g{x MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

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1 Middlesex County Court House, circa 1840, New Brunswick, N.J. g{x MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION DCCà{ TÇÇ äxüátüç June June 2014 THE HELDRICH NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY JUNE 13, 2014

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3 Message from the Outgoing President Tara Auciello, Esq. (on the Occasion of the Middlesex County Bar Association's 200th Anniversary on June 13, 2114) This evening I am so very humbled to be standing before you as the one hundred ninety-ninth President in celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the Middlesex County Bar Association. To those of you who are here in person, kindly disable your time-travel brain functions in order that we can properly "live in the moment" and consider how far this Association has come since our foreparents celebrated the MCBA's centennial in June (For those of you who are attending in hologram and/or clone form, welcome!) In the last hundred years, the MCBA has continued to be the best bar association in New Jersey, inspired by the legacy left by our first hundred boards of trustees. For example, the work of one of those boards allowed the MCBA to move from a small room in the Courthouse to a stand-alone building owned by the Middlesex County Bar Foundation. It was in that building that the MCBA held thousands of CLE seminars, both before and after CLE became mandatory, propelling our Association to the forefront of legal education in the state. During the first hundred years of the MCBA's existence, membership grew from just a few pioneers to 1420 members at the time of the centennial celebration. Different types of membership were created (law students, legal secretaries, etc.) and a spirit of inclusion and collegiality was cultivated by the many officers and trustees who led the Association. Eventually, the board decided that full-time staff members were needed to help the MCBA realize its potential, and those dedicated professionals enjoyed long tenures with the Association. Toward the end of the MCBA's first hundred years, the Association elected its first African- American officer, a community-minded attorney named Renee Anthony, Esq. Inspired by and impressed with Renee's service, in the years that followed the members continued to elect leaders from a diverse range of ethnicities, practice areas, firm sizes, geographic locations, religions, sexual orientations, and ages. I believe that the biggest achievements during my Presidency have been the creation of the Cryogenics Law committee and the addition of hovercraft parking spaces on our roof. After all, the MCBA accomplished so many important and forward-thinking objectives in its first hundred years that those achievements were hard to beat! On a personal note, I would be remiss if I did not thank my great great grandfather, MCBA and MCBF Past President Dennis Alan Auciello, Esq. My namesake and great aunt Tara, who also served as President of both the Association and Foundation, often regaled me with tales of his tireless dedication to the MCBA and MCBF. On behalf of all MCBA Past Presidents, trustees, members, and employees, congratulations on the first and second hundred years! Long live the mighty Middlesex County Bar Association!

4 The Middlesex County Bar Association would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support: Association Stars Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer PA Senior Partners Paone Zaleski Brown & Murray Provident Bank Partners Rebenack Aronow & Mascolo, LLP Hoagland Longo Moran Dunst & Doukas, LLP Keefe Bartels LLC Archer & Greiner, PC Mandelbaum Salsburg Associates Watson Stevens Rutter & Roy, LLP Levinson Axelrod PA Connell Foley LLP McGovern Legal Services, LLC Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group The Chalfin Group, Inc. Marcum, LLP Hon. James M. Cahill Jonathan P. Dixon & Associates Document Solutions, LLC Gill & Chamas, LLC Hudson Court Reporting & Digital Media Investors Bank Maraziti Falcon & Healey LLP Friends of the Association WeiserMazars, LLP Wells Fargo Advisors Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP Northfield Bank Ramatowski Spilka & Schwartz Hon. Bob Smith Urbach & Avraham, LLP Troyan, Inc. Venezia & Nolan Volk Insurance Group, LLC

5 Middlesex County Bar Association 100th Anniversary Gala & Annual Installation of Officers and Trustees Friday, June 13, 2014 The Heldrich, 10 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey Welcome - Recognition of Past Presidents & 50-Year Members Dinner Program Outgoing President s Remarks - Recognition of Longtime Sponsors - Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group - 70 Years - Guaranteed Subpoena Service, Inc Years - Schulman, Wiegmann & Associates, CSR s - 20 Years Remarks from the New Jersey State Bar Association President Installation of Officers & Trustees - Craig M. Aronow - President-Elect - Andrea J. Sullivan - First Vice-President - William P. Isele - Second Vice-President - Brenda Vallecilla - Treasurer - Joanne Vos - Secretary - Trustees: Richard D. Barker, Risa M. Chalfin, Patrick D. Heller, Edward Testino, Eugene Wishnic and Kimberly Yonta Introduction & Swearing-In of President - Ellen F. Schwartz Entertainment by Shore Circus Dinner Presentation of the Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Awards - Frederic K. Becker (in memoriam) - John J. Hoagland - Alan E. Davis - Hon. Marina Corodemus, JSC (Ret.) - E. Ronald Wright Entertainment by Shore Circus Bar History Video Project Presentation Entertainment by Shore Circus Unveiling of the 100th Anniversary Bar Composite Hon. Richard S. Cohen, JAD (Ret.) Hon. John E. Keefe, Sr., PJAD (Ret.) Tara Auciello, Esq. Paris P. Eliades, Esq. Hon. Travis L. Francis, AJSC Hon. Darlene M. Pereksta, JSC Andrea J. Sullivan, Esq. Chair, Events Planning Committee Hon. Barry T. Albin, Associate Justice Supreme Court of New Jersey Andrea J. Sullivan, Esq. Hon. Barnett E. Hoffman, JSC (Ret.) Andrea J. Sullivan, Esq. Hon. Travis L. Francis, AJSC Ellen F. Schwartz, Esq.

6 CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LAW PARTNER ELLEN F. SCHWARTZ on her installation as President and to all of the Officers and Trustees of the Middlesex County Bar Association Best Wishes for a Very Successful Year!! Jean M. Ramatowski & Cheryl M. Spilka RAMATOWSKI, SPILKA & SCHWARTZ 758 ROUTE 18 NORTH SUITE 105 EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ (732)

7 Message from the President Ellen F. Schwartz, Esq. Welcome to our One Hundredth Anniversary Gala Celebration! I want to begin by congratulating all of our award recipients tonight. They are the shining lights of our profession, the individuals who set the standard to which we all aspire. They have shown us, by example, how to be good lawyers, good citizens, and good people. I am proud to be in their company. In crafting her Message from the President, Renèe Anthony wrote about a spark that led to her becoming involved in the Middlesex County Bar Association, and ultimately, becoming the organization s first African-American President in that year. We lost Renèe in October of 2013, but her legacy remains with us. She encouraged us to get out from behind our desks, and from our comfy chairs in the board room, and to get out into the community and do some good. That doing good included working on home rehabilitation projects for the needy in Woodbridge; preparing and serving meals at Elijah s Promise soup kitchen in New Brunswick; and providing a safe Halloween for the kids in New Brunswick with our Trunk or Treat project. Our outgoing President, Tara Auciello, continued the efforts that Renèe began, and added her own initiative to the work of our Board. Tara reminded us that our organization is only as strong and healthy as its individual members, and encouraged us to reach out a hand to our colleagues in transition. That included attorneys who were coming to the profession later in life, attorneys who were transitioning from one area of the law to another, attorneys who were relocating to New Jersey from other jurisdictions and had to become familiar with our practice rules, and last but not least, young attorneys just coming into the profession and trying to find their way. I am proud and humbled to be able to follow these two outstanding leaders, as I become the President of the Middlesex County Bar Association in this, its one hundredth year. Milestone anniversaries such as this one tend to encourage reflection, and I have had an extra month to reflect on my new responsibilities, given the scheduling of tonight s gala event. It is to the benefit of the MCBA that Tara Auciello, who did an outstanding job as President, got to serve an extra month in that capacity. Tara proved herself to be an exceptionally poised, efficient, organized and capable leader, with enviable people skills, and I hope she will remain an active Board member for as long as possible. I am truly fortunate to have an outstanding Executive Board to work with this year; Craig Aronow, Andrea Sullivan, Brenda Vallecilla, Bill Isele, and Joanne Vos are all hard-working and committed individuals who bring a wealth of talent to the MCBA. Rounding out our leadership team is the incomparable Jonathan Cowles, our Executive Director, who is now entering his twenty-fourth year in that capacity, and is superb at his job, and Assistant Director Elaine Miller and LRS Administrator Pattyann Pulda, 25 and 18 years at the bar, respectively. We are also fortunate to have the support of our bench, and our Assignment Judge, the Hon. Travis Francis, AJSC, has set the tone in forging an exemplary bench-bar relationship in this county. I have also had an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that our organization, and our profession as a whole, will face in the upcoming years. The past few years have brought us a turbulent economy, and our profession has certainly felt the impact of the bursting of the tech bubble, of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, and a depressed real estate market. Attorneys who were previously engaged in practices in those related areas now find themselves searching for other ways to utilize their skills. Now, more than ever, the Bar Association is called upon to provide services to our members that can give them real assistance when they need it most. From our cost-effective Continuing Legal Education programs, to our Lawyer Referral Service, to our Mentor Program, to our job search website, the MCBA is there for its members. We recognize and understand our role in the legal community, and we stand ready, willing and able to assist our members in a variety of ways. When people ask me why they should become a member of the MCBA, my answer is simple: we are lawyers helping lawyers, helping the court system function more effectively, and helping our communities. Also, you get to make new friends, as many of the lawyers that I have worked with over the past eight years practice law in an area (See President s Message on page 20)

