Board Members

John J. Farmer, Jr., Esq. , Board President
Rutgers Newark Law School Dean

Mr. Farmer is a former State Attorney General and federal prosecutor whose practice ranges from white collar criminal defense and corporate internal investigations to appellate advocacy and governmental/regulatory affairs, including homeland security matters. Mr. Farmer was Senior Counsel and Team Leader of the ‘9/11 Commission” and Chief Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. He practiced law at Arseneault, Whipple, Farmer, Fassett & Azzarello LLP and is the Rutgers Newark Law School Dean.

Mr. Farmer was Senior Counsel and Team Leader for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, more commonly known as the “9/11 Commission.”  In this role, he led the team that investigated the government’s response to the 9/11 attacks and the current state of public and private sector preparedness.  His principal investigative responsibilities included evaluating the response by the offices of the President and Vice President of the United States, the Department of Defense, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Federal Aviation Administration, and state and local government, including the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 

Prior to that position, Mr. Farmer was the Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, where he managed the Department of Law and Public Safety, consisting of 9,000 employees in 10 divisions, with an annual budget of close to $1 billion. He supervised over 600 attorneys and had direct oversight of all civil litigation in the state.  As the state’s chief law enforcement official, he supervised the Divisions of Criminal Justice and State Police and had oversight of New Jersey’s 21 county prosecutors’ offices.  Among other accomplishments, he argued several high-profile appeals before the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and served as the first Chairman of the New Jersey Domestic Preparedness Task Force.

As Chief Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, he negotiated two state budgets, as Commissioner of the State Commission of Investigations, which is responsible for the investigation of organized crime and political corruption, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he prosecuted crimes ranging from kidnapping and arms dealing to bank fraud.

Prior to founding AWFFA, he was a partner in the white collar crime and internal investigations group at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, LLP in Newark, New Jersey.

Mr. Farmer received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986, where he was a Member of the Tax Lawyer, and his B.A. from Georgetown University in 1979. Mr. Farmer served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Alan B. Handler, Associate Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court, Trenton, NJ, from 1986-1988.

Mr. Farmer is a regular columnist for the Newark Star-Ledger, writing on topics ranging from government affairs and homeland security to current events.

Mr. Farmer is currently the President of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Also he participates in the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Lawyer (publication of the New Jersey Bar Association), the New Jersey Governor’s Ethics Advisory Board (along with retired Justice Daniel O’Hern of the New Jersey Supreme Court, one of two members appointed to three-year term) and the Advisory Board, New Jersey Office of Child Advocacy.

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