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With the inauguration of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill on January 20, 2026, her nominee to serve as Attorney General, Jennifer Davenport, assumed the office of Acting Attorney General of New Jersey. New Jersey is one of only seven states with an appointed AG. New Jersey's AG has wide-ranging criminal, civil, regulatory, and law enforcement powers.
As New Jersey's chief law enforcement officer, the Attorney General oversees over 42,000 state and local law enforcement officers and the 8,000 employees of the Department of Law and Public Safety. The Department's responsibilities touch upon nearly every aspect of life in New Jersey. Its sweeping responsibilities include investigating and prosecuting crimes, representing state interests in court, and enforcing strong consumer protection and civil rights statutes.
Davenport's confirmation has proceeded smoothly so far; she cleared Senate committee on February 2, 2026 and Senate confirmation is expected shortly.
Davenport has announced an impressive leadership team poised to carry out her many duties.
She named Katherine Calle to serve as First Assistant Attorney General. A former federal prosecutor and Harvard Law School graduate, Ms. Calle previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where she held senior leadership roles, including Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and supervised the Camden and Trenton Branch Offices.
AG Davenport named Eliza Lehner to serve as her Chief Counsel. Ms. Lehner clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan before entering private practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
Ms. Lehner will replace Sundeep Iyer, who will transition from Chief Counsel under the outgoing administration to AG Davenport's Executive Assistant Attorney General.
Davenport also appointed Martha Nye and Nicholas Kormann as Deputy First Assistant Attorneys General. Ms. Nye spent more than seven years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, most recently in the role of Attorney-in-Charge of the Trenton Branch Office, and previously as an Assistant Prosecutor at the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Mr. Kormann's background includes private practice at Day Pitney, followed by over a decade in the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender in Union County, first as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender and then as First Assistant Public Defender. He also served as Director of Investigations of Fatal Police Encounters with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
AG Davenport named James Haggerty her Chief of Staff. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Haggerty served as the New Jersey Attorney General's Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Policing Strategy and Innovation, and as Chief of Staff to the Officer in Charge of the Paterson Police Department.
Davenport has retained highly regarded Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum in that role. Mr. Feigenbaum spearheaded many of New Jersey's legal battles against the Trump Administration and received high marks and national acclaim for his U.S. Supreme Court argument defending birthright citizenship on behalf of several states.
These leadership appointments come at a pivotal moment, as AG Davenport has already initiated several high-profile legal actions. On February 3, 2026, 2026, AG Davenport joined a multistate antitrust lawsuit against global pharmaceutical companies, Novartis and Sandoz, alleging price-fixing of generic prescription drugs. The following day, her office joined the New York Attorney General in suing the federal government over the suspension of funding for the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project.
Looking ahead, additional legal clashes with the Trump Administration—particularly over ICE operations in New Jersey—appear likely. Governor Sherrill has also been very critical of ICE's current operations and plans to create a portal where people can upload videos of ICE operations in the state. During her confirmation hearings, Davenport testified that she would prosecute any ICE agents who violate state laws.
The Acting Attorney General has announced her priorities include protecting communities from gun violence; combating human trafficking; protecting the physical and mental health of children, including from threats online; promoting a robust affordability agenda; and protecting New Jersey residents from attacks on their pocketbooks and their rights coming out of Washington, DC.
The Duane Morris State Attorneys General group has deep experience with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office and Acting AG Davenport's team. We will periodically post on important developments and initiatives as they arise.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.
