Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles on the NJSBF 2025 Medal of Honor recipients. An interview with the other recipient, retired state Supreme Court Justice Lee A. Solomon, was featured in a previous issue of The Bar Report.
The New Jersey State Bar Foundation is proud to bestow the 2025 Medal of Honor, the Foundation’s most prestigious award, to NJSBA Past President Domenick Carmagnola.
Carmagnola’s term as Association president from 2021-2022 was defined by several significant accomplishments. Under his leadership, the NJSBA advanced critical legislation, was an important voice on amicus matters, examined the issue of bias and discrimination in both jury selection and the profession and shined a spotlight on the court system’s judicial vacancy crisis.
Along with co-Medal of Honor recipient retired state Supreme Court Justice Lee A. Solomon, Carmagnola will be honored during an awards ceremony at the Park Chateau in East Brunswick on Sept. 17.
“The Medal of Honor recognizes professional excellence, leadership, commitment, and service to the public and legal community. This year’s awardees – Justice Solomon and NJSBA Past President Domenick Carmagnola – have exemplified these qualities throughout their distinguished legal careers,” said Ralph J. Lamparello, president of the NJSBF. “We congratulate them and applaud their outstanding contributions to the legal profession and to the advancement and improvement of the justice system in New Jersey.”
Carmagnola, a founding partner at Carmagnola & Ritardi LLC in Morristown, spoke recently about his life, career and receiving the Medal of Honor.
You’ve been active in the state bar for many years. Describe your history with the NJSBA and what motivated you to get involved.
My involvement started with a seminar for the Young Lawyers Division. My boss at the time, Wayne J. Positan – who later became bar president – was supposed to speak, but had a conflict. He asked if I would step in and I did. I was a great experience that really kickstarted my journey of speaking and coordinating seminars and being actively involved in bar activities. That was in December 1988.
Back then I had incredible mentors who set an example for me in bar leadership – people like Wayne, Karol Corbin Walker and Ralph J. Lamparello to name a few, all of whom are former bar presidents. There was a strong group of individuals who led the Labor and Employment Section. They led by example and showed me how to conduct yourself when it came to participating in the bar, and how giving back was as significant as participating. Many of my peers in the bar from that period became lifelong friends.
Why have you dedicated so much time in service of your fellow lawyers?
I was always motivated to improve my knowledge and my skills as an attorney. The Association helped greatly with that. Later, I found satisfaction and purpose in giving back to the same community that had been so generous to me. It was the ultimate way to pay it forward. It’s a decision I’ve never regretted.
You won’t find a smarter, nicer or more dedicated group of people than in the Association or Foundation. When you are part of the various sections and committees and their subparts, and when you get involved in the CLE panels to benefit your fellow attorneys, you are given an opportunity to give as much as you get, and it becomes infectious. I always felt that anything I did, whether it was participating in the sections or just going to a seminar, I got some benefit in return. When you are in a position to share those experiences with others, maybe help improve their skills or their knowledge or help them experience what you were able to, it becomes an easy decision, and it becomes something that's even easier to continue doing.
What accomplishments stand out to you while serving as bar president?
The year as president is a blur. You try to set an agenda – have a list of initiatives to accomplish – but then things happen that will ultimately take priority. We were still in the pandemic. The profession was dealing with issues it had never faced before. Thankfully, the courts were remarkable in how they addressed technology and pivoted to Zoom in ways that allowed us to keep practicing and law firms operating. The Association shined as well. It handled the pandemic better than any bar association in the country in providing guidance on how attorneys can navigate the uncertainty. I think we were the first to have a digital platform for an Annual Meeting. I was proud to witness the resilience of the Association and its members in that transitional period.
The state Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Andujar was another key moment in my tenure. That case addressed bias in jury selection and altered the voir dire process in New Jersey. The Court called for the Judicial Conference on Jury Selection only a few months after the decision to discuss issues in jury selection. With a short runway, the Association had to mobilize quickly to form a working group to study the issue and provide recommendations to the Court. We ended up comprising the group with the best our Association could offer, with two incredible chairs – Raymond M. Brown and Michael G. Donahue III. Picking them was one of my best decisions as president. The result was one of the most significant reports ever put together in my time with the Association. It tackled important issues in the role that bias plays in the jury selection process, peremptory challenges in the justice system and reforming the jury selection process. I was incredibly proud to be part of that effort.