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9 MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION PROFILES OF OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES PRESIDENT Ellen F. Schwartz, Esq. Ramatowski, Spilka & Schwartz East Brunswick, New Jersey Ellen is a partner in the East Brunswick law firm of Ramatowski, Spilka & Schwartz and has concentrated her law practice in the area of family law and related matters since She graduated from Seton Hall University Law School in 1985, having previously received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Dickinson College. Ellen has served as an Early Settlement Panelist in Middlesex County for the past 20 years, and currently serves as a Trustee on the Middlesex County Bar Foundation. She serves as a volunteer for both Women Aware and Women Helping Women, as well as the Displaced Homemakers Network of New Jersey, for which she was honored as Middlesex County's Volunteer of the Year at the Legislative Awards in Trenton in May of She also served as the President of the Board of Directors of the YM-YWHA of Raritan Valley from Ellen is an active member of the Association s Family Law Section and has served on both the Supreme Court District VIII Fee Arbitration Committee and the District VIII Ethics Committee. PRESIDENT-ELECT Craig M. Aronow, Esq. Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP New Brunswick, New Jersey Craig Aronow is a partner in the New Brunswick law firm of Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP and a Certified Civil Trial Attorney. He is licensed in both NJ and NY. He graduated in 1995 from The Pennsylvania State University and earned his JD with honors, Cum Laude, from Quinnipiac University School of Law in Following law school, Craig served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Alan A. Rockoff, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey in Middlesex County ( ). Craig is actively involved in professional organizations at the local and state levels. Craig is the Middlesex County Trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association and past chair of the NJSBA Solo and Small Firm Section. He is a barrister in the Joseph Halpern Civil Inn of Court and received the NJSBA Young Lawyer Division s Award for Service to the Bar in Craig serves as Chair of the Association s Civil Practice Committee and Lawyers Referral Service Committee, and as the head coach for the Rutgers University Mock Trial Association, the 2012 National Championship Runners-Up. He is also past chair of the Association s Young Lawyers Committee. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT Andrea J. Sullivan, Esq. Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis, LLP Woodbridge, New Jersey Andrea is a partner with Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis, LLP. Andrea received her AB, cum laude, from Mount Holyoke College and received her JD, with high honors, from Rutgers Law School, Newark, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. After graduation, she served as Law Secretary to the Hon. Erminie Lane Conley, sitting in the Chancery Division, General Equity part, Middlesex County. Following her clerkship, she immediately joined Greenbaum, Rowe where she has practiced throughout her career. Andrea is named to Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation and to NJ Su per Lawyers, and holds an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell. Andrea has served as a panelist for many continuing legal education programs, speaking at a number of NJSBA programs and as a panelist for the New Jersey In- (Continued on next page)

10 (Continued from previous page) stitute of Continuing Legal Education. Andrea received the Robert J. Cirafesi Chancery Practice Award and was named as one of New Jersey's Best 50 Women in Business in Since 1991, Andrea has served on the Board of Central Jersey Legal Services Inc. and she is the Immediate Past President of the Board. She is also a past president ( ) of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation, where she continues to serve on that Board. She also served for six years as a Trustee of the Bar Association, as Chair of the Women Lawyers Section and Chancery Practice Committee, and as Chair of the Chancery Practice Committee s Early Settlement Program. Andrea is also active in the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is a Trustee of the Women in the Profession Section, a past Vice Chair of the Equity Jurisprudence Committee, and a member of the Family Law Section. Andrea is married to Thomas Salomone and has three children: Briana, Thomas and Alexandra. SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT William P. Isele, Esq. Archer & Greiner, P.C. Princeton, New Jersey Bill Isele is Of Counsel in the Princeton office of Archer & Greiner, P.C. Admitted to the bar of New Jersey in 1976, Bill s practice is focused on Healthcare Law, Elder Law, and Government Agency Appeals. He is a graduate of The Catholic University of America (B.A. and M.A.) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.), and holds a Certificate in Gerontology from Rutgers University. He served as New Jersey s Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly from October 1999 to October 2007 under five governors (Whitman, Di- Francesco, McGreevey, Codey and Corzine) and has served as an officer of the National Association of State Ombudsman Programs. Bill is a member of the American Bar Association and New Jersey State Bar Association, is the incoming President of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation, and has served as the Secretary of the New Jersey Supreme Court s District VIII Fee Arbitration Committee since He was the Chair of the NJSBA Elder & Disability Law Section, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the NJSBA Health Law Section, which he chaired from He was honored by the Health Law Section with its Distinguished Service Award for He is a recipient of the 2009 NJSBA Distinguished Legislative Service Award. Bill and Linda Jean, his wife of 38 years, have three grown sons: William N., a Master Sergeant (E-8) in the United States Marine Corps; Christopher, who works for a NGO in Kenya, Africa; and David, who is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. TREASURER Brenda Vallecilla, Esq. Law Offices of Brenda Vallecilla, LLC South Plainfield, New Jersey Brenda is a sole practitioner in South Plainfield. She is a graduate of Seton Hall University, where she attended as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar. After a brief career in sales and marketing she attended Rutgers University School of Law-Camden and upon graduation became an associate of the now defunct Tomar, Simonoff, Adourian, O Brien, Graziano et al. in Haddonfield, focusing primarily on plaintiffs personal injury, and later becoming an associate with the criminal defense firm of Baker and Kahn in Voorhees. Prior to opening her own practice Brenda was a Regional Vice President at Live Nation, Inc. in New York City. Brenda opened her own office to be closer to home while her daughter, Maricela Gonzalez, attended high school. Her daughter is now a graduate of Columbia University. In her general practice, Brenda primarily counsels in the areas of family law/domestic violence, immigration law, real estate transactions -- residential and commercial, and personal injury. She is on the board of Central Jersey Legal Services, and the Executive Board of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation where she has spearheaded the Middlesex County Mock Trial Program for the past three years, she was as a Trustee of the Middlesex County Bar Association and has served as an Officers since She was awarded the Pro-Bono of the Year Award by the Middlesex County Bar Association in She regularly volunteers as a pro-bono attorney for various organizations. She is married to Robert A. Billhardt, III.

11 SECRETARY Joanne Vos, Esq. Maraziti, Falcon & Healey, LLP Short Hills, New Jersey Joanne graduated from Seton Hall Law School in She clerked for the Hon. Stephen E. Mochary in Essex County before she went on to become a top litigator in the insurance defense industry. She has a distinguished history with the New Jersey Defense Association, having served as President from 2009 to Joanne is a partner at Maraziti, Falcon & Healey, LLP and focuses her practice in environmental law. She represents property owners, public entities and private companies in complex environmental litigation, compliance, and transactional matters. Previously, Joanne practiced at two of the largest law firms in Middlesex County: Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas, LLP and Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis, LLP. She is an avid speaker and writer on the topics of environmental law, litigation, and women in the law. Trustee 2015 Joshua Altman, Esq. Benedict & Altman New Brunswick, New Jersey Josh was admitted to the New Jersey and Federal Bar in 2000 and is an associate in the law firm of Benedict & Altman in New Brunswick. His practice is concentrated primarily in the area of criminal defense in State and Federal Courts. Josh graduated from the University of Vermont in 1997 and received his JD from Seton Hall University Law School in During law school he clerked for the law firm of Gill & Chamas in Woodbridge and after his admission to the NJ Bar, he clerked for Hon. Bryan Garruto, JSC during the court term. Josh is a very active member of the bar. He serves as Co-Chair of the Association s Young Lawyers Committee, is a Trustee of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation and was President of the New Brunswick Bar Association. He is also a member of the NJ State Bar Association and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and was recently named a Rising Star by New Jersey Monthly Magazine. Trustee 2015 Kim M. Connor, Esq. Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP Florham Park, New Jersey Kim M. Connor is a graduate of New York Law School, and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Kim is Of Counsel in the New Jersey Office of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, LLP. She practices primarily in the areas of professional liability defense, and insurance coverage. Kim is a member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey Bar Association, and the Middlesex County Bar Association. Kim was Chair of the Insurance Coverage Division of New Jersey Bar Association for the term, and the District VIII Ethics Committee Chair for the and terms. Trustee 2015 Megha Thakkar, Esq. Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus, PA Bridgewater, New Jersey Megha was admitted to the state bar of New Jersey in 2008 and the state bar of New York in She is an associate at Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A. in Bridgewater. She represents clients in all aspects of matrimonial and family law, including divorce litigation and mediation, post-judgment litigation, custody and parenting time issues, alimony and child support, pre-nuptial agreements, and domestic violence matters. Prior to her current position, Megha was a senior associate at the Law Offices of Edward R. Weinstein, (Continued on next page)

12 We are proud to support the Middlesex County Bar Association and we offer congratulations and best wishes for a successful year to ELLEN F. SCHWARTZ Incoming President and the rest of the Officers and Trustees Craig M. Aronow -President Elect Andrea J. Sullivan -1st Vice President William P. Isele -2nd Vice President Brenda Vallecilla -Treasurer Joanne Vos -Secretary Richard D. Barker Risa M. Chalfin Patrick D. Heller Edward Testino Eugene Wishnic Kimberly Yonta Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group Gary L. Pinckney, Esq. 701 Martinsville Road Liberty Corner, NJ Phone: Fax: [email protected]

