TRENTON
– Paula T. Dow was officially sworn
in as New Jersey’s 58th Attorney General
this afternoon at the Hughes Justice Complex.
Dow, of Maplewood, was administered the
oath of office by New Jersey Supreme Court
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner during a ceremony
attended by Governor Chris Christie, family
members and members of Dow’s staff.
Dow, the former Essex County Prosecutor
and one of the first Cabinet appointments
announced by Governor Chris Christie, had
been serving in the capacity of Acting Attorney
General since January 19.
Her
nomination as head of the Department of
Law and Public Safety was confirmed by unanimous
vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee on
February 8, and approved by the full Senate
in a vote yesterday.
“I
am confident that Paula Dow will be an outstanding
Attorney General for the citizens of New
Jersey,” said Governor Christie. “For
as long as I’ve known her, I have
been impressed with her skills, her candor,
her toughness as a prosecutor, and her ability
to get to the bottom of problems. She has
an excellent legal mind and is a strong
leader. We are fortunate to have someone
of Paula’s caliber to lead the vital
mission of the Department of Law and Public
Safety.”
“The
Attorney General leads a department with
many vital responsibilities – responsibilities
that are crucial to the safety and quality
of life of those who live, work and travel
in New Jersey,” said Dow. “I
am humbled by the faith Governor Christie
and the Senate have shown in my ability
to do the job. I look forward to working
with them – as well as our law enforcement
partners at every level – to protect
the public and carry out all aspects of
the department’s mission with a commitment
to even-handedness, efficiency and excellence.”
Dow
served as the Essex County Prosecutor from
October 2003. Her six-year tenure in Essex
County, the state’s largest and busiest
prosecutor’s office, was marked by
improved organization, the county’s
highest criminal conviction rate since 2000,
and a host of successful prosecutions that
took dangerous street gangs, drug-dealing
operations and other violent criminals off
the streets. Under Dow, the prosecutor’s
office apprehended and obtained indictments
against those responsible for the brutal
Newark school yard killings of 2007.
Prior to becoming Essex County Prosecutor,
Dow served for many years with the U.S.
Attorney’s office. From 1994 to 2003,
she worked in Newark in the U.S. Attorney’s
Office-District of New Jersey. There, she
served as Counsel to the U.S. Attorney and
in the Special Prosecutions Division, as
well as the Criminal Division. Dow also
worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Southern
District of New York from 1987 through 1994,
where she handled cases in the Civil Division.
Prior
to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
Dow worked from 1980 through 1987 as an
attorney for the Exxon Corporation in Texas,
New Jersey and New York. In that capacity
she advised clients on environmental and
labor matters.
Dow began her legal career with the firm
of Tomar, Parks, Seliger, Simonoff &
Adourian in Camden in 1978 as a summer associate.
She earned her B.A. from Franklin and Marshall
College in 1977, and her J.D. from the University
of Pennsylvania Law School in 1980. She
has been admitted to the Bars of New Jersey,
New York and Texas; United States Supreme
Court; Second and Fifth Circuit Courts of
Appeals; United States District Courts for
the Southern and Eastern Districts of New
York, District of New Jersey, and Northern
and Southern Districts of Texas. She is
a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association
and also a member of the Association of
Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey Inc.
### |