Kate McDonnell is Gov. Phil Murphy's pick for chief counsel following Parimal Garg's departure for private practice with Lowenstein Sandler.

McDonnell served the Murphy administration for nearly five years as his deputy chief counsel and, later, senior deputy chief counsel. Her public service career began in 2006 in the New Jersey Assembly Democratic Office, where she spent 12 years and rose to the position of general counsel. Since the beginning of 2024, McDonnell has served as deputy commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.