Rachel Wainer Apter, a protege of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with an expansive record as a civil rights litigator, accepted Gov. Phil Murphy's nomination to become the next associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday.

"I am grateful beyond measure for the faith you have placed in me with this nomination," said Wainer Apter, standing on stage at the recently named Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall on the Newark campus of Rutgers University, named after her mentor and judicial icon who died last year. If confirmed, Wainer Apter, who is 40 years old, will become the 41st jurist to serve on the state Supreme Court and will fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, who announced a week ago that she will be retiring at the end of August after two decades as the longest-serving female on the court.