Fredric Knapp leads Laddey Clark & Ryan’s Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice, servicing as a mediator, arbitrator and hearing officer. Building on his law enforcement and investigatory background, he also conducts internal investigations.
Fred has been admitted to The American Arbitration Association’s Roster of Labor Employment and Consumer Arbitrators and has been approved by the New Jersey State Board of Mediation for membership on its Panel of Arbitrators and the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission’s Panel of Grievance Arbitrators, Mediation and Fact Finding. He has also completed Civil Arbitration training for the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Fred was appointed Morris County Prosecutor by Governor Chris Christie in June 2014, following confirmation by the New Jersey Senate. He served in that position until his retirement on November 1, 2020.
Previously, he served as Acting Morris County Prosecutor and Assistant Attorney General since December 2012. Prior to his appointment as Morris County Prosecutor, Fred had served as a Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice from 1979 to 1983 in the Appellate, Trial and Casino Prosecution sections. In 1981, Fred was appointed a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and was assigned by the Department of Justice to the Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force. In that capacity, he investigated and prosecuted Organized Crime and Racketeering cases arising in Atlantic City and Southern New Jersey. Fred also worked with the New Jersey State Police Intelligence Bureau and Atlantic City Special Investigations Bureau on Organized Crime Investigations, also originating in Atlantic and Camden Counties.
Fred served as President of the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey and previously held several offices in that organization. He made narcotics enforcement a priority with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and spoke regularly on that topic. In 2017, Fred was named “Prosecutor of the Year” by the New Jersey Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association. In 2020, the New Jersey Bias Crime Officers Association presented Fred with their “Visionary Leadership Award.” He was also one of 25 prosecutors selected nationally by the National District Attorneys’ Association to serve on the NDAA Opioid/Heroin Task Force to develop a national strategy to combat the epidemic. He also served as a Commissioner of the New Jersey Police Training Commission. In 2021, Fred received the Morris County Bar Association Criminal Practice Award. Fred has received an AV® rating, the highest rating conferred by Martindale-Hubbell®, for legal abilityand professional ethics, based upon a peer review of the Bar and the Judiciary.
In 2023, Fred was recognized by The New Jersey Law Journal with its Lifetime Achievement award.
Prior to joining the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Fred was in private practice in Morris County where he was a founding partner of several law firms in which he concentrated his practice in labor and employment law.
