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The basics:

• Former Department of Environmental Protection commissioner joins Greenberg Traurig
• LaTourette named shareholder in Florham Park office
• Led NJDEP from 2021 to 2026 overseeing 3,400 staff
• Will focus on environmental litigation and compliance in new position

Greenberg Traurig LLP is expanding its environmental practice with the addition of former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.

According to the New York City-based global law firm, LaTourette has joined the as a shareholder in the Florham Park office.

LaTourette served as NJDEP commissioner from 2021 to 2026. As head of the state environmental and natural resource management agency, he oversaw a staff of 3,400 employees and enacted regulatory reforms related to emerging environmental, health and safety issues. He is also credited with leading successful enforcement and litigation strategies that recovered more than $3.5 billion in remediation funding and natural resource damages.

LaTourette’s background includes three years as chief legal and regulatory affairs counsel at the NJDEP.

Before his government service, LaTourette worked in environmental law practices at several firms, including Lieberman & Blecher PC, Latham & Watkins and what is now FBT Gibbons LLP.

At Greenberg Traurig, LaTourette will represent clients in environmental investigations, civil enforcement actions and litigation at the state and federal levels. He also will provide strategic, legal and policy counsel to clients navigating regulatory changes, internal environmental affairs and commercial transactions with significant environmental considerations, the firm said.

‘The right home’

Commenting on his new role, LaTourette said, “Greenberg Traurig’s national platform and the depth of its existing environmental capabilities make it the right home from which to build a practice with genuine local roots and national reach; one that can service clients facing very complex and consequential environmental challenges across growth industries and legacy liabilities alike.

“I am excited to begin this next chapter of my career alongside the accomplished lawyers of Greenberg Traurig’s New Jersey office and to contribute to the firm’s growing global Environmental Practice,” he added.

Environmental practice co-Chair Steven Russo shared, “New Jersey has long been where environmental law is made, and Shawn has been at the center of that for years, both in shaping policy and in enforcing it. His combination of regulatory leadership, litigation experience, and national relationships will strengthen our Environmental Practice in ways that benefit clients far beyond the region.”

New Jersey has long been where environmental law is made, and Shawn has been at the center of that for years…
– Steven Russo, environmental practice co-chair, Greenberg Traurig

‘Defining moment’

Greenberg Traurig global litigation group co-Chair and Florham Park office founding Chair Phillip Sellinger described LaTourette’s arrival as a “defining moment” for the firm.

He also said it “reflects our continued commitment to building a practice that matches the depth and ambition of what our clients require.”

The two worked together closely on a joint federal and state water quality investigation while Sellinger was serving as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Sellinger stepped down in January 2025 ahead of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. He rejoined Greenberg Traurig a month later. Before being tapped as New Jersey’s top federal enforcement officer in 2021, he spent nearly two decades at the firm.

LaTourette left the NJDEP in January as the Murphy administration prepared for the cabinet turnover that comes with a change in state leadership. He was succeeded by Gov. Mikie Sherill’s pick, Ed Potosnak.