A comprehensive review of New Jersey’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic credited state residents with a heroic response to the emergency but ultimately concluded that the state “remains underprepared for the next emergency.”

In November 2022, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that an independent review of New Jersey’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic would be conducted by a legal team from Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, led by Paul Zoubek, a partner and co-chair of the firm’s white-collar and government investigations practice group. The law firm worked in conjunction with management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. The more than 900-page report, which was released Monday, included an evaluation of the state’s readiness in early 2020, and how it responded to challenges that have emerged over the course of the pandemic.