13 (Continued from previous page) L.L.C. in East Brunswick where she also exclusively practiced matrimonial and family law. She also served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Andrea G. Carter, J.S.C., Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Part, Middlesex County. In 2014, Megha was selected for inclusion on the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Megha graduated from New York University in 2005 and from St. John's University School of Law in In law school, Ms. Thakkar was a recipient of the St. Thomas More Academic Scholarship, was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society, served as President of the South Asian Law Students Association, and was named to the Dean's List. Trustee 2015 Hon. Rosemarie R. Williams, JSC (Ret.) Hopewell, New Jersey Rosemarie Ruggiero Williams is a retired Superior Court Judge with a state-wide Mediation/Arbitration and legal consulting practice. She makes her home base Middlesex County with an office located on Centennial Avenue in Piscataway. While on the bench she sat in every division and was the designated Environmental Judge for Vicinage 13. She also served as the Presiding General Equity and Probate Judge. Although assigned to several vicinages her last assignment was to Middlesex County and she has been a member of our bar association since that time. She was recently elected as a fellow of the American Bar Association. Prior to going on the bench she was a litigator for many years, handling all types of civil litigation including Civil Rights, Employment, and Environmental and Personal Injury cases. Her last assignment was Section Chief of the Tort Litigation Unit in the Attorney General's office. Judge Williams graduated from Villanova School of Law and the College of New Jersey, Summa Cum Laude. In addition to her other legal activities she enjoys teaching and has taught continuing legal education courses in various subjects for both the bench and bar. Currently she also serves as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School teaching trial skills and dispute resolution courses. Trustee 2015 Eugene Wishnic, Esq. New Brunswick, New Jersey New Jersey native Eugene Wishnic earned his JD in 1992 from the Rutgers School of Law in Camden. In 1997 he opened his practice on Bayard Street in New Brunswick. His practice is primarily focused on representing accident victims in Superior Court and defendants in both municipal and Superior Court. Since becoming an attorney in 1992, Eugene has developed a fluency in Spanish which has allowed him to better serve his client base among the local Latin community. Eugene is a member of the Middlesex County Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, Middlesex County Trial Lawyers Association, New Brunswick Bar Association, American Association for Justice, New Jersey Association for Justice, is a contributor to NJ-PAC and presently serves as co-chairman of the MCBA s Municipal Court Practice Committee. He is looking forward to serving as Trustee to the Middlesex County Bar Association and continuing to promote the strength and growth of the Association and the members it serves. Trustee 2016 John F. Gillick, Esq. Martin, Kane & Kuper East Brunswick, New Jersey Jack is a partner in the East Brunswick law firm of Martin, Kane & Kuper and concentrates his practice on the litigation of employment discrimination, civil rights, and personal injury matters. He received his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University in 2001 and thereafter served as Law Clerk to the Hon. Jack L. Lintner, former Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, Appellate Division. As the current Immediate Past President of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation, Jack spearheaded several projects including Casino Night, the Project Law essay contest and a holiday toy drive for Catholic Charities. He was recently named a "Super Lawyer by New Jersey Monthly maga- (Continued on next page)

14 (Continued from previous page) zine in the area of employment law. Jack has won appeals before both the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and has been counsel of record on numerous published opinions. A former Trustee for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Jack has taught continuing legal education courses on behalf of the Middlesex County Bar Association and is a Volunteer Lawyer for Justice for the Legal Services Foundation of Essex County. He is also a committee member for the Good Scout Award Dinner for the Boy Scouts of America s Central New Jersey Council and is an Assistant Troop Leader for his daughters Girl Scout troops. Trustee 2016 Meryl A.G. Gonchar, Esq. Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis, LLP Woodbridge, New Jersey Meryl is a partner at Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP and co-chair of the firm s Real Estate Department. Her practice encompasses all aspects of land use, zoning and land use litigation. She appears before planning and zoning boards throughout the state on behalf of property owners and developer clients in connection with residential, commercial, industrial and mixed use projects. She also represents clients in land use, condemnation and related litigation before the Superior Court of New Jersey in connection with prerogative writs litigation, challenging denials of land use approvals and defending approvals against challenges. Her diversified experience and extensive knowledge of the complexities of land use law enables her to assist clients throughout the various stages of a project s development, from acquisition through approvals and permitting, due diligence, financing, leasing or sales. Meryl is an active member of the NJ Builders Association, serving on the Legislative Committee and speaking regularly at the Association s events. She is the Vice President of Associate Affairs of NAIOP New Jersey and has previously served as a member of NAIOP s Board of Trustees and as co-chair of its Education Committee. She is a past president of CREW NJ and a former delegate to CREW Network. She is a past chair and member of the Board of Directors of the Land Use Law Section of the NJ State Bar Association as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bar Association s Women in the Profession Section. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Middlesex County Bar Association. Meryl is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). She is also a founder of the firm s Women s Leadership Forum. Meryl is recognized in the Chambers USA Guide and Best Lawyers in America. She is listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers as a Top 100 Lawyer and among the Top 50 Women Lawyers in the state. Meryl is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and a past President of Women's Philanthropy of Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County and a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Association of Jewish Federations. She has served on the Board of Directors of Executive Women of New Jersey and the Board of Trustees of the George Street Playhouse. She is a graduate of Rutgers College and Rutgers University School of Law, Newark. Meryl resides in East Brunswick with her husband, Wayne. They have two children, Daniel, a pilot and flight instructor, and Jillian, who will be a freshman at Ithaca College in the fall. Trustee 2016 Louis J. Seminski, Jr., Esq. Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, PA Woodbridge, New Jersey Lou is a Creditors' Rights Associate on the Banking & Creditors' Rights Team at the law firm of Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer. He has experience in litigating a variety of banking and complex commercial matters involving financial institutions and other entities. He also has significant experience in real estate related disputes, professional malfeasance, enforcement of restrictive covenants, governmental affairs and intellectual property issues. Lou is a Trustee of the Middlesex County Bar Association, a member of the Federal and Chancery Practice Committees of the Burlington and Atlantic County Bar Associations, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Association of the Federal Bar. In addition to his positions in the Bar Association, Lou is a Barrister of the John C. Lifland American Inn of Court, an association dedicated to the practice of civil litigation and intellectual property law in both Federal and State Court. Lou is active in the community, serving as Treasurer and Trustee of the Raritan Bay YMCA, and as a volunteer (Continued on next page)

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16 (Continued from previous page) with the Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation. He serves as a mentor for students at his alma mater, St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, N.J., St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA and Rutgers Law School where he serves on a career services advisory panel. Upon entering the practice of law, Lou served a one year clerkship for the Hon. Yolanda Ciccone, J.S.C. after earning his JD degree at Rutgers Law School in While attending Rutgers Law School, he served as Articles Editor of the Rutgers Law Journal. Lou enjoys writing about the emerging legal issues of the day as they pertain to his practice, as well as those matters involving small closely held businesses. Trustee 2016 Daria Anne Venezia, Esq. Venezia & Nolan Woodbridge, New Jersey Daria was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1986 and is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and Massachusetts Bar. She is a partner in the law firm of Venezia & Nolan, P.C. in Woodbridge. Daria's practice is concentrated on representation of government bodies, tax appeals and estates and guardianships. Daria graduated from Boston College and received her JD from Boston College Law School. She also received an L.L.M. in Taxation from Boston University. Daria formerly taught Business Law as an adjunct professor at Middlesex County College. She was also formerly a volunteer attorney coach for the Mt. St. Mary Academy mock trial team. Daria is a volunteer mediator in the Chancery Division Vounteer Mediation Program. Daria is married to James Todd and has a son William. Trustee 2016 Charles D. Whelan III New Brunswick, New Jersey After graduating from Rutgers Newark School of Law in 1981, Chuck clerked for the Hon. Samuel Allcorn, P.J.A.D. He has been a sole practitioner since 1987, specializing in commercial and real estate litigation and bankruptcy, with an emphasis on title litigation. Chuck is admitted to the New Jersey and New York Bars. He has been recognized by Who s Who in American Law, and has been rated preeminent by Martindale Hubbell. He has been accepted as an expert witness in the fields of real estate law and professional negligence by the New Jersey courts. Chuck served as a volunteer mediator in the Superior Court of New Jersey for five years, and was pro bono general counsel for Plainfield Habitat for Humanity for 22 years. He served for two years as Chairman of the Board of the Central Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and was a youth sports coach for eleven years. He is also a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Commercial Law League of America. In his free time, Chuck enjoys mountain hiking. Trustee 2017 Richard D. Red Barker, Esq. New Brunswick, New Jersey "Red" recently retired as the Deputy Public Defender in the Middlesex Region of the Office of the Public Defender. His path to the Public Defender's Office was the result of a career dedicated to public service. A self-labeled "child of the 60's," he was a volunteer at William Kunstler's Center for Constitutional Rights while in law school at Rutgers-Camden. He first made a name for himself as the Program Director for Hunterdon County Legal Services. He continued his quest to provide access to equal justice to all citizens by forming the Budget Barrister law firm in Woodbridge in 1979 (this was a full service solo practice that was the first in NJ to advertise in the Yellow Pages and in newspapers low cost legal fees for specified services and to file computer generated pleadings). In 1989, Hon. Bradley Ferencz, J.S.C., who was then Deputy Public Defender for the Middlesex Region, persuaded Mr. Barker to join the office as a staff attorney. It was a perfect fit, as the position suited his appetite for (Continued on next page)

