Crystal L. Cochren currently serves as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender where she provides legal advice and representation to clients who cannot afford to retain a private attorney. Previously, Ms. Cochren worked in private practice focusing on Employment Law. Ms. Cochren has earned a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate. Ms. Cochren is an Individual Member of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. Locally, Ms. Cochren is a member of the Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement in the Essex Vicinage and the Equity and Fairness Subcommittee of the Model Court Committee, also in the Essex Vicinage. Ms. Cochren has also been appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court Family Practice Committee and a District Ethics Committee.
Ms. Cochren is the member of several bar associations: New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), Garden State Bar Association, Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey (ABWL-NJ) and New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. For the NJSBA, Ms. Cochren serves on the Diversity Committee, Minorities in the Profession Section and the Women in the Profession Section. For the ABWL-NJ, Ms. Cochren serves on the Board of Directors as the Central Jersey Member at Large.
Ms. Cochren was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from University High School in Newark, Ms. Cochren attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Behavior and Management. In addition to pursuing academic excellence at Brown, she was one of the seven charter members of the Mu Kappa chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated and served as the chapter’s first president. In her service to her alma mater, Ms. Cochren volunteered to be Secretary for the Inman Page Black Alumni Council for a two-year term.
Ms. Cochren received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law, in Newark, New Jersey. While at Rutgers Law School, she was an Editor of the Rutgers Law Review, which published her student note entitled, “Liability for Prosecutorial Misdeeds: Is Wright Right for New Jersey?” during her third year. Moreover, Ms. Cochren received the C. Clyde Ferguson Law Scholarship and served as an MSP Teaching Assistant for Contracts.
After receiving and answering her call from God to enter into ministry, Ms. Cochren enrolled in the Master of Divinity degree program at Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. While in seminary, Ms. Cochren received a 75% merit-based tuition scholarship as well as the Bertha A. and Emma L. Schur and Arthur C. and Matilde Mundle Memorial Scholarship. Ms. Cochren received her Master of Divinity degree in May 2010.
Ms. Cochren’s additional pursuits include sewing, quilting, paper crafting and baking. Additionally, charity quilting is an important activity for her. Ms. Cochren also enjoys performing community service with her sorors.
Ms. Cochren lives in central New Jersey with her husband.
Crystal L. Cochren 