A committed advocate ready to help profession emerge from pandemic, address well-being crisis and nurture new attorneys
When Domenick Carmagnola becomes president of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) this week, he will be stepping in at a time when the legal profession is starting to make its way back after a year of extraordinary changes from the pandemic.
While the vaccines have brought renewed hope and a decline in coronavirus cases, the past 14 months have left an indelible mark on the profession. As he embarks on his yearlong term, Carmagnola recognizes the pandemic is not over and that it will continue to affect the legal profession in numerous ways.
“As we turn the corner on the pandemic, we cannot underestimate the effect it had and continues to have on New Jersey’s legal profession. We have done a tremendous amount to support our members and our profession, but we cannot let up now, as there is still much work to be done. I am committed to continuing to advocate for New Jersey’s lawyers, judges and other legal professionals at this critical time and to ensuring that the NJSBA’s resources and expertise are utilized in the best way possible to support this mission,” he said.
“We need to deal with how lawyers are going to come out of the pandemic, what the lessons we learned from it are, and how we will use that information to improve the profession.”
Law is a sacred duty
In many ways, Carmagnola is uniquely positioned to carry the mantle at this time, say those who know him. A labor and employment law attorney his entire legal career, Carmagnola has the kind of expertise needed to navigate thorny issues that will arise from returning to the workplace, said Steven F. Ritardi, who co-founded Carmagnola & Ritardi in 2005.
“He’s counseling clients every day on those types of issues. For the lawyers in this state looking to the bar association for assistance, and for the bar looking to Dom to help guide lawyers, it’s ideal. He’s going to be able to embrace the positive aspects of the reopenings and, at the same time, be aware of what the potential pitfalls are,” he said.
Ritardi said Carmagnola excels at strategy and looking at the big picture. The pair met about 30 years ago at the firm now known as Lum, Drasco & Positan in Roseland, where he recalls the patriarch of the firm had a saying that basketball coaches use—”You can’t teach good feet”—meaning you have to have the right instincts in the courtroom. “Dom has good feet,” Ritardi said.
Danny Hughes, executive vice president and president, Americas, Hilton, said his best friend of more than 30 years is a champion for the legal profession.
“I think the New Jersey State Bar Association members should be proud they’ve got a man who believes in the profession. Domenick believes in the law. He believes it’s a sacred duty of any attorney to uphold the law and do the best thing for his clients. It’s much, much more than a job to Domenick. I think the New Jersey State Bar Association is in great hands with him,” he said.
An ambitious agenda
In addition to addressing pandemic-related issues, Carmagnola said he has prioritized tackling several issues during his term. He said he will continue the NJSBA’s focus on promoting well-being in the legal profession, which has become more of a concern during the pandemic.
“We cannot ignore issues relating to stress and wellness and the high levels of depression, anxiety, problem drinking and substance-use disorders that affect many in the legal profession. A focus on our health and well-being will help us be better lawyers and judges. The NJSBA will expand educational outreach to ensure it is a priority,” Carmagnola said.
Another key focus area will be to continue pressuring the governor and Senate to fill the state’s numerous judicial vacancies.
“The situation is dire as judges will soon be overwhelmed by a deluge of cases exacerbated by the pandemic, such as landlord/tenant cases. The record shortage of judges directly affects the citizens of New Jersey and threatens the way justice is meted out in every single area of the court system,” he said.
Carmagnola, a member of the NJSBA’s Commission on Racial Equity in the Law, which was borne out of the national reckoning over social and racial justice issues sparked by the murder of George Floyd and other unarmed Black individuals, said the commission needs to continue its important work uncovering the root causes of inequities in the legal profession and the law.
Building a path to leadership
Many said Carmagnola’s ambitious agenda is indicative of the style and substance of the man. Wayne Positan, a managing partner at the Lum firm and a former NJSBA president, said Carmagnola is a natural leader. “That’s why I think he’s going to do a great job in these tough times. He’s had a career preparing for it.”
Carmagnola’s involvement in the organized bar is extensive. He has served as an NJSBA trustee, chair of the NJSBA Labor and Employment Law Section and editor of the section’s publication, among many other NJSBA postings. He has written numerous articles, contributed to several books on labor and employment law, and is a frequent New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education lecturer. He is a former president of the Essex County Bar Association and the Sidney Reitman Labor and Employment American Inn of Court.
Carmagnola began working for the Lum firm in the labor and employment law group while still in his last year of Seton Hall Law School. Soon after he started, a lawyer left the firm and he was given the attorney’s caseload. It was an assignment that changed his life.
“I got three years’ worth of experience in my first year. I ended up loving the area of law,” Carmagnola said.
A first-generation attorney, dedicated to hard work
The son of Italian immigrants, Carmagnola described his parents as “the traditional immigrants looking for a better life. They were like the American success story. My parents had the greatest influence on my life. They said work hard, study hard. They were always big believers that if you worked hard, good things would follow.”
Born in Newark, he and his two brothers grew up in Denville, where he attended Catholic schools and developed a passion for learning. Life revolved around his tightknit family’s pizzeria, with all hands on deck. After graduating from Seton Hall University with a major in political science, Carmagnola attended Seton Hall Law so he could stay nearby and continue to help at the restaurant. That experience helped instill in him the value of hard work.
Working as hard as possible is one of Carmagnola’s signature traits, yet his intensity is belied by a personable, outgoing manner. He easily forges relationships with lawyers with whom he was once an adversary—and on occasion, their clients. He easily forges relationships with lawyers with whom he was once an adversary—and on occasion, their clients. A colleague recalled a time when a Teamster’s boss, whom they had beaten in three cases, invited them to dine in his new restaurant after he left the union.
Giving back to the community
Karol Corbin Walker, a former NJSBA president who has known Carmagnola since the early 1990s, has been of those legal adversaries who is now a friend.
“Dom is one of the most caring individuals I know. His moral compass is beyond reproach,” she said.
Carmagnola, his wife, Gabriella, and their two sons, Christopher and Michael, take an active part in giving back to the community. He is on the board of directors at St. Peter’s Orphanage in Denville, where he is chair of the Personnel Committee. The orphanage offers a residential treatment program for abused, abandoned or neglected boys, aged 9–17, with mild to moderate emotional, behavioral, social and/or learning problems.
“We feel strongly that it is important to help those who are less fortunate than us. St. Peter’s does wonderful work and is a special place filled with dedicated and supportive staff members,” he said.
Carmagnola still manages to find time to coach several local soccer teams, including his sons’ teams, which he has done for years. “All labors of love and a chance to be around my sons as well,” he said.
Carmagnola builds teams off the field among his colleagues, as well. In the practice, he is known as a consensus-builder who can help bring together sides that were once far apart.
“He’s open to listening to other people’s perspective, even if he doesn’t agree with you. He’s respectful and makes you feel that he values your opinion,” said Suzanne Cerra, a partner at Nukk-Freeman & Cerra in Chatham.
A mentor to Cerra, Carmagnola takes an interest in developing others, connecting them and being a resource for them, she said.
Carmagnola said he will continue to focus on mentoring as a way to give back to the profession, and to encourage new lawyers to get involved in the NJSBA. And now as president, he’s excited to have a greater platform to extol the NJSBA’s value to the legal community.
“I’m really looking forward to being president. I encourage new lawyers to find some aspect of the bar association that interests them and to get involved. There really is no downside. The beauty of the bar association is that it gives you all the resources, which you can use to help your practice and help your clients,” Carmagnola said.