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Lawrence S. Lustberg
Partner
Newark, NJ
Partner
Newark, NJ
Larry Co-Chairs the firm’s White Collar & Investigations Group and is a longtime Director of the firm’s John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest & Constitutional Law, which litigates historic, cutting-edge civil rights and civil liberties cases. Prior to joining the firm in 1990 as its first Gibbons Fellow, he served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey for five years; he previously served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable H. Lee Sarokin, United States District Judge.
Larry is the former president of both the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey and Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, each of which has awarded him its highest honor—the William J. Brennan, Jr. Award and Honorable Lawrence A. Whipple Memorial Award, respectively; he has also been awarded the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Medal of Honor, also its most prestigious award. Larry has served on, and chaired, numerous court, government and bar association committees (including that he was C-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Litigation Committee), as well as non-profit and philanthropic boards. He has been a member of the faculties of Seton Hall, Rutgers, and New York University Law Schools.
Larry is a recognized authority in constitutional and criminal law and procedure, responsible for many seminal federal and state court decisions in a broad range of cases, and is a Fellow of both the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is also a Lifetime Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
In addition to the recognitions described above, Larry is the recipient of numerous honors from organizations such as the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey New, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Legal Services of New Jersey, Garden State Equality, Partners for Women and Justice, and the Essex County Bar Association, among others. He was selected “Lawyer of the Year” for 2013 by the New Jersey Law Journal, in recognition of his work in winning the right to marriage for same-sex couples in New Jersey; he was also among the first New Jersey lawyers to receive the Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has long been included on lists published by Best Lawyers® in the White Collar category, including its “Lawyers of the Year” lists in 2013, and by Super Lawyers, which also regularly includes him in its “Top 10 Lawyers in New Jersey” list; many years, he is recognized as the #1 lawyer in New Jersey. Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has referred to Larry as one of the “leading individuals in the area of White Collar Crime & Government Investigations,” writing that “he is noted for his first-class white collar practice which includes defending against allegations of tax and pension fraud, and political corruption.”
Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude
Harvard University, B.A., magna cum laude,
Stockholm University Graduate School of International Studies (Sweden), Rector’s Degree
Honorable H. Lee Sarokin, United States District Judge
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Included on the NJBIZ “Law Power” list, 2025
Included on the Benchmark Litigation “Litigation Stars” list, White Collar & Investigations
Selected, Powerful Ally of the Year, Building One New Jersey, 2023
Included on the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business list, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
Recognized by Best Lawyers®, 2026 Edition: Appellate Practice; Criminal Defense: White-Collar; Bet-the-Company Litigation
Recognized by Best Lawyers®: “Lawyer of the Year,” Criminal Defense: White-Collar in Newark, NJ (2014 and 2025 Edition)
Recognized by Best Lawyers ®: “Lawyer of the Year,” Appellate Practice in Newark, NJ (2010 Edition)
Included on the New Jersey Super Lawyers lists, Criminal Defense: White Collar; Top 10 Attorneys in New Jersey (Ranked #1, 2023, 2024, 2025); Top 100 Attorneys in New Jersey
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Included on the Martindale-Hubbell “Preeminent” list
Recipient. New Jersey State Bar Foundation “Medal of Honor” Award, 2023
Recipient, NJBIZ Icon Award, 2022
Recipient, New Jersey Senate President’s Award for Outstanding Service, 2022
Recipient, Daniel L. Golden Lifetime Achievement Award, Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, 2021
Recipient, Torch of Liberty Award, Anti-Defamation League, 2017
Recipient, Alan V. and Amy Lowenstein Social Justice Award, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, 2016
Recipient, New Jersey Law Journal “Lifetime Achievement Award,” 2015
Recipient, William J. Brennan, Jr. Award, Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, 2015