17 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! Congratulations to the Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Frederic K. Becker, Esq. (in memoriam) Alan E. Davis, Esq. Hon. Marina Corodemus, JSC (Ret.) John J. Hoagland, Esq. E. Ronald Wright, Esq. Congratulations to the Officers & Trustees 2 Lincoln Highway Edison, NJ Route 31 Flemington, NJ Route 206 South Hillsborough, NJ Church Street Belford, NJ US Hwy Route 9N Howell, NJ Lacey Road Forked River, NJ Forsgate Drive Jamesburg, NJ 08831

18 (Continued from previous page) both trial work and social justice. Ever since, he has cemented his status as one of the premier criminal defense attorneys in the county. Trustee 2017 Risa M. Chalfin, Esq. Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, PA Woodbridge, New Jersey Risa Chalfin is an associate at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer practicing in the area of Commercial Litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Risa was the law clerk for the Hon. Glenn Berman, Chancery Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. During her term as a law clerk, Judge Berman presided over the State v. Ravi trial. While in law school, she interned for the Hon. Barry T. Albin, Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the National Football League. Risa is a Trustee of the Middlesex County Bar Association and the Middlesex County Bar Foundation. She serves on the Young Lawyers Committee for the Middlesex County Bar Association and the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. She is also a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Risa is actively involved with the University of Pennsylvania, acting as Co-Administrative Vice President of her class and interviewing prospective students. She is active in the Anti-Defamation League. In her free time she enjoys following the New York Yankees and running. Trustee 2017 Patrick D. Heller, Esq. Terkowitz & Hermesmann Somerset, New Jersey Patrick was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 2001 and is an associate with the law firm of Terkowitz and Hermesmann in Somerset. His practice primarily involves insurance defense including automobile liability, PIP arbitrations, worker's compensation defense and coverage matters. Patrick graduated from High Point University in 1997 and from Penn State Law- Dickinson in Patrick also clerked with the Hon. J. Wesley Oler, Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas. Patrick is active in the legal community and the bar association. In that regard, he serves on the MCBA Civil Practice Committee, helped put together and present a seminar on the Verbal Threshold and PIP law. He is also a frequent contributor to the MCBA's newsletter. Patrick has also been published in the New Jersey Law Journal and Rutgers Law Review-Commentaries wherein he has written articles dealing with emerging tort law issues and their impact on the legal community. Further, Patrick was selected by the New Jersey Board of Law Examiners and has served as a bar grader/reader for New Jersey Bar Exam. Trustee 2017 Edward Testino, Esq. Matawan, New Jersey Edward Testino is a solo-practitioner in the Township of Old Bridge and concentrates his practice on trial, personal injury, matrimonial and municipal work. He received his JD from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1984 and he received an LLM in Securities Regulation in May 1985 from Georgetown University School of Law. Ed is an alum of the University of Delaware where he received his BA degree. He is also admitted to the New York and D.C. Bars. Ed serves as a member of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation Board of Trustees and currently serves as Treasurer. He is also a member of the Casino Night Committee. In addition to the MCBA, Ed is a member of the New Jersey State Bar, Family Law Section and American Inns of Court. He has taught continuing legal education courses and lectured at trade associations on legal topics. Ed has served in many capacities in his community, including serving sixteen years on the Old Bridge Town (Continued on next page)

19 Ilan Hirshfeld and Sharon Maggio congratulate the Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients and newly installed Officers and Trustees 3443 State Road 66 Neptune, NJ (732) Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ (973)

20 (Continued from previous page) Council and over 20 years on his local Rotary. As a member of the Old Bridge/Sayreville Rotary Club, Ed helped support various local charities and he is a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award for his service. Trustee 2017 Kimberly Yonta, Esq. New Brunswick, New Jersey Since establishing YONTA LAW, LLC in New Brunswick in 2012, Kimberly concentrates her practice on criminal and municipal defense cases. A former Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor in Jersey City, she served as both appellate unit and trial team supervisors, serving the people of Hudson County for over ten years. Admitted to practice in New Jersey and Connecticut, Kimberly isa trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA). She serves as Chair-Elect of the Criminal Law Section, Chair of the Committee on Lawyers in Transition, Past Chair of the Women in the Profession Section, and Past Chair of the Young Lawyers Division. In the NJSBA, she is a member of the Amicus Committee, Government and Public Sector Lawyers Committee, and the NJSBA representative to the Supreme Court Committee on Criminal Jury Charges. With the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, Kimberly is a member of the "Legal Eagle" editorial advisory board. Past appointments include: New Jersey Commission on Professionalism and the Law, Membership and Public Relations Committee, Judicial Administration Committee, Legal Education Committee and Hudson Vicinage Advisory Committee on Minority Concerns. Serving her local community, Kimberly is an assistant coach of the Rutgers University Mock Trial Association, the National Runner-Up Champion in She also volunteers some of her time to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Bartholomew Church in East Brunswick, ministering to those in need through the client services program. Past achievements include Certification by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Criminal Trial Attorney and Middlesex County Bar Association Young Lawyer of the Year. Kimberly served as the law clerk to the Hon. N. Peter Conforti in Morris County in She received her B.A., cum laude, from Providence College, attended Washington College of Law at American University, and received her J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Kimberly lives in East Brunswick with her husband Craig Aronow, Esq., and their beautiful daughters, Abigail (7) and Madeline (4). (President s Message continued from page 7) different from mine, and if not for our work with the Bar Association, we probably would not have met at all. What could be better than all of that? In another four years, if all goes according to plan, we will celebrate the installation of our first Latina President, when Brenda Vallecilla takes the reins in We encourage and celebrate the diversity of our membership, and our Executive Board, and there is a seat at the Board table for anyone who has the desire to assume a leadership role in the organization. So, after much reflection, I have reached a few conclusions. There is a great deal to be proud of, in terms of the work the MCBA has done in its first century, and the work it continues to do each and every day. There are new challenges to be met, and conquered, and we have in place a leadership team that is more than capable of meeting those challenges. What we need, in a word, is YOU. Take pride in our profession; the right to put Esq. after our names is earned, not given. Take pride in your ability to reach a hand out and provide assistance to those who need it most, either by volunteering your time through Central Jersey Legal Services as a pro bono attorney, or by participating in a Bar Association project. The lawyers that I know, and work with every day, are intelligent, compassionate, motivated individuals who have interests far beyond the courtroom, and skills that they can use to great effect. If you have an idea for a project, let us know. If you have a topic that you would like to see addressed in a CLE seminar, or you would like to share your expertise by presenting a CLE seminar yourself, let us know. In conclusion, I hope that you enjoy this evening, our 100th Anniversary Gala Celebration. A lot of people have worked very hard for more than a year to put this event together, and we are very pleased that you could join us this evening. Congratulations to our incoming Executive Board; congratulations to Tara on a job well done; and again, congratulations and thanks to our Wilentz Lifetime Award winners, the best of the best in our profession.

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22 Congratulations and Best Wishes to Middlesex County Bar Association Incoming President Ellen F. Schwartz and Incoming Officers & Trustees Craig M. Aronow Andrea J. Sullivan William P. Isele Brenda Vallecilla Joanne Vos Richard D. Barker Risa M. Chalfin Patrick D. Heller Edward Testino Eugene Wishnic Kimberly Yonta

23 To another successful century for the Best County Bar Association in the State of New Jersey From All Middlesex County Bar Association Past Presidents Tara Auciello John P. Paone, Jr Thomas J. Denitzio, Jr Edward J. Rebenack Mary P. Nelson Lynn F. Miller John S. Sawicki Stephen E. Klausner Desmond R. Abazia Dennis A. Estis Arlene M. Reiter Peter J. Barnes, III Eric C. Landman Linda Lashbrook Mark L. Stanton Robert E. Goldstein Dennis Alan Auciello Edward J. Byrne Michael K. Rutter Robert C. Rafano Harriet E. Derman Bradley J. Ferencz Edward J. Santoro, Jr Murray Weingartner William G. Brigiani Jeffrey C. Green Ronald S. Kolsky Samuel V. Convery, Jr Samuel C. Inglese

