The Essex County Bar Association (ECBA) will honor Parimal Garg, partner in Lowenstein's Business Litigation and White Collar Defense practice groups and former Chief Counsel to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, with its Walter A. Lucas Special Merit Award on May 5, 2025.
This award recognizes an attorney or organization whose significant contribution to the bar or the greater Essex County legal community exemplifies such special merit to be worthy of official recognition.
For over four years as Chief Counsel to Governor Murphy, Garg served as primary advisor on all legal matters, including civil litigation, legislation, executive orders, oversight of the state's independent authorities, judicial and prosecutorial appointments, and ethics and public records requests. He managed the selection and confirmation process for four current Justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court, over 160 new Superior Court judges, and 10 current county prosecutors, as well as the vetting and selection process of the Governor's high-profile appointments, including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Public Defender.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Garg personally drafted or oversaw all executive orders implementing mitigation measures to slow the spread of the virus and worked closely with the Attorney General's Office to defend all of those orders in court. He also facilitated a comprehensive and independent after-action review of New Jersey's response to the pandemic that remains the only one of its kind in the nation.
In 2024, Christopher Porrino, partner and Chair of Lowenstein Sandler's Litigation Department and former Attorney General of New Jersey, was recognized by the ECBA with its Samuel S. Saiber Professional Achievement Award. Partner Michael A. Kaplan was also recognized by the ECBA in 2023 with the Bernard A. Kuttner Pro Bono Service Award.
The Essex County Bar Association established its Achievement Awards to recognize those individuals or entities who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting integrity, professionalism, zealous advocacy, and the fair administration of justice in the Essex County legal community and the legal profession generally. Each year, the Essex County Bar Association selects honorees to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of its members and all attorneys who live and practice in Essex County.
The award will be presented at the Association's 2025 Annual Installation & Awards Reception to be held on May 5, 2025, at the Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, NJ.