The New Jersey State Bar Association’s Civil Trial Bar Section will host its annual James J. McLaughlin Award ceremony on Feb. 10 at The Park Chateau in East Brunswick. The awards recognize the highest standard of civility, legal competence and professionalism in the practice of civil law.
This year’s honorees are retired U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey John J. Hughes, Kathleen M. Reilly and Frank A. Viscomi. New Jersey Appellate Division Presiding Judge Jack M. Sabatino will pay tribute to the trio and provide a keynote address. Mark your calendar – registration opens soon.
Here are the honorees:
Judge John J. Hughes
Judge Hughes served with distinction as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey from 1991 to 2009. During his 18-year tenure, he presided over 2,800 settlements, conducted nearly 60 jury trials in consent cases and managed close to 500 civil cases annually, while authoring more than 450 opinions. He earned widespread respect for his ability to resolve complex disputes and guide parties toward amicable resolutions. Judge Hughes was also a trailblazer in electronic discovery. He helped develop one of the nation’s first local district court rules governing e-discovery, authored an early opinion promoting cooperation in the process and served as the first judicial advisor to the U.S. Courts Administrative Office/Department of Justice Working Group on Electronic Technology in the Criminal Justice System. Judge Hughes has served as a mediator with JAMS since 2009. In 2013, readers of the New Jersey Law Journal voted him Best Individual Mediator.
Kathleen M. Reilly
Reilly, of Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, has represented injured clients throughout New Jersey for nearly four decades, securing multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for accident victims. Since 1987, Reilly has maintained her private practice in Hudson County, focusing on personal injury, medical malpractice and catastrophic-injury litigation. She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial attorney. Within the NJSBA, Reilly is a member of the Certified Attorneys and Women in the Profession sections.
Frank A. Viscomi
Viscomi is the managing attorney of the New Jersey staff counsel civil legal office of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. He joined Liberty Mutual in 1980 and has concentrated his trial practice in numerous areas, including automobile negligence, premises liability, products liability, major property damage and construction site accidents. Viscomi is highly active within the NJSBA. He is on the executive board for the Civil Trial Bar Section and has been a featured speaker in numerous symposiums and programs for NJICLE. Viscomi has a held certification by the state Supreme Court as a Civil Trial attorney since 2012.