Governor Phil Murphy has announced the upcoming departure of his Chief Counsel, Parimal Garg, who will leave the administration next month to enter private practice. Governor Murphy praised Garg's contributions over the past eight years, stating, "Parimal Garg has been by my side for the last eight years, from the early days of my first campaign through nearly seven years in the Governor's Office." He highlighted Garg's role in advising on critical issues such as managing the pandemic and selecting Supreme Court Justices.
Garg expressed gratitude for his time working with Governor Murphy since 2016. "When I decided to work for Phil Murphy in 2016, I did it with a belief that regardless of his political odds, he was the right person to put New Jersey back on track," said Garg. He commended Murphy's leadership in addressing challenges like repairing state finances and protecting public health.
Serving as Chief Counsel since October 2020, Garg is noted as New Jersey's longest-serving Chief Counsel to a governor. Before this role, he was Deputy Chief Counsel from January 2018 and served as a senior policy advisor during Murphy's gubernatorial campaign starting in 2016.
Garg's legal background includes working as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and clerking for New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. He holds degrees from Georgetown University and Harvard Law School.
Originally from Lawrenceville and now residing in Montclair, Garg will leave his position in mid-November. The announcement of his successor is expected before his departure.
