U.S. District Chief Judge Jose Linares at the 42nd annual Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey Judicial Conference at Mayfair Farms in West Orange on March 29. Courtesy photo.

Jose Linares is joining McCarter & English upon his retirement as chief judge of New Jersey's federal courts.

Linares, whose 16-year career on the federal bench came to an end Thursday, said he has long desired to return to private practice. Linares said he was drawn to McCarter by the opportunity to start an alternate dispute resolution practice for the firm, and to work with his son-in-law, Guillermo Artiles, a partner at the firm whose practice focuses on government relations and intellectual property litigation.

Reflecting on his career on the bench, Linares said, “I've done a lot of things that have been tremendously rewarding to me. I've worked with tremendous people.”

Yet returning to private practice has been on his “bucket list,” Linares said. His ADR practice will focus on business litigation and patents. “I”m going to be busy but I look forward to it. I have a lot of energy left,” he said.

Leaders at McCarter hailed the news that Linares decided to join their firm.

“We are honored and excited to welcome Judge Linares to McCarter & English. The legal caliber demonstrated throughout his impressive career—whether handling historic pharmaceutical settlements or presiding over major bankruptcies, class actions, multidistrict litigations and securities fraud cases—will truly benefit our clients across several industries,” firm chairman  Michael P. Kelly said in a statement.

“Judge Linares' leadership inside and outside the courthouse will enhance every aspect of our firm, from our practice to our culture to the communities we serve,” managing partner Joseph T. Boccassini said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the judge to advance McCarter's diversity and pro bono initiatives, and I'm confident that his unique experience as a judge and a trial lawyer will add a greater dimension to our Litigation, Intellectual Property and Alternative Dispute Resolution practices.”

Linares said he looked forward to helping McCarter with its efforts to include more minority and women attorneys. Born in Cuba, his family escaped to Spain after the revolution and later came to the U.S., settling in Newark.

Linares graduated from what is now the New Jersey City University and from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. He was a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Essex County from 2000 to 2002 and was nominated to the District Court by President George W. Bush in 2002. He became chief judge in 2017.

During his career on the federal bench, Linares presided over a suit seeking damages on behalf of individuals and businesses that were inconvenienced by traffic gridlock during the Bridgegate lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. The case is still underway.

In 2017, he stirred controversy when he sentenced former Attorney General David Samson to one year of home confinement for his role in a bribery scheme involving United Airlines. Federal prosecutors sought two years in jail for Samson, then chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was negotiating with the airline over a new hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport when he asked airline officials to schedule a regular flight between Newark and Columbia, South Carolina, which is close to his vacation home.