Former federal district court chief judge Linares to join McCarter & English

Gabrielle Saulsbery//May 17, 2019//

Listen to this article

The Honorable Jose Linares, former chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, will join McCarter & English LLP in Newark on May 22.

Linares joins the firm as partner and lead the alternative dispute resolution practice. He has extensive experience in matters of intellectual property, with a specialty in complex patent cases.

He worked in private practice for two decades before being elected to the bench in 2002 by President George W. Bush. He was the first Cuban-born federal judge in the nation and the first Hispanic federal chief judge in New Jersey.

He served as chief judge from 2017 and 2019. His term ended May 16.

In the past six years, Linares has presided over more than 50 patent cases, many involving high-stakes disputes between generic and name brand drug companies. Under his leadership, the District Court of New Jersey outpaced all other federal district courts in affirmances on Abbreviated New Drug Application cases at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Judge Linares is also adjunct professor at Seton Hall School of Law.