FRB launches AI-native Newark office with Christopher Warren as New Jersey managing partner

By AI, Created 10:21 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – Falcon Rappaport & Berkman has named Christopher Warren its New Jersey managing partner and co-chair of its AI practice group, while opening a Newark office designed as an AI-native incubator. The move underscores how law firms are trying to embed artificial intelligence into daily legal work, governance and client service.

Why it matters: - Falcon Rappaport & Berkman is using the Newark launch to build an AI-native legal hub, not just add technology on top of existing workflows. - The move signals that law firms are competing on how well they can govern and deploy AI for both client service and internal legal work. - Warren’s background in AI ethics, governance and litigation gives FRB a leader focused on both innovation and risk management.

What happened: - Falcon Rappaport & Berkman named Christopher Warren New Jersey managing partner and co-chair of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Group. - The firm launched a Newark office at 3 Gateway Center to operate as its AI-native incubator. - Warren will co-chair the AI Practice Group with FRB Co-Managing Partner Moish Peltz. - FRB said the Newark office will serve as the operational hub for expanding AI capabilities across the firm.

The details: - Warren serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court District VI Ethics Committee for the 2025–2029 term. - Warren is a trustee of the Hudson County Bar Association and chairs its Artificial Intelligence Committee. - Warren also serves on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Data Privacy. - Warren is pursuing AIGP and CIPP/US credentials through the International Association of Privacy Professionals. - Warren writes and speaks on turning ethical guidance into practical compliance frameworks for legal practice. - Warren’s work focuses on competence, diligence, confidentiality, privilege, communication, supervision and candor as AI becomes embedded in legal workflows. - Warren hosts the Moral Machine podcast and blog, which covers how emerging technologies are reshaping law, business and society. - FRB said the Newark office will develop agentic AI tools to improve client and attorney service. - The firm already has a firmwide Harvey license and enterprise licenses with OpenAI and Anthropic. - FRB said it has also built internal governance for responsible and effective AI use. - The Newark office will also support FRB’s representation of entrepreneurs building businesses around AI. - Before joining FRB, Warren combined his boutique New York City litigation practice into a mid-size New Jersey firm. - In that role, Warren served on the firm’s Executive Management Committee and managed its New York City office. - Warren is a former licensed securities professional and entrepreneur. - Warren holds a J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School, where he served on the Executive Board of the New York Law School Law Review. - Warren is admitted in New York, New Jersey and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Second Circuit and federal courts in the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey. - Warren has more than a decade of experience representing business owners, investors and executives in New York and New Jersey state and federal courts and in arbitration before the American Arbitration Association, JAMS and FINRA. - Warren’s practice covers complex commercial disputes, including shareholder and partnership conflicts, business dissolutions, breach of fiduciary duty and accounting claims, and business-to-business contract litigation.

Between the lines: - FRB is positioning AI as a core part of legal service delivery rather than a side project. - The firm is pairing technology adoption with ethics and governance credentials to make its AI strategy more defensible. - Warren’s mix of litigation, management and tech-policy work suggests FRB wants a leader who can bridge legal operations and AI oversight.

What’s next: - FRB will use the Newark office to advance its AI capabilities across the firm. - The office is expected to help shape how FRB serves clients who are building or using AI in their businesses. - Warren and Peltz will lead the firm’s AI Practice Group as FRB continues integrating AI into legal workflows.

The bottom line: - FRB is betting that an AI-first office, backed by governance and legal ethics expertise, will become a differentiator in business law.