New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia announced Monday that she will retire from the bench at the end of the court’s current term.

A Paterson native, LaVecchia began her term at the in February 2000. At the time of her nomination by then-Governor Christine Todd Whitman, she was serving as the New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance since August 1998.

Prior to her service as Commissioner, Justice LaVecchia had been the Director of the Division of Law within the Department of Law and Public Safety since August 1984. As director, she was responsible for the legal work of all lawyers assigned to the civil side of the New Jersey Attorney’s Office.

A graduate of Douglass College and Rutgers School of Law, LaVecchia also served as Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Office of Administrative Law from 1989 to 1994, and worked in the Office of Counsel to Governor Thomas H. Kean, first as an Assistant Counsel and then as Deputy Chief Counsel. She has also been in private practice and worked as a deputy attorney general in the Division of Law.

Governor Phil Murphy released a statement:

“For the past 21 years, Justice LaVecchia has served on the New Jersey Supreme Court with independence and integrity, becoming the longest-serving female Justice in state history. Justice LaVecchia approached the job with fidelity to the law and our Constitution, authoring a number of notable opinions on issues as varied as school funding and the right to privacy.

“Named to New Jersey’s highest court by Governor Christie Whitman, Justice LaVecchia’s two-decade tenure on the Supreme Court continued a distinguished career in public service, including terms as Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance, Director of the Division of Law at the Department of Law and Public Safety, Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Law, and Deputy Chief Counsel to Governor Tom Kean.

“I wish Justice LaVecchia all the best in her next life chapters and thank her for nearly four decades of service to the people of New Jersey. Her legacy will influence our legal system for generations to come.”