Christine A. Roy, Partner
Christine Roy is Rutter & Roy’s Managing Partner. In this role, along with responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the firm, she concentrates her practice on environmental, energy and infrastructure matters. Her particular focus is on regulatory and commercial activities connected with linear construction and large-scale development projects in New Jersey. Clients have included several interstate natural gas pipeline companies as well as a major electric transmission company. She is also a rare female thought leader and senior strategist in an overwhelmingly male legal field.

Christine has extensive experience in project planning, jurisdictional determinations, condemnation/eminent domain, environmental permitting, pipeline and utility law. She is particularly knowledgeable concerning regulatory issues unique to New Jersey such as the Green Acres diversion regulations, Farmland Preservation, conservation restrictions and the No Net Loss Reforestation Act. Additionally, Ms. Roy has guided clients through the conversion process in connection with lands that are encumbered by Section 6(f) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program administered by the National Park Service.

From a broader perspective, Christine’s role is that of a high-level strategist and risk manager for her clients. She has spent her legal career counseling clients on how to identify, plan for and navigate through the various regulatory processes that may be implicated by their projects. This experience has afforded her the judgment to assist clients with the right strategies and milestones as well as manage its interaction with regulators in order to minimize cost and minimize and eliminate risks.

Christine is particularly skilled at anticipating problems -- understanding what regulators will want -- and knowing what actions a client needs to take to either avoid or effectively address a potential issue. She also has an exceptional long-standing network within regulatory agencies, which helps create a collaborative working environment.

Construction projects are complex undertakings. Completing them on time and on budget is essential, and Christine’s role is to distill these massive projects down to their essence, ensuring all facets come together as intended for her clients.

Aside from the actual physical process of construction, major projects must also navigate a labyrinth of legal, political and administrative issues and challenges. You can’t simply build a transmission line – you must deal with dozens of stakeholders that it affects, all of whom have their own agendas, processes and public responsibilities. Christine works at the nexus of all these challenges. She utilizes a combination of technical legal expertise, personal relationships with regulators and strategic analysis to help ensure that her clients’ projects keep moving forward. Whether the challenge at hand is a complex permitting regulation, a public hearing or an unavoidable lawsuit, Christine excels at helping her clients get their projects built on time.

Christine earned her J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law and her B.A. degree from St. Mary’s College.

Membership Activities

• Member and past president, International Right of Way Association, New Jersey Chapter 15 (2003 – present)
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• New Brunswick Bar Association (Financial Secretary, 2002 – 2003; Secretary 2003 – 2004)
• Middlesex County Bar Association
• Monmouth County Bar Association
• Energy Bar Association

Speaking Engagements

• Pipeline Opportunities Conference, Houston, TX, April 2019
• IRWA Region 4 Spring Forum, Asbury Park, NJ, March 2019
• IRWA Education Conference, Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline Projects: Project Planning, Nashville, TN, June 2016.
• IRWA Education Conference, San Diego, CA, Natural Gas Project: Obtaining Early Access, June 2015
• Webinar, Pipeline Projects: From Certification to Acquisition, January 2015.

Reported Cases

• Stevens v. Bd. of Trustees of Pub. Employees’ Ret. Sys., 294 N.J. Super. 643 (App. Div. 1996)
• Brian W. Clymer v. Summit Bank Corp., 320 N.J. Super. 90 (Ch. Div. 1998)
• Stevens v. Bd. of Trustees of Pub. Employees’ Ret. Sys., 309 N.J. Super. 300 (App. Div. 1998)
• Consolidated Rail Corp. v. State of New Jersey, Director, Division of Taxation, 19 N.J. Tax 378 (App. Div. 2001)
• Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC v. 2.510 Acres of Land in the Borough of Swedesboro, Gloucester Cty. 86 F. Supp. 3d 291 (D.N.J. 2015)
• Riverkeeper Network v. Sec’y, Pa. Dep’t of Envntl. Prot., 833 F.3d 360 (3d Cir. 2016)
• Matter of Proposed Const. of Compressor Station (CS327), 250 N.J. 365 (2022).