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29 Celebrating 95 years, the full-service law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer has maintained the reputation, service and results that the businesses and individuals we serve have come to expect. From our humble beginnings in 1919 with offices over a storefront, to our own eleven-story building at the crossroads of New Jersey, Wilentz is a name that has become synonymous with law firm excellence and a commitment to make a difference for our clients. As the firm has grown to offer a diverse scope of services, we continue to remain linked to all of the people and legal resources needed to provide our clients with the attention they would expect from a smaller firm. Despite growth, the firm s culture and core values have not changed competent, effective and practical legal services for the firm s business clients and individual clients one by one generation to generation. Our dedication to professionalism and level of legal knowledge are reflected in our distinct and remarkable history. David T. Wilentz, founder of the Wilentz firm, was a man of uncommon determination and an icon of the legal profession. By 1935, he had become New Jersey s attorney general, during which time he prosecuted what was then the world s most sensational case, the Lindbergh kidnapping. David's sons followed closely in his footsteps, both becoming attorneys and making milestone accomplishments throughout their distinguished careers. Warren W. Wilentz was appointed as county prosecutor for Middlesex County, NJ and Robert N. Wilentz was named Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Grounded in community and rich in history, the firm continues to provide legal services to individuals and businesses. With over 120 attorneys in Firm founder David T. Wilentz (center) and his sons, Robert (left) and Warren (right). four offices throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, our scope and regional concentration allows us the foresight to deliver decisive solutions to the ever-changing complex legal issues our clients endure. We understand that clients rely on and value attorneys who are sincerely concerned about the challenges they face, which is why our team of attorneys take the necessary extra steps to fight for a formidable solution and ensure client satisfaction. Wilentz has represented clients who have shaped and re-shaped our landscapes and cityscapes; financed and built commercial and residential developments, schools and hospitals; and delivered the utilities necessary to sustain growth in our region. Whether helping to form a start-up business, structuring a merger of existing businesses, negotiating buy-outs, preparing a public stock offering, or resolving business disputes through litigation or mediation, the firm's lawyers provide legal acumen combined with practical experience and proven strategies to gain a competitive edge. In addition, Wilentz lawyers provide individuals advice, representation and access to the justice system. Whether counseling individuals who have been injured or whose health has been wrongfully compromised, whose marriages are at risk, whose disputes require judicial intervention, or helping families plan for the future when they will need to pass their estates on to loved ones, Wilentz lawyers possess the skills necessary to make a difference in the lives of their clients and are committed to making that happen. Practicing law, teaching the law and shaping the law is what we do. We are proud of our heritage and cherish our client relationships. All of us at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer are dedicated to maintaining the reputation, service and results our clients have come to expect and that is our Commitment to Make a Difference. For additional information on the firm and its practice areas, please call , [email protected] or visit to learn more.

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31 Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis is a multi-practice law firm and a principal resource for businesses and individuals with interests in New Jersey and surrounding areas. The firm joins the Middlesex County Bar Association as it also celebrates its 100th Anniversary in The firm has been a part of the Middlesex County business community for over four decades. Today, with a primary office in Woodbridge Township s Metropark office complex and a satellite office in Roseland, Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis is comprised of approximately 100 lawyers practicing in six departments and numerous interdisciplinary niche practice groups. We are proud Robert Greenbaum, Paul Rowe and Wendell Smith (standing); Arthur Greenbaum, Alan Davis and to be recognized as a market leader serving a broad local, regional Allen Ravin (seated) - from 1984) and national client base that includes entrepreneurial ventures, mid-sized businesses, large corporate and multinational entities and individuals alike. We are equally proud of our long history of proactive service to the Middlesex County Bar Association. Throughout the years, hundreds of our attorneys have been members of the Bar, with many serving on a variety of committees, often as Chairs or Co-Chairs, and also as Trustees (including 2016 Trustee Meryl Gonchar). Three of our attorneys Daniel L. Golden, Dennis E. Estis and Thomas J. Denitzio, Jr. are former Bar Presidents, with a fourth (Andrea Sullivan) in line to assume that role in The attorneys at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis are dedicated to helping clients accomplish their goals. With the resources to handle bet the company litigation and complex matters, as well as the efficiency to handle more routine cases, the firm s comprehensive litigation practice encompasses virtually all types of litigation. Attorneys in the firm s real estate practice focus in both transactional work and development, representing public and private sector clients with interests in residential, industrial, retail, office and mixed use properties throughout the state. A key competency of the firm s corporate practice is its sophisticated knowledge of both the big picture issues and fine point details of business dealings in New Jersey. The firm frequently serves as outside general counsel to small and mid-market companies who lack in-house legal resources. Attorneys in the environmental practice area counsel clients on the impact of environmental laws and regulations on real estate, business and lending transactions and operations, with a particular focus on New Jersey. In the area of tax, trusts and estate law, the firm provides a full spectrum of services related to business and personal tax issues, estate planning and administration. The firm s family law practice provides the responsive and personalized service of a boutique matrimonial firm, backed by the comprehensive support of a full service business law firm. Across its entire practice, Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis earns the trust and loyalty of clients by providing sophisticated, creative and cost-effective representation through collaborative teamwork, proactive legal strategies, attention to detail and relationship-oriented service.

32 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE... Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100 th Anniversary Practice Limited to Divorce & Family Law JOHN P. PAONE, JR., ESQ. ROBERT M. ZALESKI, ESQ. DANIEL H. BROWN, ESQ. MEGAN S. MURRAY, ESQ. 146 Green Street Woodbridge, New Jersey Maple Avenue Red Bank, New Jersey07701 (732)

33 Honored to be a part of the first 100 years John P. Paone, Jr., Esq. Mr. Paone, a Certified Matrimonial Law Attorney, is the founder and senior partner of the firm. With over 30 years experience in family law, child custody, and divorce, Mr. Paone has worked with hundreds of families, has leadership roles in a variety of professional organizations, and has received many awards in the legal profession. Mr. Paone is past President of the Middlesex County Bar Association, past Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Family Law Section, past President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers New Jersey Chapter, and past Chair of the Supreme Court Board on Attorney Certification. For the past 6 consecutive years he has been selected as one of the top 100 attorneys in the state by the Super Lawyers publication. Robert M. Zaleski, Esq. Mr. Zaleski, a Certified Matrimonial Law Attorney, is a partner with the firm and has been practicing law since His expertise is in child custody and divorce issues, as well as divorce mediation. Mr. Zaleski is a qualified family law mediator, is a court appointed panelist for the Middlesex County and Somerset County Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel, and has been honored with the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award and designation as a New Jersey Super Lawyer. Daniel H. Brown, Esq. Mr. Brown, a Certified Matrimonial Law Attorney, is a partner with the firm. Mr. Brown joined the firm in 2001 and focuses his practice in divorce, child custody, domestic violence, and divorce mediation. Mr. Brown is a qualified family law mediator, is a member of Middlesex County Assignment Judge s Family Lawyers Committee, and is a court appointed panelist for the Middlesex County Early Settlement Panel. Mr. Brown has been honored with the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award and designation as a New Jersey Super Lawyer. Megan S. Murray, Esq. Ms. Murray, a Certified Matrimonial Law Attorney, is the newest partner with the firm. Ms. Murray started her legal career with the firm in Since that time, she has distinguished herself in the practice of divorce and family law. She has been honored as the 2013 Young Attorney of the Year award for Middlesex County; received the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award; and has been recognized as a Rising Star by the Super Lawyers publication.

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35 RAM Law is a firm of personal injury trial lawyers serving Central Jersey, including all of Middlesex County, Somerset County and the surrounding counties. Partners Ed Rebenack, Craig Aronow and J. Mascolo began their careers practicing law right here in New Brunswick. After years of civil litigation training and trial experience in a big firm environment, the RAM Law partners decided to offer clients this same experience in a small firm setting. Since opening in January 2007, the RAM Law team has grown to include associates, of counsel attorneys, paralegals and other support staff. RAM Law s attorneys are trained in the art of trial advocacy and leaders in New Jersey s legal community. We use the latest technology and trial techniques in New Jersey s courtrooms to fight for our clients. RAM Law s partners are recognized by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as certified civil trial attorneys. The firm holds a Martindale Hubbell AV Rating, the highest possible, and the partners have been recognized as Super Lawyers and Super Lawyer Rising Stars. Ed, Craig and Jay teach other attorneys through professional continuing legal education courses how to effectively try cases using today s technology. For attorneys that do not handle personal injury matters, we invite the referral of cases and offer referral fees in accordance with R. 1:39-6. Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP 111 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick, NJ (732) /

36 Working TOGETHER Going the Distance for you Mandelbaum Salsburg Lazris & Discenza, P.C. and the MetroPark Team Joseph J. Discenza, Esq., Hon. Robert A. Longhi (Ret.), Joseph J. Peters, Esq., Michael R. Sarno, Esq., Jeffrey E. Grabelle, Esq. and Staff. WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE ALL OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERT N. WILENTZ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS AT THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 100TH ANNIVERSARY GALA 510 Thornall Street, Suite 180, Edison, NJ P F

