The New Jersey Senate unanimously confirmed former state Attorney General John Jay Hoffman to serve as a justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Following the Sept. 30 approval, Hoffman, 59, will succeed Justice Lee Solomon, who retired last month after reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age for judges, 70.

The current general counsel for Rutgers University, Hoffman marks Gov. Phil Murphy’ s fifth pick for the top court’s seven justices — the most since Gov. Christine Todd Whitman in the 1990s.

In a statement, Murphy said he was “incredibly pleased” that Hoffman won bipartisan support for the role.

“As demonstrated by his unanimous confirmation today, John has earned universal respect on both sides of the aisle for his honesty, integrity, and intellect,” the Democratic governor said.

“Throughout his remarkable career, John has held a number of high-ranking positions at the federal and state levels, including serving as the Acting Attorney General of New Jersey for nearly three years. The addition of Justice Hoffman to our state’s highest court will continue the tradition of partisan balance and once again demonstrate that the judicial confirmation process in New Jersey transcends partisan politics,” Murphy said.

He also thanked Senate President Nick Scutari, D-22nd District; Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, R-25th District; and Senate Judiciary Chairman Brian Stack, D-33rd District, as well as their colleagues, for backing the nomination.

“I know that Justice Hoffman will serve with distinction and bolster the New Jersey Supreme Court’s well-earned reputation as a national model,” Murphy said.

NJ’s longest acting AG

The vast majority of Hoffman’s career has been spent in public service at both the state and federal levels.

After two years as an associate at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP in Washington, D.C., he joined the Department of Justice in 1996 as a trial attorney in the civil division. Over the next eight years, Hoffman focused on breach of contract litigation involving the savings and loan industry. During that time, he argued five appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

In 2004, Hoffman became an assistant United States attorney for the District of New Jersey, focusing on both violent and white-collar crime. Six year later, he joined the New Jersey State Comptroller’s Office as director of investigations. At OSC, he led a division that investigated and reported on issues of local and state government fraud, abuse, waste and corruption.

Hoffman then went on to the Department of Law and Public Safety. He joined Attorney General Jeff Chiesa’s senior staff, assuming the role of executive assistant attorney general.

In 2013, Gov. Chris Christie selected Hoffman to succeed Chiesa as the state’s chief law enforcement officer. He held the post for three years, making him the longest acting attorney general in state history.

During his tenure, Hoffman launched an initiative to provide police officers with Narcan, an opiate antidote, and pushed for a prescription monitoring program. He also pushed to increase the number of body-worn cameras by police officers.

In 2016, Rutgers University appointed him general counsel, where he serves as chief legal officer for the state’s flagship university. His job includes advising governing boards and university leadership on a variety of legal, policy, and business issues, including litigation, internal investigations and transactions.