RESOLUTION ENDORSING NANCY ERIKA SMITH FOR SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith has been active on the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Section of the NJSBA for 30 years and served as Chair of the NJSBA Labor and Employment Law Section for two years; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith, along with her firm, Smith Mullin. have provided great support to the Section, its seminars, social events and other endeavors; and
WHEREAS, more than 15 years ago, Nancy Smith organized the Section's annual toy and book drive, and today, still takes the lead in organizing this activity, which brings joy to many children who would otherwise have nothing at holiday time.
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith is a dedicated and respected lawyer, with a career of service to the bar, including the Section, and of vindicating the rights of minorities, the disadvantaged, the victims of discrimination, and the poor; and
WHEREAS. Nancy Smith is a powerful advocate in the courtroom, and has achieved a series of landmark cases in the field of employment law; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith has also served on the Judicial Administration Committee, was a founding member of the Individual Rights Section, has participated in countless seminars for ICLE and the NJSBA, has written prolifically, has taught at the Judicial College, and has moderated several programs for the Women in the Profession Section; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith has also served full terms on the NJ Supreme Court District Ethics Committee and the Essex County Fee Arbitration Committee, and has served as a trustee of the Essex County Bar Association, and served on its Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee for 13 years; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith served on the Board of Trustees of the National Employment Lawyers Association from 1992 to 2000, a national bar association of plaintiffs' employment lawyers, currently sits on the Board of Governors of the NJ Association for Justice, and is now in her second term as a member of the New Jersey Legislature's Joint Commission on Legislative Ethics; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith was awarded the "Rebecca Locketz Legal Award" by the NJ Lesbian and Gay
Coalition for her "contributions as a leader in the community to ensure LGBTI rights" in 2007; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith is also a founder of Wyona's House, a child advocacy center in Newark that has become a national model for the investigation, prosecution, treatment and prevention of child abuse in a child-centered environment; and
WHEREAS, Smith Mullin, the law firm co-founded by Nancy Smith. was named "Equality Company of the
Year" for its "extraordinary commitment to equality."
WHEREAS, Nancy Smith has declared her intention to run for the open position of Second Vice President of the NJSBA;
NOW THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section wholeheartedly endorses Nancy Erika Smith's candidacy for the position of NJSBA Second Vice President and will communicate its endorsement to the NJSBA membership as a whole.
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Alan Zegas Esq.
Chatham NJ
(973)701-7080
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