Born on August 5, 1928, in New York City, New York, Goettel received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 1950. He received a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1955. He was a United States Coast Guard lieutenant from 1951 to 1953. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1955 to 1958. He was deputy chief of the United States Attorney General's Special Group on Organized Crime from 1958 to 1959. He was in private practice of law in New York City from 1959 to 1962. He was counsel for the New York Life Insurance Company from 1962 to 1968. He was in private practice of law in New York City from 1968 to 1969. He was associate general counsel for the Overmyer Company from 1969 to 1971.
