Courtesy of Lowenstein Sandler.

Paul Matey, a former federal prosecutor who served as deputy chief counsel to ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, is poised to join Lowenstein Sandler as a partner in its white-collar criminal defense practice.

In April, Matey was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill a judicial vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and he is awaiting confirmation.

“I've said before and I meant it—[Matey] is perhaps the smartest lawyer I've ever met,” said Christopher Porrino, New Jersey's former attorney general and the chair of Lowenstein Sandler's litigation department.

Porrino rejoined Lowenstein Sandler earlier this year after serving for several years as Gov. Christie's legal adviser. In 2012, Porrino became director of the division of law before eventually becoming chief counsel to Christie in 2014, just ahead of the Bridgegate scandal that would rock the administration.

Paul Matey

Porrino said he and Matey had served through many great and some very challenging times in state government. He said when he made the return to private practice that he was keen to recruit his former colleague.

“I've been after him in one way or another for quite a while, and I was glad that he finally made the decision to come” to Lowenstein, he said.

Matey, who was not immediately available to comment, will officially join the Am Law 200 firm in September.

Following clerkships in U.S. district court in New Jersey and with Third Circuit judge Robert Cowen, Matey joined Washington, D.C.-based litigation boutique Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel as an associate in 2003.

After two years at the firm, Matey became an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey, where he prosecuted complex white-collar crimes involving investor fraud, securities fraud and health care fraud as well as matters under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

He joined then-Gov. Christie's office in 2010 as assistant counsel and was promoted the same year to senior counsel. He was deputy chief counsel from 2012 until he joined University Hospital as senior vice president and general counsel three years ago.

Matey is just the latest federal prosecutor and former government attorney to join his new firm's rapidly expanding white-collar group.

In June, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York Ryan Wilson rejoined the firm as a partner, while former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Elie Honig joined as special counsel.

Michael Himmel, chair of the firm's white-collar criminal defense practice, said he's witnessed an uptick in cases related to health care, state regulation, criminal antitrust and foreign bribery.

“[Matey] fits nicely into those niches where we see growth within the white-collar [practice] and, quite frankly, growth in what the Department of Justice has been concentrating on lately,” Himmel said.

And the firm has no plans to slow down its white-collar expansion, Porrino said.

“We're on a talent binge,” he said. Having serving as New Jersey's former top lawyer, Porrino said, does give him a leg up in his search.

“I've got a pretty good sense of the talent pool out there,” Porrino said. “I've got a list and I'm going down it, and we're going to see what we can accomplish in the next couple years.”