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39 Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award In honor of the Middlesex County Bar Association s 100 th Anniversary, the Board of Trustees chose to name its Lifetime Achievement Award after the late Hon. Robert N. Wilentz, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1979 to 1996, in recognition of his unparalleled contributions to the bench, bar and citizens of New Jersey and his longstanding membership in the Association. Robert Nathan Wilentz was born on February 17, 1927, the son of the late David T. and Lena Wilentz. He spent his boyhood in Perth Amboy where he was valedictorian at Perth Amboy High School. He entered Princeton, left to serve in the wartime Navy, and ultimately received his A.B. from Harvard College in He graduated from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and was awarded the Robert Noxon Toppan Prize in Constitutional Law studies. Robert practiced law at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, the firm founded by his father, and served two terms in the General Assembly in the 1960s, earning a reputation for liberal politics and outspokenness on ethics in government. He was a campaign aide to former Governor Brendan T. Byrne, who appointed him to the Supreme Court in Two years after becoming Chief Justice, Justice Wilentz, believing that many people felt isolated from the courts, determined that non-lawyer citizens should be named to serve on most court-related committees. That practice continues today. In 1982, Justice Wilentz created a commission to study the treatment of women in the courts. The following year, the 31-member panel reported that widespread gender bias existed since women were treated unequally whether as lawyers, litigants, or staff, and in judicial decisions, especially those involving domestic violence and divorce matters. The Chief instructed judges to record their observations of bias, to attend educational courses, and to assist in its eradication. In 1982, the Chief Justice ordered a reorganization of the trial court system, increasing the number of Superior Court vicinages from 12 to 15 and drawing new boundaries. In 1983, he spoke out against a State Senate tradition that allowed a senator to block an appointment on a personal say-so. Some of his notable decisions included Mt. Laurel II, State v. Kelly, Abbott v. Burke and In re Baby M. Mount Laurel II (1983): Mt. Laurel I (1975) had established a basic principle that municipalities had to provide low - and moderate-income housing for residents. But finding that towns had done little or nothing since the earlier decision to carry out the Court s directive, Chief Justice Wilentz authored the Court s opinion in Mount Laurel II. This landmark decision instructed the lower courts to determine firm, quantifiable targets for every town and village in the state. It also declared that if a town or village did not have a realistic, implementable plan to meet its fair share, the courts could override local governments and grant approvals or what it called a "builder s remedy" or incentive to those developers who proposed to incorporate a "substantial number" of affordable housing units into their projects. In a historic, and memorable, footnote, the court suggested that 20 percent affordable housing was a "reasonable minimum" for a municipality. State v. Kelly (1984) involved defendant Gladys Kelly who was on trial for murdering her husband with a pair of scissors. The Supreme Court remanded the case after holding that expert testimony regarding the defense s submission that Kelly suffered from battered woman syndrome should not have been excluded, and that battered woman syndrome was a proper subject for expert testimony. Abbott v. Burke (1985) held that the education provided to school children in poor New Jersey communities was inadequate and unconstitutional, and mandated that state funding for these districts be equal to that spent in the wealthiest districts in the state. Baby M (1988) invalidated a surrogate motherhood contract. Chief Justice Wilentz also authored decisions recognizing liberties under the New Jersey Constitution that the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected or had not yet recognized - including the right of a poor woman to abortion services and the right to distribute leaflets in shopping malls. On June 13, 2006, Justice Wilentz announced that he had cancer. He retired on July 1, 2006 and passed away a few weeks later, on July 23, He was 69 years old. He was the longest-serving Chief Justice since the Supreme Court became New Jersey s highest court in 1948, serving from 1979 to What made Justice Wilentz an effective chief, in the opinion of those who followed his career, was his ability to see political realities and his willingness to push for regulatory and administrative machinery to enforce the Court's decisions. Legal observers have called the Wilentz court one of the best state high courts in the country. They cited the Chief Justice's ability, through intellect and persuasion, to achieve unanimous or nearly unanimous decisions much of the time. Under his leadership, the court became, in the view of Laurence Tribe, the constitutional scholar at Harvard Law School, one of the most distinguished and pioneering state courts in the nation.

40 CONGRATULATIONS TO The Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary The Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients John J. Hoagland Hon. Marina Corodemus, JSC (Ret.) Frederic K. Becker (In Memoriam) Alan E. Davis E. Ronald Wright and The Officers and Trustees RAMATOWSKI, SPILKA & SCHWARTZ 758 ROUTE 18 NORTH SUITE 105 EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ (732)

41 Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Frederic K. Becker, Esq. (in memoriam) Frederic K. Becker, a dear colleague and beloved family man, passed away on January 15 of this year. Chairman of the Board of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., Fred served for many years on the firm s Management Committee and was one of the state s preeminent trial attorneys engaged in complex corporate and commercial litigation in the State and Federal Courts. A highly educated man, Fred was a graduate of Brown University (summa cum laude), received his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School (cum laude), and was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Copenhagen. Fred appeared before the New Jersey Supreme Court and Superior Court, Appellate Division, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was a member of the Commercial Arbitration Panel of the American Arbitration Association and was served by designation of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey as one of the mediators in the Court's program for the mediation of complex cases. Known by many for giving back to his community and his profession, Fred served as a Director of Prudential Financial, Inc. and as Chair of its Audit Committee, and was a member of the Council of Trustees of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He was a past President of The Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey, a member of that Association's Advisory Board, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the American Bar Foundation, and the Chair of the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Lawyer for many years until its cessation of publication (2008). He was also a past President of the Harvard Law School Association of New Jersey, and a member of the American, New Jersey State and Middlesex County Bar Associations. Fred was designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve on a number of its committees, including the Supreme Court Study Group on the Sale of Law Practices, the Supreme Court Committee on Model Rules of Professional Conduct (the Debevoise Commission ), the Supreme Court Committee on Court Reporting (Stenographic and Electronic), the Supreme Court Committee to Evaluate Court Reporting Improvements and, most recently, the Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Professional Conduct (the Pollock Commission ). A recipient of numerous awards, he was a 2004 recipient of the William J. Brennan, Jr. Award presented by The Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey, and the 2012 recipient of the Judge Learned Hand Award presented by the American Jewish Committee. He will be greatly missed. Alan E. Davis, Esq. Alan E. Davis is proud to be the recipient of a 2014 Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association. The award has very special significance for Mr. Davis, who is deeply moved to be receiving an award that honors the memory of a man who quite literally launched his introduction to the practice of law and remained an inspiration for many years to follow. In 1964, while pursuing his law degree at Columbia Law School, Alan applied for a summer clerk position with the firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer. His interview with Robert Wilentz led to Alan being offered the position on the spot. He is gratified to have had the opportunity to work with Robert Wilentz as he embarked on his legal career, and to have subsequently enjoyed a personal and professional relationship with him. Alan is also extremely proud to be honored alongside their mutual colleague and fellow 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, the late Frederic K. Becker, with whom it was his pleasure to work during his tenure at the Wilentz firm. Alan has been practicing business law for nearly five decades, at Ravin, Davis and Sweet, and since 1984 as a partner in the firm of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis. He is the Immediate Past Chair and a current member of the firm s Corporate Department and Chair of the Automotive Dealership & Fran- (Continued on next page)

42 (Continued from previous page) chise Law Practice Group. He has also served on the firm s Executive and Compensation Committees since their inception. Throughout his long career, Alan has represented many closely held and family controlled public companies, handling hundreds of deals for clients engaged in the areas of manufacturing, retail, distribution, and service, among others. His practice encompasses a full range of legal matters including financing, strategic business planning, securities transactions, the acquisition, sale and dissolution of businesses and related assets, and relations with suppliers, customers and non-union staff. He has counseled many of his clients throughout the entire life cycle of their business ventures, serving as a trusted advisor and providing highly-valued continuity of representation. Alan has a notable concentration in franchise law, distribution and trade regulation issues, with extensive expertise in the representation of automobile dealership franchises. He is the draftsman of the original New Jersey Franchise Practices Act, enacted in In alternative dispute resolution matters, Alan has a particular focus on disputes related to business divorces, post-acquisition disputes, corporate governance contract issues, and franchise terminations. He is an active Neutral on the National Commercial Panel of the American Arbitration Association. Alan is a Life Member of the Board of Trustees of Monmouth University, and also serves on the University s Executive, Finance, Legal and Human Resources Committees, and is a member and past Chair of the Committee on Trustees. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Barnabas Health, New Jersey s largest healthcare provider, where he serves on the Compliance Committee and on the Nominating and Governance Committee. He is a Member and former Chair of the Monmouth Medical Center Board of Trustees. He is also an Honorary Member and former Chair of the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees. Alan has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions) for over 25 years. He is also listed in Chambers USA America s Leading Lawyers for Business (Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions), New Jersey Super Lawyers (Mergers & Acquisitions), and is Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rated AV Preeminent. He received his B.A. with honors from Rutgers University, and earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School. Hon. Marina Corodemus, JSC (Ret.) Judge Corodemus has been a member of the Middlesex County Bar Association since her admission to the Bar in She has spent her legal career as both practitioner and jurist dedicated to the betterment and enrichment of the practice of law and has always been active in bar organizations which share those objectives. She was the first woman to be President of Association of Trial Lawyers of New Jersey, chaired our own Middlesex County Ethics Committee, she worked her way up the chairs to President-Elect four months short of being President when she went on the bench at 36-the youngest appointment in NJ. She served on many State Bar Association committees, ABA, a Fellow of the American Bar Association, and the National Women Judge Association. Judge Corodemus pioneered the modern Mass Tort Court in the State of New Jersey gaining Middlesex County an outstanding reputation for handling complex litigation efficiently, expeditiously and equitably. She has been called upon to lecture at many Bar Associations across the country and chairs an annual Mass Tort conference in New York City for plaintiff, defense and Mass Tort jurists. She donates her time co-teaching a Mass Tort seminar at The Rutgers Law School in Newark, NJ. A lifelong member of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox church in Perth Amboy, NJ, Judge Corodemus serves in various capacities of the church. She supports work being done by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of NJ, The Greek Archdiocese, The Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul Turkey and a group dearest to her heart, The Sisters of the Holy Protection Greek Orthodox Monastery in White Haven, Pennsylvania. Stricken with Multiple Sclerosis at age 34, Judge Corodemus left private practice and was elevated to the bench in 1993 until she retired in 2004 when the disease became incompatible with full time work on the bench. She thereafter joined the State Multiple Sclerosis Association and Board and assisted with fundraising for research funds and legislative awareness for women with MS. Slowly and unexpectedly, Judge Corodemus was lured back into the office by Mass Tort lawyers who wanted her to share her legal expertise and serve as special master, mediator or arbitrator for their nationwide cases. Judge Corodemus has been named the number one mediator in the country two years in a row by the National Law Journal. Her firm, Corodemus & Corodemus, has ranked in the top three Alternative Dispute Resolution (Continued on next page)

