John Vazquez, Esq., oversees the organization’s legal affairs, compliance, internal audit, and enterprise risk management.  

Before joining Cooper, Mr. Vazquez was most recently a member of a leading New Jersey law firm.  From 2016 to 2023, Mr. Vazquez was a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, following his appointment by President Barack Obama.  Much of Mr. Vazquez’s strategic approach draws upon his seven years of experience as a federal district judge, where he oversaw a docket that included significant and complicated civil cases, including health care matters.

Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey from 2001 to 2006. During his time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Vazquez oversaw the Office’s health care fraud matters as the Health Care Fraud Coordinator from 2004 to 2006.  In 2006, Mr. Vazquez left the U.S. Attorney’s Office to serve in the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, first as Special Assistant Attorney General and then as First Assistant Attorney General. As First Assistant Attorney General, he was responsible for the daily operations of all divisions of the New Jersey Department of Law and Safety. Before and after his time with the government, Mr. Vazquez worked with a well-known litigation boutique, where he was also involved in numerous health care cases.

Mr. Vazquez earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law, and his B.A. from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Herman D. Michels of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division.