Paul J. Fishman (born February 26, 1957) is an American attorney and former

United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey The U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. Since March 24, 2025, Alina Habba has served as acting U.S. attorney. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has jurisd ...

from 2009 to 2017.

Early life and education

Fishman was born on February 26, 1957, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. He grew up in River Edge,

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and attended

River Dell Regional High School River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, in the U.S. state ...

. After receiving his J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1982, he served as law clerk to Edward R. Becker, a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, from 1982 to 1983.

Career

In 1983, Fishman was admitted to the bar in the state of New Jersey and the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. gover ...

. That same year, he joined the office of the

as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, serving in that position until 1987. He served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division from 1987 to 1989 and as Chief of the Criminal Division from 1989 to 1991. He then served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1991 to 1994 under

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. ...

. Fishman joined the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

under

Janet Reno Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer and public official who served as the 78th United States Attorney General, United States attorney general from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. A member of ...

in 1994 as counsel to the deputy attorney general. He was named

associate deputy attorney general Associate deputy attorney general is a position in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice. The number of positions varies widely depending on the staffing discretion of the deputy attorney general, ...

in 1995, serving until 1997. In 1997, he became a partner at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. His clients included Carla Katz, the former president of the

Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 loc ...

who dated

New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

, and Encap Golf Holdings, a company that was contracted to build golf courses and homes on remediated

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

s in the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the Hackensack River, primary river flowing through it, is a general name for a large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to th ...

. Both of these clients were targets of investigations by the U.S. Attorney's Office. On June 4, 2009, Fishman was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to be U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He was sworn into office on October 14, 2009, along with his First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Gil Childers. Fishman succeeded Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, who had served after the resignation of

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

in December 2008 to run for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

. After he was fired by incoming Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017, he joined the faculty of

Seton Hall Law School Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey. The school confers three law degrees: Juris Doctor, Mas ...

as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow. Fishman is a registered Democrat and resides in Montclair. He is married with two children. He is also a board member of the

Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center is a museum on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, New Jersey. It serves to honor the career of Yogi Berra, who played for the New York Yankees and the New York Mets of Major League ...

in Little Falls.

Divorce kidnapping case

Fishman represented the U.S. government in its case against members of the

New York divorce coercion gang The New York divorce coercion gang was a Haredi JewishBandler, Jonathan; Lieberman, Steve (October 10, 2013"FBI Arrests N.Y. Rabbis in Jewish Divorce-gang Probe, ''USA Today''. group who kidnapped, and in some cases tortured, Jewish men in the N ...

Fort Lee lane closure scandal

Fishman led the investigation involving the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. The resulting indictment led to the guilty plea of David Weinstein as well as the trial of Bridget Ann Kelly and Bill Baroni. After a month long trial, Kelly and Baroni were both convicted of nine counts. On May 7, 2020, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the convictions of Kelly and Baroni.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishman, Paul J. 1957 births Harvard Law School alumni Living people New Jersey Democrats Lawyers from Montclair, New Jersey People from River Edge, New Jersey Princeton University alumni River Dell Regional High School alumni United States attorneys for the District of New Jersey United States Department of Justice lawyers Wasserstein Fellows

Early life and education

Career

Divorce kidnapping case

Fort Lee lane closure scandal

See also

References