Craig Coughlin is a partner at Rainone Coughlin Minchello, a municipal attorney and a distinguished member of the New Jersey Assembly. Mr. Coughlin currently serves as Municipal Counselor to the Township of Woodbridge, General Counsel to the South Amboy Redevelopment Agency and Counsel to several library boards. Duties in those positions have covered the broadest of responsibilities including preparation of, ordinances and resolutions, executive orders, agreements, and memorandums; overseeing the implementation of ordinances and providing advice and counsel to senior management of the Municipality or Agency. Additionally, Mr. Coughlin has served municipal clients as a Prosecutor, Public Defender and Municipal Court Judge. Mr. Coughlin represents the 19th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly. Elected by his peers in 2018, Mr. Coughlin serves as the 171st Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly.

Prior to the partnership at Rainone Coughlin Minchello Mr. Coughlin was a sole practitioner.

Mr. Coughlin was a Partner at MCGOWAN & COUGHLIN, PC from 1994-1998. There he engaged in the general practice of law representing municipal, business and individual clients. As the Attorney for the Borough of Carteret was responsible for every aspect of the Borough’s legal affairs including the preparation and crafting of ordinances and resolutions; labor negotiations; the coordination and implementation of Borough policies; overseeing of litigation; tax appeals and liquor license matters. As Counsel to the South Amboy Redevelopment Agency he is responsible for overseeing all legal affairs including the preparation of contracts, and the creation of policies in connection with the Agency’s various restoration and multi-million dollar redevelopment projects.

As the Municipal Prosecutor he was responsible for representing the State in motor vehicle and disorderly persons offenses in two of the busiest municipal courts in the State. Non-municipal representations included the drafting and negotiating of commercial agreements; the handling of personal and corporate real estate transfers; drafting and negotiating lease agreements; landlord and tenant matters; litigation; and trust and estate matters.

From 1991 to 1994 Mr. Coughlin was House Counsel and Director of Legal Services for Consumers Distributing, Inc. He was Chief legal officer of $250,000,000 retail sales company with 90 locations in 6 states. Duties included the review, negotiation and drafting of commercial agreements; negotiation and drafting of acquisition and divestiture agreements; representation of the corporation at grievance arbitrations and administrative law hearings; labor negotiations with national unions representing drivers and warehousemen; the negotiating and drafting of real property leases; the handling of Landlord/Tenant matters, intellectual property issues, regulatory and advertising matters; participation in a trade association as the Company’s chief lobbyist and general corporate matters and policy review.

Mr. Coughlin served as V.P. and General Counsel from 1986-1991, as Corporate Counsel in 1986 and as Assistant General Counsel in 1985 to Aloomis Armored Inc. There he acted as Chief legal officer of a $125,000,000 corporation with 83 locations in 30 states. Responsibilities included direction of the Company’s legal affairs nationwide; the negotiation and drafting of service contracts, commercial acquisition and merger agreements. He handled the negotiation of labor contracts with various independent and national unions, the handling of grievance arbitrations and EEOC matters; the negotiation of real and personal property agreements and supervising of State and Federal regulatory filings and compliance requirements. His duties also included media relations; reviewing and promulgating corporate policies; selecting and supervising outside counsel; reporting to the CEO with budgetary responsibilities.