Philip R. Sellinger

Philip R. Sellinger will join the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey as its Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the current four-year term. On October 27, 2021, President Joseph Biden announced the nomination of Attorney Philip Sellinger as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. The United States Senate subsequently confirmed this nomination through a Voice Vote on December 7, 2021. Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger was sworn in as the 62nd U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey on December 16, 2021. Taking over the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger succeeds former Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig, who served as a temporary replacement at the departure of former U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito on January 5, 2021.

Educational Background and Bar and Court Admissions

Top Federal Prosecutor Philip Sellinger is a respectable lawyer who earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, graduating Summa Cum Laude in June 1976. He then received his Juris Doctorate from the New York University School of Law in May 1979. Throughout his legal career, U.S. Attorney Sellinger has been granted admission into several state bars, including the New York State Bar Association in 1980, the New Jersey State Bar Association in 1983, and the State Bar of California in 2003. Without question, U.S. Attorney Sellinger has also been admitted to various courts to represent clients, including in the Supreme Court of the United States, since June 1985. Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger also has been granted permission to practice law in the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits since February 2013, May 2014, March 2005, December 2014, December 2020, and March 2015, respectively. He has also been admitted into the United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern District of New York in April and November of 1981; as well as in the United States District Court for the Central District of California since 2013 and in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado since May 2016.

Legal Career

Early Legal Career

During his initial years in law school, U.S. Attorney Sellinger took advantage of opportunities and served in several legal institutions. From June to August of 1977, he worked as an intern at the Department of Mental Health in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In June 1978, he was appointed as a Summer Associate at Jones Day Reavis & Pogue. The subsequent month, Top Federal Prosecutor Philip Sellinger became a part of the McCutchen Black Verleger & Shea, serving as a Summer Associate until August 1978.

Clerkship

Eventually, U.S. Attorney Sellinger moved on from private practice and focused on government service. From November 1979 through September 1980, Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger worked in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Anne E. Thompson. Undertaking administrative duties, U.S. Attorney Sellinger drafted bench memoranda and opinions to assist federal court Judge Thompson. He worked on various matters, predominantly in civil litigation, such as federal constitutional issues, federal statutes, federal jurisdiction, state law matters, and rules of procedure and evidence, and occasionally handling criminal cases.

Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine

In November 1980, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger returned to private practice and joined Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine as an Associate. His area of practice, at the time, heavily emphasized anti-trust litigation in federal courts around the United States, where he represented large corporate clients.

U.S. Attorney’s Office

The history of Top Federal Prosecutor Philip Sellinger in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey began in October 1981, when he was appointed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the office’s Criminal Division. Over three years, U.S. Attorney Sellinger handled various federal criminal cases as his practice area shifted again. The bulk of the cases he handled during these years involved international narcotics, in which he investigated and prosecuted the importation of large quantities of illegal drugs. Additionally, he has managed violations of United States federal law, including defiance of the Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, among other criminal statutes.

Sull Cummis Radin Tischman and Gross

Moving forward and into Sill Cummis Radin Tischman and Gross, U.S. Attorney Sellinger served as a Partner at the law firm beginning in October of 1984. Around the 1990s, he was promoted to the Co-Chair of the Litigation Department, Management Committee Member. Until October 2002, Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger continued to handle a wide range of litigation in state and federal courts, primarily in New Jersey. He worked on violations of civil securities, criminal, environmental, and mail fraud statutes and handled class actions and an array of common law theories. While working under the law firm, U.S. Attorney Sellinger handled clients from entrepreneurs to small businesses and mid-cap companies to large corporations. He also managed cases on behalf of the Sill Cummis Radin Tischman and Gross.

