John L. Kraft established the first nationally recognized Bond Counsel practice in New Jersey in 1971. John L. Kraft began his legal career at a Newark law firm in 1964. In 1967, he joined one of the three New York City firms that then handled most of the New Jersey bond work. In 1969 he moved to the second of the three New York City firms. In 1970 he was appointed Associate Counsel to Governor William T. Cahill. In 1971, Mr. Kraft left the Governor’s staff to establish Kraft & Hughes, the first New Jersey based Bond Counsel practice.

Mr. Kraft’s prior training and experience at two of the three major New York Bond Counsel firms enabled him to achieve what many said was impossible. The traditional requirement of the “New York Legal Opinion” was thought to be an insurmountable obstacle to any New Jersey lawyer succeeding as Bond Counsel. However, he was successful and achieved the distinction of being New Jersey’s first Bond Counsel.

For 30 years Mr. Kraft practiced under the law firm names of Kraft & Hughes, Kraft & McManimon and Lowenstein Sandler and in 2001 he established John L. Kraft, Esq., L.L.C. to continue his Bond Counsel practice. In August 2007, he joined Lomurro, Davison, Eastman & Muñoz, P.A. to establish the firm’s new Public Finance Department.

Mr. Kraft has served as Bond Counsel for 18 of the 21 counties and hundreds of municipalities, school districts and authorities in New Jersey. He was the first New Jersey Bond Counsel for the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority issue was for two billion dollars, at that time the largest bond sale ever in the nation.

Throughout his career as Bond Counsel, Mr. Kraft has been a leader and an active force in the New Jersey Bar, the National Bond Counsel Bar and the New Jersey community. Mr. Kraft is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and he served as a Trustee and Chair of the Local Government Law Section. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Lawyer newspaper and as a member of the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Law Journal. In 1976, Mr. Kraft helped to establish the Bond Attorneys Workshop, an annual educational program for Bond Attorneys held in Chicago. In 1980 he served as Workshop Chairman. He also is a member and former Director of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Mr. Kraft serves as Associate Legal Counsel to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and belongs the New Jersey County Finance Officers Association, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors and the Government Finance Officers Association of New Jersey. Mr. Kraft was selected twice as the Outstanding Person in New Jersey Public Finance by the County Finance Officers Association. He is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel, serving for 3 years as its first President. In 2002, the College established the Annual Kraft Lecture Series to recognize Mr. Kraft’s contributions to Public Finance Law.

In 2001, the Richard J. Hughes Foundation presented Mr. Kraft with the Richard J. Hughes Award. In 2007, Mr. Kraft received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Sales Improvement Consultants Inc. The New Jersey Assembly adopted a resolution commending Mr. Kraft on receiving the Award and on being the Garden State’s first bond attorney.

Mr. Kraft’s life and education reflect his commitment to the law and the State of New Jersey. He is a life-long resident of New Jersey. He grew up in Irvington and North Arlington, attending St. Leo’s and Queen of Peace grammar schools. He graduated from Georgetown University (cum laude) in 1958. This was followed by three years in the U.S. Air Force. He then attended Yale Law School, where he was an Editor of the Yale Law Journal and was enrolled in the Order of the Coif. He graduated in the top 10% of his class in 1964. Mr. Kraft was admitted to the Bars of New Jersey, New York, Florida, the United States Supreme Court and the District of Columbia.

Articles/Publications:

New Jersey Municipal Bond News Published monthly from 1975 to 1999. This was the only monthly news periodical ever devoted to New Jersey municipal finance matters. Mr. Kraft was the publisher and wrote many of the articles that appeared over 25 years of publication.

Bond Briefs A newsletter prepared by Mr. Kraft and devoted to New Jersey bond matters.

The Bond Buyer This is the “trade paper” of the municipal bond industry. Mr. Kraft has contributed a number of articles for publication in The Bond Buyer.

Municipalities The magazine of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Mr. Kraft is a regular contributor to this magazine.

Seton Hall Law Review “The Contract Clause as the Guardian Against Legislative Impairment of Municipal Bondholders’ Rights”, by John L. Kraft and Jerome St. John (1974).

Tulane Law Review “Accommodating the Rights of Bondholders and State Public Purposes: Beyond United States Trust”, by John L. Kraft, Thomas Loikith and Bryan G. Petkanics (1981).