Edward Barocas, who has guided the ACLU of New Jersey’s litigation efforts for the past 17 years, has left his post after overseeing a period of dramatic growth in the civil rights group’s size and influence.

Barocas, 51, became the group’s legal director a few months before the terrorist attacks of 2001. When he started with the ACLU, its legal department had a staff of two attorneys who relied heavily on outside counsel, but it now has seven attorneys and one program assistant.