Former Mendham Resident Named New Jersey Acting Attorney General

NEW JERSEY — Governor Phil Murphy’s Acting Attorney General pick for Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s seat, as he moves to his new post at the Division of Enforcement with the Securities and Exchange Commission is Andrew Bruck, a former Mendham resident.

Bruck, who has most recently served as First Assistant Attorney General in his more than three years with New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, is the first LGBTQ+ New Jersey resident to serve as Attorney General.

He will take Grewal's role for the rest of Murphy’s four-year-term once Grewal officially moves on to his position in the SEC on July 16, Murphy said Wednesday.

"I am pleased to announce that Andrew Bruck will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General and continue the office's mission of fighting for equal justice for everyone who calls our state home," Murphy said in a news release on Wednesday.

Bruck, his husband and their eight-month-old daughter presently live in Trenton.

“I thank Governor Murphy for the confidence that he has placed in me, and I am honored by the opportunity to continue the groundbreaking work of Attorney General Grewal,” Bruck said.

A New Jersey native, Bruck spent his early years growing up in Mendham and Montclair; and is a Delbarton alumni. He studied at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs between 2001 and 2005, then later graduated from Stanford Law School in 2008.

While at Stanford, Bruck was published in the Seton Hall Legislative Journal, writing about New Jersey’s need to focus on consolidating services.

He was law clerk to Chief Justice Stuart Rabner between 2008 and 2009, before becoming a litigation associate with Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP from November 2009 through April 2012.

During that time period in 2011, Bruck also co-authored the “Courage to Connect NJ Guidebook: The Tools For Municipal Consolidation in New Jersey.” Courage to Connect NJ is a non-partisan group that’s “dedicated to helping solve New Jersey’s property tax crisis,” according to its website.

Bruck penned accompanying editorials about municipal consolidation in 2011, focusing on Mendham Township and Borough, Chester Township and Borough and Washington Township; and consolidation discussions among the five separate municipalities.

Bruck then started with the United States Attorney’s Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey in Newark from April 2012 through March 2015.

He worked in Washington, D.C. at the Office of the Deputy Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice for just under two years, as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General between March 2015 and September 2016, before becoming the Deputy Chief of Staff and Associate Deputy Attorney General through January 2017.

Bruck came back to work in Newark at the District of New Jersey, United States Attorney’s Office in March 2017 as Assistant U.S. Attorney, before he started in Trenton with New Jersey’s Attorney General’s Office in January 2018, as Executive Assistant Attorney General. He became New Jersey’s First Assistant Attorney General in July 2020.

“Andrew is one of the sharpest legal minds and finest public servants that I have ever met,” Grewal said. “We entered office together on Jan. 16, 2018, and since that day he has worked tirelessly to stand up for the rights of New Jerseyans, having helped shape some of our office’s most important policies and respond to many of our state’s most complex legal challenges.”

“The people of New Jersey and the dedicated public servants in the Department of Law and Public Safety will be well-served by his leadership,” Grewal added.

“I share their commitment to protecting public safety, building public trust, and ensuring the rights of all New Jerseyans,” Bruck said. “I look forward to working with our Department's 7,700 extraordinary public servants to carry out our vital mission.”

Montana Samuels contributed reporting to this story.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com.