Biography
Assemblyman Bill Essayli was elected in 2022 to represent the 63rd State Assembly District, which includes the whole cities of Norco, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, and Canyon Lake, as well as portions of the cities of Eastvale, Riverside, and Corona. Assemblyman Essayli is a former federal prosecutor and Riverside County Deputy District Attorney. Today, he is also a small business owner as partner at the estate planning law firm of Essayli & Brown LLP.
As an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, Assemblyman Essayli handled significant prosecutions, bringing justice to victims of violent and organized crime, identity theft, bank fraud, securities fraud, white-collar fraud, obstruction of justice, and a multitude of other matters. His duties included advising and coordinating with federal agents on active federal and multi-jurisdictional investigations, evaluating legal issues and filing criminal cases.
During his tenure at the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Essayli was entrusted with working on some of the nation’s most serious cases. One such case involved a terrorist attack in San Bernardino in 2015 that tragically led to the deaths of many American citizens. Mr. Essayli also tried a three-week jury trial of a prominent California doctor charged with more than 80 counts of unlawfully prescribing opiates, which unfortunately led to the deaths of over a dozen patients.
As foundation for his work at the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Essayli served with distinction as a local prosecutor at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. That office is one of the top prosecutorial offices in the nation, is the tenth largest in the U.S. and third largest in California. During his service as a prosecutor Mr. Essayli tried numerous jury trials successfully.
Before serving as a Deputy District Attorney, Bill was in private practice for two years at Paul Hastings LLP with a focus on employment law.
Bill has been a resident of Riverside County for three decades. After graduating from Centennial High School, Bill was the first in his family to graduate college. Bill received his undergraduate degree from the Kellogg Honors College of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He received his law degree from Chapman University School of Law.
As the son of Lebanese-American immigrants, Bill has been able to realize the American Dream.