New leadership of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s sections, committees and division attended an orientation Tuesday on the NJSBA’s structure and policies, what their responsibilities as leaders will be and how to make their one-year terms successful.
NJSBA President Jeralyn L. Lawrence greeted the new chairs as the “the lifeblood of the NJSBA,” who lead the groups that the Association looks to for expertise and insight.
“The work that you do as a section, committee or division chair will play a vital role in the practice of law in the state. You truly represent the best in our profession,” Lawrence said.
Tuesday's meeting at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick was the first time the NJSBA held its chair orientation in a hybrid format, with new leadership appearing both virtually and in-person. Striking the right balance between virtual and in-person programs is a key challenge for this year, as the NJSBA weighs how best to keep members engaged post-pandemic, NJSBA Executive Director Angela C. Scheck said.
“We appreciate you being here and we appreciate your willingness to be a leader in the Association, especially now as things have completely changed in the last few years,” Scheck said.
The NJSBA’s goals for the upcoming year will center around “putting lawyers first,” making life in the profession better for attorneys and providing them with the tools to survive and thrive in the ever-changing legal landscape, Lawrence said.
Part of the mission includes reforming the state’s ethics system to prevent attorneys from becoming targets of unending ethics cases that can weigh on their careers. The NJSBA is also focused on fixing New Jersey’s judicial vacancy crisis. Roughly 15% of the state’s Superior Court judgeships – 68 out of 463 seats – remain vacant, an unacceptable number, Lawrence said. The vacancies are creating case backlogs that harm children and families in divorce court, and are taking a toll on thousands of defendants sitting in county jails awaiting trial, she said.
Lawrence announced the formation of a task force last month to address these issues and more.
“It is my hope that this task force settles beside the many sections, committees and division that fulfill NJSBA’s mission to serve as the voice of New Jersey attorneys,” she said.