Lowenstein Sandler LLP announced today that Christopher Porrino, most recently New Jersey's 60th Attorney General, will rejoin the firm as Chair of the Litigation Department. Porrino previously served as department co-chair with an active civil and criminal trial practice before being nominated and unanimously confirmed as Attorney General in 2016. In addition to his time as the state's Chief Law Enforcement Officer and at Lowenstein, Porrino previously served as Chief Counsel to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and as Director of the Division of Law, the 500 lawyer civil division of the state Attorney General's Office.
"Chris' tenure as Attorney General of New Jersey has been among the most productive in memory. He is deeply respected across the political spectrum as a prosecutor, problem solver, and negotiator, despite serving during otherwise tumultuous political times," said Lowenstein Chair and Managing Partner Gary M. Wingens. "He brings with him to the firm a strong national reputation, and we're excited for his impressive experience and leadership abilities to bolster our already thriving litigation practice."
During his term as Attorney General, Porrino indicted and convicted the former mayor of New Jersey's third-largest city. He took action against individuals and local governments engaged in alleged anti-semitism and other forms of discrimination. Porrino notably pioneered the strictest opioid prescribing rules in the country – rules that paved the way for an almost 20 percent reduction in the number of opioid painkillers prescribed each month. Simultaneously, he also led groundbreaking civil and criminal enforcement actions against health care professionals who were behaving like drug dealers.
Porrino also oversaw the historic implementation of bail reform in New Jersey, a reform model that is now being replicated nationally. He worked to improve trust between police and the communities they serve, by implementing the first statewide community policing grant program, by requiring for the first time annual cultural awareness, implicit bias and de-escalation training for all police officers in NJ, and by providing education to communities through the SafeStop initiative headlined by Shaquille O'Neal. In the area of juvenile justice, he led the planned closure of a Civil War era youth prison known as Jamesburg, a reform considered to be one of the most significant in the history of New Jersey's juvenile justice system.
Before heading the Division of Law and later becoming Governor Christie's Chief Counsel, Porrino was Vice Chair of Lowenstein's Litigation Department from 2004 to 2012. In returning to Lowenstein, Porrino will lead the litigators at the 300 lawyer firm. In July 2017 the firm also announced that Anne Milgram, New Jersey's Attorney General from 1997 to 2001, was affiliating with the firm as a special counsel to its White Collar and Tech Group.
"Lowenstein's bench strength and national presence continue to grow, and the devotion and creativity of its lawyers are unparalleled in my experience." Porrino said. "Given that this is my third tour at Lowenstein, the high esteem in which I hold the firm's people and leadership should be clear. I am privileged to return to work with friends whose professionalism and talent I respect deeply."
Porrino will be joined by Peter Slocum, who currently holds the second highest ranking position in the Attorney General's Office as First Assistant Attorney General. Peter previously served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Division of Law and as Assistant Counsel to the Governor before returning to the Attorney General's Office in 2016 from Lowenstein's litigation department. He started his career as a law clerk for Justice Barry Albin of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
