On March 3, Governor Chris Sununu nominated John Formella to be the next attorney general of New Hampshire, following the confirmation of former Attorney General Gordon MacDonald as chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Formella has served as legal counsel for Governor Sununu since 2017, advising the governor and working with the New Hampshire Department of Justice and executive branch officials on significant legal issues affecting the state. In that role, Formella collaborated on initiatives to improve the state’s health care system, enhance the state’s response to the opioid crisis, reform criminal justice, and combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to serving as legal counsel, Formella practiced law in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, primarily in the areas of environmental, land use, and business law. He is a member of the Portsmouth Zoning Board. Despite only having eight years of legal experience, none in the courtroom, Formella promised to act independently of the governor and lawmakers and to uphold the rule of law in a hearing before the New Hampshire Executive Council, which voted to confirm him to the post on March 24.

Formella graduated from George Washington University Law School with honors in 2012, and he received a Master of Science in applied American politics and policy from Florida State University in 2009.