43 We proudly support the Middlesex County Bar Association on it s 100th Anniversary and offer congratulations and best wishes for a successful year to the Officers and Trustees Ellen F. Schwartz -President Craig M. Aronow -President Elect Andrea J. Sullivan -1st Vice President William P. Isele -2nd Vice President Brenda Vallecilla -Treasurer Joanne Vos -Secretary Richard D. Barker Risa M. Chalfin Patrick D. Heller Edward Testino Eugene Wishnic Kimberly Yonta Engineered Corporate Solutions Charles P. Cuyulis, President/Owner 263 Herbert Avenue Cloister, NJ Phone: Fax: [email protected]

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45 (Continued from previous page) firm in the country for three years in a row. Judge Corodemus is the current President of the Academy of Court Appointed Masters (ACAM) and has been named Special Master for several landmark federal mass tort litigations including, Vioxx, DePuy hips and Transvaginal Mesh cases. In addition to many state appointments, she has just concluded a 5 year appointment as Special Master of the Passaic River litigation. The Agent Orange and dioxin pollution case involved over 300 individual parties along the Newark bay complex. Judge Corodemus assisted the Honorable Sebastian Lombardi of Essex County in a resolution of what many consider the most complex state environmental case in the country. Judge Corodemus lived in Metuchen, NJ until 2010 when she moved to Edison. She moved both parents into her new home to care for them after they were dramatically impaired in Although the Judge s mother passed on in October of 2013, James Corodemus, the Judge s Father and also long time member of the Middlesex County Bar Association, is still with us. Judge Corodemus credits her father James for inspiring her dedication to the law, Justice and bar association membership as the necessary goals for a lifetime. E. Ronald Wright, Esq. E. Ronald Wright is a principal in the Wright Firm, a small boutique firm located in New Brunswick, NJ. He attended the New Brunswick school systems, graduating from New Brunswick High School in He graduated from Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, PA in During the summer of 1969 Ron participated in an internship with the Council on Legal Education Opportunities (CLEO) program at NYU-Columbia Law Schools before beginning his legal studies at Rutgers University-Newark Law School. While attending law school he clerked/interned at Middlesex County Legal Services Corporation (MCLSC). Ron did a lot of law reform and bankruptcy work at MCLSC. He researched and assisted in preparing a brief in a case that ultimately resulted in indigent defendants being allowed to make time payments in Municipal Courts. That case, known as State v. DeBonis, was a groundbreaking case and ultimately changed the law throughout the country. Also during this time, Ron joined the Army Reserve, serving from 1969 to 1975, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. Upon graduation from Rutgers Law School in 1972, he continued to work for MCLSC as a staff attorney, but left in 1973 to work for the American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC). While at the network, he was one of six (6) in-house counsel for the owned and operated radio/tv networks. Among his many duties, he prepared licensing agreements for the FCC and personal service contracts for the on-air personalities, including notable commentators such as Geraldo Rivera, Barbara Walters, Bill Beutel, Ernie Anastos and others. Upon leaving ABC he opened his own law practice in New Brunswick. One of his first clients was the Middlesex County Comprehensive Employment and Training Administration (MCCETA). MCCETA was able to secure millions of dollars from the Federal Government for many years. These funds were used to operate numerous training programs for unemployed/underemployed individuals and place them in the job market. While working for MCCETA Ron was instrumental in helping to secure these federal funds, one year bringing in over $29m to the county. During the 1970 s and 80 s Ron was a Municipal Prosecutor in New Brunswick. In 1998 he was appointed Municipal Court Judge for the City of New Brunswick, and subsequently appointed Presiding Municipal Court Judge in North Brunswick and Municipal Court Judge in Franklin Township and Bound Brook. He retired from the Municipal Court bench in January 0f Over his 40+ years in practice, in addition to Middlesex County, other representative clients have included Johnson & Johnson, Inc., the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC), Crossroads Theatre Company, the Tony Award Winning African American Theatre Company (located in New Brunswick), and a broad mix of real estate and family law clients. He also handles arbitrations, mediations; he has served as a Condemnation Commissioner in state and local takings; and he is frequently appointed as a discovery master. Ron has always said that a law degree is a very versatile degree to possess and he considers himself lucky not only to have attained one, but to be able to use in a multitude of ways to help countless others in need. (Continued on next page)

46 (Continued from previous page) John J. Hoagland, Esq. John J. Hoagland, son of Elizabeth and Charles, was born and raised in New Brunswick with his brothers Charles and Edward, and his sister, Mary. John graduated from Saint Peter's High School in He received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point graduating in 1952 earning the rank of Lieutenant J.G. He attended Seton Hall Law School where he graduated in 1957 with a Juris Doctorate. He passed the New Jersey Bar Exam in John joined the law practice of the late Samuel G. Cohen with Sam's sons, William and Richard, and soon thereafter became a partner in the firm of Cohen, Hoagland and Cohen. In 1970, John s brother in law, John E. Keefe, joined the firm and the partnership of Cohen, Hoagland, Cohen and Keefe was formed. In 1973, the partnership became Cohen, Hoagland, Keefe and Oropollo. In 1977, after William Cohen had emigrated to Israel, and both Richard Cohen and John E. Keefe had become judges in the New Jersey Superior Court, John was a founding member of Hoagland, Longo, Oropollo and Moran, now Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas, LLP. John s career combined private practice with public service. His law practice was focused on wills and probate, real estate, banking, health care and the representation of local businesses. In his public career, he served as Commissioner in the City of New Brunswick from He also served on the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders from He was the attorney for the Middlesex County Welfare Board from John was appointed Middlesex County Counsel in 1979 and served as County Counsel until He was a member of the New Brunswick, Middlesex County and New Jersey Bar Associations, serving as the president of the New Brunswick Bar Association in He was also a member of the Middlesex County Ethics Committee, a member of Board of Trustees for St. Peter's University Hospital and a former Chairman of the Middlesex County Workforce Investment Board. John retired from the full time practice of law in 1998 and continues to serve as counsel to the firm he founded, that firm having grown from its original 9 lawyers to over 80 lawyers today. John was married to Ellen Keefe on February 15, 1959 and has five children and fourteen grandchildren. Congratulations to our Partner Joanne Vos, Esq. on her installation as Secretary of the Middlesex County Bar Association and to all of the Officers and Trustees Maraziti, Falcon & Healey, LLP 150 John F. Kennedy Parkway, Suite #101 Short Hills, NJ /

47 Esther Beckhoff The First Woman Attorney in Middlesex County By Steve Lefelt* Twenty-nine years after Mary Philbrook became the first woman lawyer in New Jersey and four years after women were allowed to vote, Esther Beckhoff of Perth Amboy signed the rolls in 1924 as the first woman attorney in Middlesex County. Esther was born in Perth Amboy. As a child, she lived at 128 Market Street with her parents and three younger siblings, Harry, Benjamin, and Cecilia. Her father owned a local hardware store, and Esther attended Perth Amboy Grammar School and graduated from that city s High School, where she was listed in 1933, along with David T. Wilentz, who graduated three years before Esther, as one of the school s distinguished alumni. After graduating from Normal School, a predecessor of Trenton State College, Esther began work as a teacher, one of the then traditional occupations for women in the 1920 s. She taught 4 th grade for over five years when, at the age of 22, she decided to pursue a career path that, at the time, was dominated by men. Esther wanted to become a lawyer. In the early 1900 s, most men did not approve of or encourage women who wished to pursue an interest in the law. They had a strong belief in the proper place for women. In fact, in 1900, the New Jersey Legislature passed a constitutional amendment permitting horse racing and the voters, all men, approved it, but defeated the right of women to vote just for school trustees. While Esther continued to teach, she attended evening classes at New Jersey Law School, a predecessor of Rutgers, graduating in June Besides passing the bar examination and scrutiny by the Middlesex County Character and Fitness Committee, she also had to serve a clerkship for admission into the legal profession. Esther clerked part-time over several summers for Thomas Brown, a well-known Perth Amboy Lawyer. Dr. Francis Henry and Leo Goldberger, a Perth Amboy lawyer, certified her character to the committee, and she took the bar examination as soon as she became eligible. She passed the exam, successfully surmounted all of the other hurdles and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in February This five-foot fiery red head began her law practice from her home in Perth Amboy, and then from her office at 215 Raritan Building in Perth Amboy. Although her practice included many divorce and child custody matters, for many years the standard practice for most women lawyers, she was also very proud to have been retained by and to have represented on an ongoing basis Tydol Oil Company. In support of this client, she participated in the location and establishment of many gas stations in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties. In 1929 Esther represented a landlord in a suit for unpaid rent for an apartment in Brooklyn leased by the defendant, who was represented by Harry Spitzer. The case was reported at 8 N.J. Misc. 22 and reflects that although Mr. Spitzer appealed to three judges of the then Supreme Court, Esther obtained a per curiam and quite perfunctory affirmance for the landlord. When practicing in Perth Amboy and throughout her life, she became known as an extremely friendly and outgoing person who had an active and ongoing interest in education, mediation, foreign relations, and politics. She always bought her Buicks from Polkowitz Buick, and was friendly with Pop Flynn, the mayor of Perth Amboy, and David Wilentz, whom she knew from high school and whom she later referred to as the Lord High Executioner of the Democratic Party. In 1934, the Perth Amboy Post recognized that that few business or professional women have combined personal charm of manner and effectiveness of service as successfully as Miss Esther Beckhoff,... the first woman lawyer in Middlesex County, and... at the present time the only woman practicing. The Post noted that Esther was [k]eenly concerned with all that occurs, her interests vary[ing] from such local problems as advanced education for worthy students to questions regarding international peace and friendship. She is especially interested in (Continued on next page)

