From launching initiatives to address social justice and help residents of the state and its members during a public health pandemic, the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) powered through 2020, with accomplishments that demonstrate its power to help the profession. Here are some of the top achievements from the past year, as well as a look at the year ahead.
1. The NJSBA reinforced its commitment to diversity and inclusion, adopting a formal policy laying out expectations to increase diversity on continuing legal education programs.
2. The NJSBA Annual Meeting was held as a three-day virtual event for the first time in its history. Nearly 2,500 attendees registered, making it one of its most successful annual meetings
3. The NJSBA helped to draft, support or be instrumental in helping to pass more than a dozen pieces of legislation over the year, including:
- Daniel’s Law, which makes it a crime to publish personal addresses and other identifying information about state judges or their families (The law is named after U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ son, who was shot and killed by a disgruntled attorney.)
- The remote notary law, which expands the ability to remotely notarize documents using communication technology
- A bill to eliminate certain mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment
- A bill to cancel proposed rule amendments to the New Jersey Rules of Evidence 608, which would expand the scope of permissible cross-examination in criminal cases
4. When Governor Phil Murphy ordered a statewide shutdown, the NJSBA launched its action plan, quickly pivoting all of its New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE) in-person programs to live webcasts.
5. The NJSBA provided free webinars and resources on its website to help the legal profession conduct business during the pandemic.
6. Kimberly A. Yonta was sworn in as president of the NJSBA for the 2020-2021 term from her home, vowing to help the legal profession thrive during uncertain times.
7. Yonta created the Pandemic Task Force to examine and address issues that affect the legal profession, such as how to safely reopen law firms, how to adjust courthouse operations and resume jury trials, how the pandemic might impact substantive areas of the law and how access to justice has been affected.
8. The NJSBA launched NJ Free Legal Answers, an online version of the traditional walk-in clinic where volunteer attorneys can help members of the public with questions about civil legal challenges they are facing as a result of the pandemic.
9. Yonta called for a swift, fair and independent investigation into George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police and established the Commission on Racial Equity in the Law to address root causes of inequities in the legal profession and the law.
10. The NJSBA, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation (NJSBF) joined with other bar associations in the state to issue a statement condemning anti-Semitic violence and hate speech in the region and country.
11. The NJSBA presented the Symposium on Race and the Law, which featured nearly 40 speakers and more than 300 attendees.
12. The NJSBA continued its advocacy in other matters, participating in nearly a dozen cases as
amicus, including the
State v. Robert Andrews, which focused on the question of whether defendants can be compelled to disclose the passcode to their cell phones; the
State v. Michael Olenowski, which focused on the reliability and admissibility of evidence elicited by a drug recognition evaluator to assist in the prosecution of cases involving charges of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol; and
Meisels v. Fox Rothschild, where the NJSBA urged the state Supreme Court to overturn an Appellate Division decision that allowed an attorney to be potentially liable for a non-client third-party claim to funds the attorney had released according to a client’s instructions.
13. The NJSBA requested the New Jersey Supreme Court require lawyers to fulfill a continuing legal education (CLE) requirement on diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias, which was later granted.
14. The NJSBA fought on a national level to protect New Jersey attorneys by opposing non-lawyers from providing legal services or owning law firms by successfully revising a resolution at the American Bar Association.
15. The NJSBF launched a new series of workshops, “Breaking Bias: Lessons from the Amistad.”
16. The NJICLE was again honored as the state’s top provider of continuing legal education in the New Jersey Law Journal’s annual Best of New Jersey contest.
17. The NJSBA celebrated the centennial of the 19th Amendment with several programs, including one on the integral role played by New Jersey suffragist Alice Paul and the role lawyers play in elections.
18. The New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law celebrated its 25
th anniversary throughout November, culminating with a virtual program and video.
19. The NJSBA continued to honor its members in virtual awards programs, such as the NJSBA
Pro Bono Awards which recognizes attorneys who work to improve access to justice for the underserved in New Jersey. Among the recipients was Lora Fong, an assistant New Jersey attorney general who serves as the first chief diversity officer for the Department of Law and Public Safety, who received the NJSBA Diversity Committee’s 2020 Mel Narol Award for her work advancing diversity and inclusion.
20. The Foundation transformed its ninth annual juried art show into an interactive virtual gallery.
And here’s to working together to help the legal profession in the year ahead.
21. The NJSBA will remain devoted to serving its members and the legal system in the days and years ahead by providing programming to educate members, resources to help members navigate the practice of law and find meaningful ways to connect and to hopefully celebrate brighter days ahead in 2021.