Roseland, New Jersey - June 23, 2015 - New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie announced his plan to nominate Connell Foley partner Richard Badolato as the state’s Acting Commissioner of Banking and Insurance. The appointment will be effective August 1, 2015.
“I am ecstatic and humbled by Governor Christie’s appointment of me as Commissioner of Banking and Insurance,” said Mr. Badolato. “I have spent my entire legal career in the private sector representing clients in litigated matters. I’ve always had a desire to serve the public and I am most fortunate that the Governor has chosen me to serve the citizens of New Jersey in a position where my private practice experience gives me an understanding of many of the issues important to the public.”
“I have great respect for Governor Christie and thank him for his confidence and trust in my ability to serve him and my fellow New Jersey citizens,” Mr. Badolato added. “I pledge to give the same effort and energy to this new endeavor that I have given to the legal profession for these many years.”
Connell Foley’s managing partner Michael McBride said, “We are thrilled for Richie. This is recognition of both his character and his professional contributions to New Jersey. The public sector will benefit tremendously from his experience and perspective. He has been a true asset to this firm and our clients, and we wish him the best as he undertakes this endeavor.”
Richard Badolato’s legal career has been marked by nearly five decades of ongoing service not only to his clients but to the bar, the legal profession, and the executive and judicial branches of New Jersey state government. He served previously as President of the New Jersey State Bar Association.
Since 1982, Mr. Badolato has been a partner at Connell Foley LLP in Roseland, where he has amassed a remarkable record in civil litigation while earning numerous accolades for his service to the legal profession. Mr. Badolato is a certified trial lawyer who in 2013 received the Medal of Honor from the NJSBF, the highest award given by the organization. Earlier this year, he was selected by the New Jersey Law Journal as a winner of their first-ever “Lifetime Achievement Award,” as well as the Essex County Bar Association’s Samuel S. Saiber Professional Achievement Award.
Among his many appointments, Mr. Badolato is the former President of both the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and the Essex County Bar Association. In addition, he was a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, chairman of the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law and Chairman of JPAC. He also served on the National Conference of Bar Presidents Executive Committee.
Mr. Badolato currently serves as Chairman of the Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, is a member of the Supreme Court’s Committee on “E” Filing, and is a member of the New Jersey Commission on Ethics 20/20. He was previously on the Supreme Court’s Committee on Mandatory CLE and now serves on its Professional Responsibility Rules Committee. He is also a member of the CLE Advisory Board of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Badolato is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Legal Services of New Jersey and a member of the Board for Legal Services Foundation of Essex County.
Presently, Mr. Badolato is a member of Governor Christie’s Advisory Panel for New Jersey Judicial Appointments. He also served as State Chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been AV® rated by Martindale Hubbell since 1977 and selected for inclusion in “New Jersey Super Lawyers” since 2005.
Mr. Badolato is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and before the United States Supreme Court. He received his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University.
Mr. Badolato and his wife, Betty, reside in Verona, New Jersey. They have five children: Paul Ramée and his wife, Tracey; Tracey Badolato; Peter Ramée; Jill Badolato; and Art Ramée. They also have five grandchildren: Hunter, Abby, Owen, Caroline and Oliver.