Former First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsey Ruotolo has joined a Philadelphia-based law firm that boasts an award-winning State Attorneys General Group assembled to help clients navigate investigations and prosecutions.
“As their state’s chief legal officer, state attorneys general (AGs) wield broad authority to investigate and take action on virtually any subject and in any industry. With the increasing use of the office as a springboard for higher political ambitions, AGs across the country are continuing to grow in prominence, power, and influence,” the firm’s website states. “Any company that hires employees, makes or sells a product, offers a service, conducts marketing, or engages with consumers may be subject to scrutiny by an AG.”|
In the recent high-profile case, since dismissed, involving Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross III and others, defense attorneys alleged that state prosecutors were using the office to launch future campaigns for higher office.
The Cozen O’Connor State Attorneys General Group is run by former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and former two-term Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. Kilgore was the Republican nominee for governor in 2005 but lost to Tim Kaine by six points; McDaniel briefly ran for governor in 2014 but dropped out before the Democratic primary.
Ruotolo served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, as director of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice, and as Acting Union County Prosecutor before taking the number two post at the Department of Law and Public Safety in 2022. She is part of the Cozen O’Connor State Attorney General’s Group.
“Having served in a number of senior government positions, Lyndsay brings to our clients a sophisticated, first-hand understanding of how policy positions are formulated and enforced, as well as long-standing professional relationships within the New Jersey state government itself,” stated Geoffrey Ferrer, co-managing partner of Cozen O’Connor’s New York City office. “When an AG focuses attention on a client’s activities or business practices, and an investigation or lawsuit ensues, Lyndsay has the experience to develop and execute a vigorous defense. She’s an important hire.”
Ruotolo said she has “long admired Cozen O’Connor and its State Attorneys General group and I’m excited to begin the next chapter of my career here.”
“I’m looking forward to bringing the strategic and results-driven mindset I used to serve the people of New Jersey to work for our clients in helping them resolve difficult legal issues and move their businesses forward,” she said.
Ruotolo is the daughter of the late Andrew Ruotolo, who also served as a federal prosecutor and ran for the State Assembly before Gov. Jim Florio named him Union County Prosecutor in 1991. He died four years later at age 42 of esophageal cancer.
Ruotolo’s mother, Mary, was elected to the Union County Board of Freeholders in 1998 and re-elected in 2001. She did not seek re-election to a third term in 2004.
