NJSBA Family Law Section

Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to respectfully request that you vote for Kim Yonta in the NJSBA secretary election that will start on Monday.  As many of you know, I am not generally vocal about issues such as this, but I feel that the election of Kim is important and that she be supported based on her excellent qualifications.  I am confident that Kim will make a wonderful secretary and eventual president. 

She has always supported the Family Law Section's activities and efforts to improve our ability to advocate for our clients and improve our practices.  She understands and is actively engaged in lobbying on behalf of the NJSBA and county bar associations across our state; an area that we know is critical to the future of the NJSBA and our Section. 

I personally know Kim.  Kim's character is of the highest quality.  She is honest, forthright and of unimpeachable ethics.  I have experience with her on both state and county bar levels.  Her consideration of an issue is always thoughtful, taking into account all those potentially affected, and she seeks to reach the best possible solution for the membership.  She is intelligent, hardworking and she gets things done.  Just look at the laundry list of programs she has created (Lawyers in Transition, YLD 101 Series, Women's Bench-Bar Conference, etc.) and the member outreach she has done, including to underrepresented groups (she just earned the Minorities in the Profession Section's endorsement).

This is important.  I endorse Kim and am asking you to vote for her.  Voting is open April 13^th to May 4^th.

If you don't receive your ballot by April 13th, please check your trash or junk email folder or contact [email protected] to get the email sent to you so that you can vote.  If you want more info on Kim you can go to her website on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Kim4Secretary or her campaign site http://kimyontaforsecretary.com/ .

Sincerely,

John

Some of you may know that I was also an unsuccessful candidate for secretary.  I am satisfied with the selection of the nominating committee as being in the best interest of the NJSBA going forward and support the committee's nomination.    The nominating committee consists of 15 members, and was chaired this year by John DeBartolo, Esq.    

I have known all three candidates.  All have fine qualifications and have served their constituencies well in their various leadership positions.  No candidate has asserted, to the best of my knowledge that the other is not competent to serve.   All three have volunteered many hours on behalf of the membership of the NJSBA and should be applauded.   I believe it is fair to say that if any of the three candidates are elected to the position of Secretary, the sky will not fall.   Whoever wins I wish them luck.

I just today received an email on behalf of Frugan Mouzan saying that the process is somehow tainted and I quote:

"According to published reports, the decision to bypass Fruqan was based on the false propaganda of a conflict of interest that does not exist.  This baseless smear campaign makes evident the need for a transparent nominating process where the interviews take place in a public forum, similar to the process employed by the ABA."

This unfortunately is the first "negative" ad I have seen and hopefully the last.  

While going through the nomination process I was asked about my role as a municipal court judge and how that may effect my ability to lead.  I can only assume that Fruqan was asked about his role in the NJ Democrat Senate leadership.  Is it a conflict or is it a benefit for either one of us?  There are certainly positives and negatives that can be rightly discussed regarding both these positions.  An argument can be made for both sides of that coin, and it is just one of many factors to consider in the nomination process.  Each candidate should be considered on their merits. 

The nomination process needs to be explained and given due weight.  The recent expansion of the nominating committee from seven (7) to fifteen (15) members was to insure and provide a more comprehensive review of candidates.  Further the guaranteed placement of members from various sections of the bar was designed to insure their voices would be heard in the selection process that heretofore had been dominated by the few (the President of our association previously held great weight on the formation of the nomination committee and therefore on the complexion and makeup of the committee).    The nominating committee reviews extensive questionnaires and interviews the candidates with identical questions.   

           For many years the stated goal of the New Jersey State Bar Association was and is to have greater diversity not only in its membership but its leadership.  In fact that point was driven home by pointing out only six years ago there were only seven women on the board of trustees and next year there will be seventeen.  The formation of the 15 member nominating committee supports and in some cases requires the inclusion of women, minorities, young lawyers, and members of many NJSBA sections.  I believe that all 15 members of this year's  committee performed their obligation with due diligence, deliberation, and after careful reflection selected Kim Yonta, Esq.  They believed Kim was the best candidate to serve the New Jersey State Bar Association and its members going forward as Secretary.  

The concept behind the nomination process as compared to a general election has been to insure that the contest not be a "popularity contest" that could be controlled by a few, but one where candidates are "vetted" by a wide and diverse range of members of the NJSBA.   That committee chose Kim Yonta, Esq for good reason and I support their nomination.   

Please be on the lookout for ballots in this important election and I ask that you cast your vote for Kim Yonta, Esq as the next Secretary of the NJSBA.   

This post is my own and is not sponsored by nor meant to imply and endorsement by the NJSBA.

Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to respectfully request that you vote for Kim Yonta in the NJSBA secretary election that will start on Monday.  As many of you know, I am not generally vocal about issues such as this, but I feel that the election of Kim is important and that she be supported based on her excellent qualifications.  I am confident that Kim will make a wonderful secretary and eventual president. 

She has always supported the Family Law Section's activities and efforts to improve our ability to advocate for our clients and improve our practices.  She understands and is actively engaged in lobbying on behalf of the NJSBA and county bar associations across our state; an area that we know is critical to the future of the NJSBA and our Section. 

I personally know Kim.  Kim's character is of the highest quality.  She is honest, forthright and of unimpeachable ethics.  I have experience with her on both state and county bar levels.  Her consideration of an issue is always thoughtful, taking into account all those potentially affected, and she seeks to reach the best possible solution for the membership.  She is intelligent, hardworking and she gets things done.  Just look at the laundry list of programs she has created (Lawyers in Transition, YLD 101 Series, Women's Bench-Bar Conference, etc.) and the member outreach she has done, including to underrepresented groups (she just earned the Minorities in the Profession Section's endorsement).

This is important.  I endorse Kim and am asking you to vote for her.  Voting is open April 13^th to May 4^th.

If you don't receive your ballot by April 13th, please check your trash or junk email folder or contact [email protected] to get the email sent to you so that you can vote.  If you want more info on Kim you can go to her website on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Kim4Secretary or her campaign site http://kimyontaforsecretary.com/ .

Sincerely,

John