Chris Porrino

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The hits just keep coming for Porrino, a partner and chair of the Litigation department at Roseland’s Lowenstein Sandler. After rising to political prominence in the administration of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, he is building the practice using his government connections to land top-flight legal talent. In 2020, Gov. Phil Murphy’s chief counsel, Matt Platkin, joined the firm. Platkin has since returned to government as acting attorney general. But Porrino struck again, bringing in recently retired Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin.

Lowenstein sure looks like the place to be for powerful attorneys looking for a high-profile perch.

And Porrino continues to be the center of gravity at the firm – and in the statewide legal firmament. “There’s very little he is not involved with,” said one person close to Porrino. “He’s conflicted out of every issue in the state. He’s either on one side or the other.”

In fact, his ability to work across political affiliations has made him “the man to see” around here for a wide range of issues and sticky situations. Porrino served as attorney general, chief counsel and director of the division of law for Christie. But at Lowenstein, “he was engaged almost immediately to assist the Democratic Murphy Administration in its most difficult challenges and continues in that role today,” one insider notes.