Michael Testa - charismatic and composed, with sharp instincts in the courtroom -- is widely regarded as an exceptional trial attorney and a longtime leader in the New Jersey trial bar. He and his veteran partner, Frank G. Basile, have one of the best established and best known trial-law practices in the region, which today has eight attorneys. Indeed, Testa lives up to what is a virtual legal brand name in Southern New Jersey; his father was for a decade a Superior Court Judge, and his brother Joseph - with whom Michael once practiced -- today serves on the bench as their father once did. Michael Testa says today "our father never told us to enter the law," but adds he was drawn to it from an early age. Even in law school, the young Testa was attracted to the rough-and-tumble of criminal trial work, and it was in those early years - particularly during a clerkship with Cumberland County Criminal Court Judge William Gallner - that Testa became experienced in challenging trial work. Naturally, the Testa name preceded him, serving as much to test his skills as he faced high expectations. "If I had a nickel for every time someone said, 'If you're half the lawyer your father is' ..." says Testa today, recalling when he took new cases as young attorney.