What did you learn about New jersey attorneys while serving as president?
As president, it’s your job to find, recruit and identify talent, and ask them to participate, whether it’s for a section, committee or a working group to research an issue. I can’t remember a time when I asked someone to contribute, and they declined. That’s incredibly gratifying when you’re leading an organization. It just confirmed for me what I already knew – that we have the most dedicated, focused and talented professionals and attorneys in the country. Their passion for their work and volunteering within the Association was always inspiring and kept me motivated to remain involved.
After nearly 40 years in practice, you’ve risen to the top of the profession in the labor and employment bar in New Jersey. Describe your journey into the law.
I was incredibly lucky. I don’t come from a family of lawyers, so I didn’t have that foundation when I started my career. But my parents valued education more than anything else in our house. With college, my dad used to say “You get that piece of paper. I don't care what you do with it, but no one can ever take it away from you.” I loved school, I loved learning, and I loved being challenged. Early on in college, I took a business law class that fascinated me. I quickly decided that I wanted to become an attorney, so I worked hard to put myself in a position to accomplish that. I was lucky enough to get into Seton Hall Law School, which was my first choice because it’s a great school and going there allowed me to stay home and continue working in the family business. My family owned a pizza restaurant in Rockaway. I wore a lot of hats while working there. On any given day you had to be a waiter, the sous chef, even the dishwasher. It gave me this great diversion from the rigors of law school – having place where you can socialize with all different kinds of folks. Law school can be a grind, but it was my favorite level of school that I ever attended. I enjoyed the challenge, the topics. Not surprisingly, it’s where I got my best grades. I knew I had made the right decision by going. I just didn’t know what I would do when I graduated.
Right before law school I got a job at a law firm as a file clerk. It was an insurance defense firm in Livingston where I worked office hours Monday to Friday. On the weekends I helped at the restaurant. Everyone in my department at the firm knew I was going to law school. My boss at the time called me into his office one day and offered to hire me as a law clerk if I decided to come back after my first year. I worked there all through law school and had an incredible experience. Later I sent out resumes and got an interview at Lum Danzis, which became Lum, Drasco & Positan. One of the attorneys there, Edward R. "Skip" McMahon, went to bat for me after recognizing my strong work ethic across various jobs at the family business while attending school. I’ll never forget that. At the time I knew nothing about labor and employment. They asked, “Do you want to work in this department?” I said “yes,” because I didn’t want to say no as a young attorney trying to establish myself. My answer ended up becoming my career.
What are your hobbies and interests outside of the law?
I have a passion for fishing, fly fishing in particular. My wife and I play a lot of racquet sports – tennis, pickleball – something we do together year-round. I did a lot of coaching when my kids were growing up. I loved having my own firm because it allowed me to do things on my terms. I never wanted to miss time with my kids, whether it was a school event or all the sports they were into – soccer, baseball, basketball. My flexible schedule at the firm made it all possible.
What does receiving the Medal of Honor mean to you and how do you think the Foundation makes a difference for New Jersey residents?
I've been involved in the Foundation for a long time, long enough to truly appreciate what the Medal of Honor represents. I look at the list of prior recipients, and while I had the honor and privilege of working with many of them throughout my career, I would never have put myself in their company when it comes to this type of honor. I'm truly humbled by it.
The great thing about the Foundation is that it has so many programs that are not only designed to educate the public, but also to heighten the public's perception of attorneys. The Foundation plays an essential role in helping the public understand the legal system and those within it. And then you factor in all its publications, law scholarships, the mock trial program, few organizations have had a greater impact on the legal profession in New Jersey. I’m proud to join that legacy.
For more information about the Foundation’s Medal of Honor Awards Celebration, please visit moh.njsbf.org.