Included on the inaugural “100+ Club” list, The Star Ledger Inside NJ
Selected New Jersey “Lawyer of the Year,” New Jersey Law Journal, 2013
Recipient, the Honorable Lawrence A. Whipple Memorial Award, Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, 2013
Recipient, Thurgood Marshall College Fund Award of Excellence, 2011
Recipient, Legal Services of New Jersey Debevoise-Eakeley Award, 2008
Inductee, Garden State Equality “Equality Hall of Fame,” 2008
Recipient, The Roger N. Baldwin Award from The American Civil Liberties Union, 2003
Recipient, Essex County Bar Association Outstanding Achievement Award, 1999
Recipient, Legal Services of New Jersey Outstanding Board Service Award, 1997
Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey
Trustee (2003-2006)
Officer (2006-2014)
President (2012-2013)
American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
American College of Trial Lawyers
Fellow (2007-present)
Member, New Jersey State Committee (2008-2015)
International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Fellow (2011-present)
New Jersey State Legislature Clean Slate Commission (2020-2022)
New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (April 2008-present)
Chairman, (2017-present)
Chairman, Subcommittee on Immigration (2010-2011)
New Jersey Reentry Services Commission
Co-Chair, (2019-present)
New Jersey Sentencing and Disposition Commission
Writer and Advisor (2019-present)
New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools
Board of Directors (2017-present)
New Jersey Attorney General Working Group on Establishing a Conviction Review Unit (2018-2019)
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Defense Attorney Advisory Committee (2009- 2017)
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
Board of Director (2007-2010)
New Jersey Commission on Government Efficiency and Reform
Member, Sentencing/Corrections Task Force
Chairman, Subcommittee on Corrections, Probation and Parole Practices (2007-2009)
Third Circuit Bar Association Steering Committee (2006-2008)
New Jersey Office of the Child Advocate
Member, Board of Advisors (2004-2007)
Governor’s Council on HIV/AIDS and Related Bloodborne Pathogens (2003-2011)
American Bar Association
Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (Life Fellow)
Co-Chair, Criminal Litigation Committee (2003-2006)
Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey (2003-2004)
Trustee
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Merit Selection Committee for the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey (1996-1997, 2000-2001, 2004-2005, 2017, 2021-2022)
Lawyers Advisory Committee (2008-2012, 2015-2019)
Chair, Committee to Review Reappointment of Federal Public Defender in the District of New Jersey (2000-2001, 2004-2005, 2017)
Task Force on Counsel for Indigent Litigants New Jersey Steering Committee (1998-1999)
Co-Chair, Task Force on Equal Treatment in the Courts Commission on Race and Ethnicity (1994-1997)
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Board of Directors (2001-2008)
New Jersey Law Journal
Member, Editorial Board (2001-2021)
Historical Society of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Member, (1999-present)
President (2008-present)
United States District Court, District of New Jersey
Criminal Justice Act Panel Selection and Management Committee (2002-present)
Lawyers Advisory Committee (1999-2005)
Merit Selection Committee for United States Magistrate Judge
Chairman (1998), Member (1998, 2002)
Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee (1994-1999)
Supreme Court of New Jersey
District Fee Arbitration Committee for Essex County (1993-1997)
Chair (1996-1997)
Vice Chair (1995-1996)
Common Cause New Jersey
Board of Directors (1999-2005)
Legal Services Foundation of Essex County
Board of Directors (1995-2020)
The Fund for New Jersey
Board of Directors (1997-2017, 2020-present)
Co-Chairman of the Board (2009-2015)
Essex – Newark Legal Services, Inc. (1987-1998)
President (1992-1998)
Education Law Center, Inc. (1994-2010)
Vice Chair (1995-2005)
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey
Trustee (1988-2002)
President (2001-2002)
Officer (1997-2002)
New Jersey Association on Corrections (1993-1996)
Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Inc. (1991-1993)
Advisory Board (1992-present)
New Jersey State Bar Association
Working Group on Jury Selection (2021-present)
Commission on Racial Equality in the Law (2020-present)
Blue Ribbon Commission on Unmet Legal Needs (2015-2016)
Amicus Committee (2013-2014)
Essex County Bar Association
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Harvard Law School Association of New Jersey
Chairman, Public Interest Fellowship Committee (1996-1998)
Harvard Fellowship in Public Interest Law (1983-1984)
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Trustee
Gibbons Law Alert blog (www.gibbonslawalert.com)
Editorial Board