Ayesha Hamilton, a Princeton solo practitioner and New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) trustee, will receive the 2021 Attorney of the Year Award from the NJSBA Solo and Small-Firm Section.
NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta will present Hamilton with the award at the Solo and Small-Firm Conference on Feb. 20.
“Ayesha is a wonderfully talented attorney who is an extremely effective advocate for her clients. She runs a very successful employment law practice, and she is also a zealous advocate for solo and small-firm attorneys, protecting and advancing their interests as new issues arise,” said William E. Denver, chair of the section.
Hamilton joined the Solo and Small-Firm Section in 2014 and was its chair from 2017–2018.
“I am still reeling from the news that I was selected to receive the 2021 award. This section holds a very special place in my heart because this is the one place in my law practice where I do not feel like a solo,” Hamilton said.
“Under Bill Denver’s leadership and that of our past chairs, this section provides a collaborative and supportive community of like-minded business owners who also happen to be excellent lawyers. This award belongs to them and to all of our members who make being a solo not such a lonely venture,” she said.
Denver said Hamilton is always ready to share her employment law knowledge with other attorneys and section members, which has been particularly helpful during the pandemic.
“Ayesha has also devoted countless hours to helping our section and the NJSBA develop and grow. She has been a resource for the section leaders who followed in her footsteps and is always available to pitch in or answer a question. And if she can’t answer a question, she will find you someone who can,” he said.
Hamilton is chair of the section’s Diversity Concerns Subcommittee and is a member of the Women in the Profession Section, Diversity Committee, Finance and Operations Standing Committee, Insurance Benefits Standing Committee, Judicial Administration Committee, Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee–Mercer County, Legislative Committee and co-chair of the Membership Committee.
She is an arbitrator and vice chair of the Supreme Court Fee Arbitration Committee in District VII and a member of the board of trustees of the Mercer County Bar Association, as well as previously serving as a councilwoman for West Windsor Township and as a member of the Mercer County Workforce Development Board.