Law Power 50 N-Z.

Byline: Jessica Perry

Melissa Orsen

As senior vice president and general counsel at energy services holding company South Jersey Industries, Orsen is the principal legal officer serving as a key advisor to the CEO, senior management, and of Directors. She oversees the corporate legal and government affairs teams, as well as outside counsel relationships. Orsen was previously CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, where she directed more than $1 billion in economic development activities across the state. She has also been a chief of staff to the former lieutenant governor, secretary of state and to the Department of Community Affairs.

Sheilah O'Halloran

With a team of nine attorneys, three paralegals, insurance professionals, clinical risk and patient relations managers, and outside counsel across the country, O'Halloran, J.D. is responsible for all legal aspects of Atlantic Health System's operations, including its six hospitals and annual revenues exceeding $2.6 billion. O'Halloran joined Atlantic Health System in 2010, as assistant general counsel and was named as general counsel in April 2016. O'Halloran and her team navigated the legal, regulatory and proprietary arrangements to make it possible for Atlantic Health employees to bring their ideas to enhance healthcare delivery and lower costs to life through Atlantic Health Advancements (Aha!) while also sharing in the benefits from their creations. O'Halloran was instrumental in creating the legal framework for Atlantic and six other hospital organizations to form the Healthcare Transformation Consortium. This innovative arrangement brings together competing organizations to collectively lower costs and enhance care and access for the 75,000 employees across these organizations.

William Palatucci

It's tough to be influential as a Republican in New Jersey these days, given the pallid state of the party here. But Palatucci, a partner at Gibbons, is still a member of the Republican National Committee and so retains some measure of clout within the GOP at least. During the Christie administration, he was recognized as a power player in the national party and served as general counsel to the Trump transition committee. As the presidential race heats up, Palatucci's stature in the party and his contacts nationwide should once again put him in the forefront of electoral politics. Palatucci serves on the Board of Visitors of the Seton Hall University School of Law and on the National Advisory Board for the Rutgers University Heldrich Center.

Dan Schwartz

Schwartz has been at the helm of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi since...