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

In October 2002, U.S. Attorney Sellinger founded the New Jersey Office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where he became a Shareholder. Eight years into his practice in the law firm, Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger was named as an Executive Committee Member. In 2013, he became Co-Chair of the office’s Global Litigation Department. For almost two decades, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger took charge of several various cases in federal and state courts, including, but not limited to, matters of federal constitutional issues, federal evidence and procedure rules, federal statutes, issues of federal jurisdiction, and issues arising under state statutes and common law. Specifically, U.S. Attorney Sellinger has dealt with charges involving the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Abuse, and Computer Fraud, among other issues. He has also taken on cases of the first amendment, due process, equal protection issues, federal diversity, the Class Action Fairness Act, multi-district litigation, and federal removal and remand.

Public Office and Political Activities

Between his legal career, from September to November 1980, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger worked in the Advance Team of the President Jimmy Carter Re-Election Committee. He has also had other public service opportunities, including being an unsuccessful candidate appointed as the Attorney General for NJ in 2017. U.S. Attorney Sellinger is also active in political activities, having attended the Democratic National Convention in 2008 as a Hillary Clinton Delegate, in 2012 as a Platform Committee Member, and in 2020 as a Joe Biden Delegate. He has also volunteered in several other Presidential campaigns, including the campaign of Fred Harris in 1976, George McGovern in 1972; Eugene McCarthy in 1968; and Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Pro Bono Legal Services and Most Significant Litigated Cases

Throughout his legal career, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger devoted a part of his time to pro bono legal services. He previously appeared as an Amicus Curiae in the United States Supreme Court, where he represented 29 individuals, all of whom were four or five-star generals. At that time, Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger also appeared on behalf of the U.S. Secretaries of Defense as they supported the Solomon Amendment. As a lawyer with years and years of experience, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger has also personally handled several notable cases, including an $8.6 billion lawsuit against Morgan Keegan, which was eventually dismissed as U.S. Attorney joined the case as co-lead trial counsel. In the past, U.S. Attorney Sellinger has led a team in the representation of Horizon Healthcare Services in the defense at trial of a $125 million lawsuit, alleging that the defendant breached network hospital agreements. Five weeks into the trial, the litigation was settled favorably. Top Federal Prosecutor Sellinger has also directed the strategy and handled the litigation case that prevailed before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Along with a litigation team, U.S. Attorney Sellinger represented Verizon Wireless in a case that initially sought more than $10 billion in damages. All claims against his clients were eventually dismissed.

Honors and Awards

Top Federal Prosecutor Philip R. Sellinger is an attorney with deep experience in public service and the private sector. During his legal career, he has earned many awards, including the Distinguished Legal Services Award from The Corporate Legal Times in 1990; and the New Jersey Trailblazer Award by The New Jersey Law Journal in 2019. He has also been duly recognized by a number of publications, such as being named in the Top 100 Lawyers in New Jersey by SuperLawyers in 2013; and National Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation in 2019.

Office Jurisdiction

Now the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger is responsible for supervising a staff of approximately 155 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 130 support personnel. The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has branches in Camden, Newark, and Trenton, all working to serve and protect the district’s residents. U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger is in charge of overseeing and representing the United States in all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation within New Jersey.

Contact Details

Full Name: Philip R. Sellinger
District/State: New Jersey
Public email ID: N/A

Newark Main Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
970 Broad Street,
7th Floor
Newark,
NJ 07102

(973) 645-2700
Main
(973) 645-2702
Fax
(973) 645-6227
TDD

(973) 645-2700
LECC
(973) 645-2893
VICTIM-WITNESS UNIT
(973) 645-2546
COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Camden Branch Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Camden Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
P.O. Box 2098
401 Market Street,
4th Floor
Camden,
NJ 08101

(856) 757-5026
Main
(856) 968-4917
Main
Fax
(856) 757-5416

Civil Division
Fax
(856)968-4983
TDD
(856) 757-5026
LECC
Trenton Branch Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
402 East State Street,
Room 430
Trenton, NJ 08608

(609) 989-2190
Main
(609) 989-2275
Fax

Public Affairs Office

(973) 645-2888
Main
USANJ.PublicAffairs@usdoj.gov
Email

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Updated: May 4, 2023