Lyndsay V. Ruotolo

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Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General Group Lands New Jersey’s First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay V. Ruotolo

Ruotolo, who most recently served as first assistant attorney general for the state of New Jersey, the second highest ranking official in the state’s Department of Law and Public Safety, joins the group as member and will work out of Cozen O’Connor’s New York City office.

Lyndsay brings more than a decade of experience in public service as a county, state, and federal prosecutor, and governmental agency leader. Lyndsay’s practice focuses on assisting clients in responding to governmental investigations and enforcement actions, conducting independent monitorships, crisis management, as well as litigation strategy and trial advocacy in service to both corporate and individual clients.

Before joining the firm, Lyndsay served for four years as New Jersey’s first assistant attorney general, the second highest ranking law enforcement officer in the state, where she supervised criminal, administrative, and regulatory investigations; managed civil enforcement matters ranging from consumer protection litigation in the technology and financial services spaces to civil rights and voter protection issues; designed and drove policy initiatives for the AG, especially in the area of child safety and combatting sexual violence and human trafficking; oversaw operational security for sensitive spaces and high-profile events; and was the architect of innovative public-private partnerships across multiple disciplines at the intersection of public safety and public health. As second-in-command to the attorney general, she was often called upon to serve as acting attorney general and helped manage the 8,000 employees, $750 million annual operating budget, and 25 divisions and offices of the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, including, but not limited to the Divisions of Law, Administration, and Criminal Justice, the Office of Policing Strategy and Innovation, the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions, the Office of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance, and the Office of Alternative and Community Responses, as well as oversaw the police department in the state’s third largest city once it came under state control in 2023.

As First Assistant, Lyndsay was part of a small group of state and regional leaders who worked to develop and execute a whole-of-government strategy to combat the gun violence epidemic. The strategy she helped develop and execute involved innovative intelligence-led and technology-driven policing, the creation of a first-in-the-nation civil enforcement office within the Office of the AG dedicated to holding bad actors in the firearms industry accountable, working with members of the legislature and advocacy groups to make state laws and regulations more effective, and spearheading financial and infrastructure investments in community and hospital-based violence intervention organizations. These efforts led to a historic reduction in gun violence, 60% in four years. 

Prior to becoming First Assistant, Lyndsay was a criminal prosecutor. She served as the director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, the only statewide prosecutorial agency; as the AG-appointed county prosecutor in Union County, where she had previously served as an assistant prosecutor; and as an assistant United States attorney for the District of New Jersey.

In these roles, she oversaw and managed forensic laboratories and police academies and thus became familiar with navigating regulatory compliance in both scientific and academic spaces. As the head of multiple government agencies, she supervised thousands of investigations and trials, as well as managed employment and labor-related issues and negotiations for large, multi-discipline organizations. In addition to overseeing litigation, Lyndsay has personally handled thousands of cases in her career and tried numerous trials to verdict in federal and state court. She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a criminal trial attorney.

Lyndsay’s extensive prosecutorial and governmental experience is of significant benefit to clients navigating state policy and regulatory issues, as well as state AG investigations, not only in New York and New Jersey but across the country. She has been involved in a number of sensitive internal and administrative investigations — ranging from workplace conduct, internal affairs reviews, and compliance matters involving telework and workplace violence policies — and understands the many challenges for companies facing state investigation into their activities in these areas.

Prior to her career in public service Lyndsay worked as a commercial litigation associate for one of New Jersey’s largest litigation firms, and held supervisory positions at two national nonprofit organizations (an NGO and an arts organization) based in New York City, working in development. Lyndsay clerked for Judge Ellen L. Koblitz (retired) as the presiding judge of General Equity, and then as judge in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Lyndsay received her J.D., with honors, from New York Law School, where she served as executive editor of the New York Law School Law Review. She holds a BFA, with honors, in Drama from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

 

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News

Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General Group Lands New Jersey’s First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay V. Ruotolo

March 02, 2026

Ruotolo, who most recently served as first assistant attorney general for the state of New Jersey, the second highest ranking official in the state’s Department of Law and Public Safety, joins the group as member and will work out of Cozen O’Connor’s New York City office.

Education

  • New York Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2009
  • New York University, B.F.A., with honors, 2003

Awards & Honors

National Association of Attorneys General Senior Staff Award, 2025

New Jersey Law Journal, Women Lawyers of the Year, 2024

New Jersey LGBTQ+ Law Enforcement Liaisons, Laurel Hester Visionary Award, 2025

New Jersey Women in Law Enforcement, Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award, 2024

Italian American Police Society of New Jersey’s Public Service Achievement Award, 2021

Peace Islands Institute, Award for Public Service, 2021

Health and Wellness Coalition of Union County, Community Impact Award, 2019

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • U.S. District Court -- New Jersey
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Hon. Ellen L. Koblitz of the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division/Chancery Division