler (RKYHS ’06) lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and works as a nutritionist.
The Honorable Bruce D. Buechler, son of the late Elaine and Leonard Buechler, z”l, was raised in Rahway with his two brothers, Rabbi Howard of Dix Hills, New York, and Jeffrey of Beit Shemesh, Israel.
