Rebecca Ricigliano joined the Department in May 2014 as Special Projects Coordinator in the Division of Criminal Justice, after serving for nine years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. During her tenure at the United States Attorney’s Office, Ricigliano served as the Chief of the Narcotics Unit and as Senior Trial Counsel in the Public Corruption Unit.

As Special Projects Coordinator, Ricigliano worked with DCJ personnel to focus on the law enforcement response to the opioid epidemic, and oversaw the creation and staffing of the Prescription Fraud Investigations Strike Team.

In October 2014, Ricigliano joined the Attorney General’s leadership team as a Senior Advisor, continuing her work coordinating the Department’s response to the heroin and opioid epidemic. In July 2015, she was named the Attorney General’s Chief of Staff, and was named the First Assistant Attorney General in March 2016. As First Assistant Attorney General, Ricigliano provided strategic counsel and advice to various Divisions within the Department, including the Division of State Police, the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the Division of Consumer Affairs. Ricigliano also oversaw various affirmative civil enforcement actions for the Department.

“It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of New Jersey side by side with Rebecca,” said Attorney General Christopher Porrino. “Every single day, Rebecca has been a trusted and highly effective partner in our most challenging work on behalf of the people of the State of New Jersey. She impressed me over and over again with her uncommon passion, uncompromising resolve, and unparalleled legal acumen. I wish her the absolute best as she transitions into the private sector.”

Peter Slocum will fill the role of First Assistant Attorney General. Slocum first began working with the Department as a Deputy Attorney General in the Division of Law. There, Slocum worked directly with the Director of the Division and the Director’s leadership team on the top legal challenges facing the State, ranging from complex constitutional questions in federal court, to varied challenges to executive power, to legal issues arising after Superstorm Sandy, to a wide assortment of suits involving labor law, tort law, election law, condemnation, and mistaken imprisonment, among others. His work ran the gamut from serving as lead trial counsel to handling complex matters through the appellate process.

Slocum thereafter served as an Assistant Counsel to the Governor, where he oversaw legislative and regulatory affairs for the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Civil Service Commission, and the Division of Consumer Affairs. In that role Slocum also helped oversee all Open Public Records Act matters involving the Office of the Governor, and advised the Governor on wide-ranging issues of both state and federal law.

Slocum returned to the Department of Law & Public Safety in June 2016, where he has served as Counsel to the Attorney General since that time. Immediately prior to rejoining the Department, Slocum was an attorney in Lowenstein Sandler LLP’s national litigation department. There Slocum represented both public- and private-sector clients in state and federal court, with a focus on regulatory issues. Slocum’s work on behalf of clients included multi-district litigation, federal class actions, arbitrations, white collar criminal defense, business divorce, and novel issues of constitutional law. He also assisted clients with a wide array of regulatory and licensing issues, and conducted internal investigations.

“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Peter for years, and have come to rely on his brilliant lawyering as well as his sound advice and counsel,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Peter has demonstrated that he has a great legal mind, excellent judgment, and an ability to see through to the heart of even the most complex issues. Whether we are fighting the opioid epidemic, protecting individual civil rights, or providing counsel to each department in state government, I know that Peter will continue to enhance the ability of the Department to fulfill its multi-faceted mission.”

Residing in Morris County with his wife, Slocum received his law degree magna cum laude from Seton Hall Law School, after which he clerked for Justice Barry T. Albin on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Slocum also holds an accounting degree magna cum laude from the Rutgers Business School. In 2016 Slocum was recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as being one of the New Leaders of the Bar. Slocum is licensed in New Jersey and New York, and is admitted to appear before the District of New Jersey, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Southern District of New York, and the Eastern District of New York.

Deborah Edwards began her career with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office almost thirty years ago as a Deputy Attorney General, where she served for ten years representing many governmental agencies. She was thereafter appointed the Assistant Director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, where she was in charge of the agency’s outreach and education efforts. Edwards then served as the Director of the Attorney General’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, and then as the Chief of Staff for the Division of Criminal Justice.

In 2005 Edwards joined the Judiciary, where she served as a Court Executive in the Burlington Vicinage. While there, she lead the vicinage’s equal employment opportunity efforts and engaged in community outreach and programing. In 2009 Edwards returned to the Department of Law & Public Safety, Division of Law. While there she was the Section Chief for the Employment Counseling Section, where she provided employment advice and counsel to state agencies on discrimination, disability, disciplinary, and other employment-related issues.

Edwards thereafter joined the executive staff for the Office of the Attorney General, serving in the roles of Chief of Staff, Counsel to the Attorney General, and then, since 2015, Executive Assistant Attorney General. In those roles Edwards has provided leadership and guidance for the entire Department as it carries out its vital mission.

“Deb is a consummate public servant,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Over her stellar career, she has filled many important roles not only in this Department, but also in the Judiciary. She has brought leadership, wisdom, and compassion to every task set to her. It has been an honor to serve the State of New Jersey alongside her, and I wish her the best as she prepares for the next chapter of her life.” Edwards will retire on August 31.

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