48 (Continued from previous page) the Perth Amboy [High School] Student Loan Fund, of which she has been president for the past four years. By means of student loans, many deserving students who could not have gone to college otherwise have been enabled to do so. She spoke at a New York conference in the Hotel Astor involving women interested in foreign relations and was treasurer of the New Jersey Business and Professional Woman s Club. She was sent by the Club as a State representative to the National Conference on Cause and Cure of War at Washington D.C., where she advanced her firm belief in the ability of humans to arbitrate disputes. In 1936, Esther married Doctor Abraham M. Balter, who was a specialist in chest diseases. They honeymooned in Bermuda, and in 1939, had one son, Paul. We are not privy to whatever conversations Esther and Abraham may have had after the marriage and birth of her son, but for whatever reason, by 1940, Esther had closed her Perth Amboy practice and though she lived until 1980, she never practiced law again. Esther and her young son followed Abraham as his career took him through the Second World War and to several Veterans Affairs hospitals in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. The Balter family always lived on the grounds of the VA hospitals at which Abraham worked. Esther was extremely proud of her husband s fellowship in the American College of Physicians. After Abraham retired in 1974, the family moved to East Orange and rented a modest apartment on Harrison Street where Esther was living at the time of her death. Harry, Esther s brother, had a daughter who died in her sixties. None of Esther s other siblings had children who survived to adulthood. Esther s son Paul became a physician specializing in nephrology and married Susan who is a physician and attorney. They live in Illinois and have three daughters, Sharon, a physician; Nancy, a teacher; and Barbara, a lawyer. Nancy recently gave birth to a son who would have been Esther s greatgrandchild. Though she never practiced law again, and became super mom, cooking, cleaning, balancing the checkbook and not allowing her husband to lift a finger in the house, Esther s personality and interests remained constant throughout her life. Her son Paul remembers, for example, a revealing and amusing incident about his mother s personality. Esther was a very fast driver who would get speeding tickets from time to time. When the family was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Esther received a speeding ticket and gave it to one of her friends, the Chief Judge of the Common Pleas Court, so that he could take care of it like we used to do [when she practiced] in Middlesex County. A few years later, the judge confessed to Esther that he had paid the ticket, because they did not have the same colorful traditions as the ones Esther remembered. When Susan, Paul s wife, was in law school, she took her mother-in-law to class one day. Susan warned her of a particularly malicious professor who had a habit of calling on guests. True to form the professor called on Esther and attempted to ridicule her as law professors sometimes do. When I was practicing law, she replied, you were in diapers, so pick on someone your own size. According to Susan, the professor was so stunned he never again called on any other class guest. Susan remembers her mother-in-law as not having an enemy on the street. She would walk up to complete strangers and engage them in conversation at anytime and any place. She was a great friendly talker, a voracious reader, with broad interests, who today probably would have been a politician. She was extremely liberal, loved opera, classical music and was an avid supporter of Adlai Stevenson. After living on the grounds of all those VA Hospitals and seeing the medical care that was dispensed to veterans, she did not understand why all Americans did not have health care, and she became an early proponent of National Health care. It is difficult not to regret Esther Beckhoff s withdrawal from the legal profession. Had she continued with or re-entered the profession, we will never know what contributions and personal successes would have followed. In any event, this pioneering woman undoubtedly made it easier for many women after her and certainly for her progeny to pursue their ambitions. By 1929, five years after Esther began her law practice in Perth Amboy, the Middlesex County Bar included over one hundred men but only six women. Besides Esther, these women were Bessie Duff (admitted Oct. 1926); Aldona Leszcynski, who became Aldona Appleton (admitted Oct. 1927); Elizabeth H. Harding (admitted March 1925); Eva H. Reda (admitted Oct. 1927); and Esther Levy (admitted Oct. 1924). Today, over 590 women are practicing in virtually every town in Middlesex County. Of the 1,095 members of the County Bar Association, 297 are women. * I would like to thank the following persons and entities for helping with the research of this article. All of the facts and data that accurately reveal Esther Beckhoff Balter are attributable to them. If there are any mistakes in the account of this pioneering woman s life, however, they are solely mine. Thank you, Paul and Susan Balter, Paul Axel-Lute, Joan Meister, Maureen O Rourke, Helen Larkin, Stephen Townsend, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Linda Garbaccio, Patricia Martin, Betty Agin, James Amemasor, the Perth Amboy Public Library, the Perth Amboy Public Schools, William Stratton, Nathan Witkin, Robert Goldsmith, Henry Gottlieb, the New Jersey Historical Society, Morris Brown, the Star Ledger, the New York Times, Jonathan Cowles, and the Middlesex County Bar Association.

49 Congratulations to the Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Alan E. Davis, Esq. Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP Frederic K. Becker, Esq. Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, PA (in memoriam) John J. Hoagland, Esq. Hoagland Longo Moran Dunst & Doukas Hon. Marina Corodemus Judge of the Superior Court (Retired) E. Ronald Wright, Esq. New Brunswick Tara Auciello John P. Paone, Jr Thomas J. Denitzio, Jr Edward J. Rebenack Mary P. Nelson Lynn F. Miller John S. Sawicki Stephen E. Klausner Desmond R. Abazia Dennis A. Estis Arlene M. Reiter Peter J. Barnes, III Eric C. Landman Linda Lashbrook Robert E. Goldstein from All MCBA Past Presidents Dennis Alan Auciello Edward J. Byrne Michael K. Rutter Robert C. Rafano Harriet E. Derman Bradley J. Ferencz Edward J. Santoro, Jr Murray Weingartner William G. Brigiani Jeffrey C. Green Ronald S. Kolsky Samuel V. Convery, Jr Samuel C. Inglese Mark L. Stanton

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51 ALDONA APPLETON By Bill Lamb Aldona Eugenie Lesczynski was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on September 9, 1900, the older of two children born to Thaddeus Lesczynski ( ) and his wife, the former Leokadya (Lottie) Mieszkowski ( ). 1 Aldona s parents separated when she was a child and thereafter, she grew up in the home of grandparents Michael and Josephine Mieszkowski, ethnic Poles who had emigrated from Tsarist Russia in Grandfather Michael ran a barbershop from the family residence in Perth Amboy, hometown to a sizeable bastion of Polish émigrés. Aldona attended local public schools, graduating from Perth Amboy High School in Bright and ambitious, she then worked for several years to raise tuition costs before entering the New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College, a part of the vast Rutgers University undergraduate system). Aldona graduated in 1924 with honors but abandoned plans to pursue a career in medicine as too costly and time-consuming. Instead, she enrolled in the New Jersey School of Law (now Rutgers Law School), teaching school part-time to finance her continuing education. Following law school graduation in 1927, Aldona was admitted to the New Jersey bar, one of only a handful of women from her native Middlesex County to be licensed to practice law. A photo of the 1929 Middlesex County Bar Association membership reveals Aldona Lesczynski to be a blonde-haired woman of striking good looks, and one of only two females portrayed. 2 Early in her legal career, Aldona maintained a modest family law oriented practice in Perth Amboy and soon took an interest in local politics. Good looking and an excellent dancer, Aldona also led an active social life. In the early 1930 s, she met a handsome pianist-bandleader named Peter Jablonowski at a Manhattan dinner dance. A courtship thereafter ensued. As Aldona soon came to appreciate, her new beau was more than just a musician. He was also a professional baseball player, then struggling to revive a major league pitching career that had begun with the Cincinnati Reds in 1927 and thereafter included stints with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and, briefly, the New York Yankees. By 1933, however, Pete was back in the minors, having spent most of the season with the Newark Bears of the International League. 3 But two life-changing events were on Pete s horizon. With Aldona shepherding him through the process, Pete legally changed his surname from Jablonowski to Appleton, the Polish word for jablon meaning apple in English. 4 Then on November 9, 1993, Pete and Aldona were married at St. Stephen s Roman Catholic Church in Perth Amboy, the city where the newlyweds would make their home for most of their 40-year marriage. While Pete was making his baseball comeback, his wife s professional career was also in ascendance. The key to advancement for Aldona Appleton was a close association with Perth Amboy attorney David T. Wilentz, later Attorney General of New Jersey. To this day, Wilentz lingers in public consciousness as the chief prosecutor in the trial of Bruno Hauptmann, tried, convicted, and executed in the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby. Locally, however, Wilentz was renowned as the architect and overlord of the Middlesex County Democratic Party. Aldona served Wilentz as a political aide and a valuable liaison to the numerous Polish voters of greater Perth Amboy. 5 Era photos of area political gatherings frequently contain Aldona, usually the only woman in the frame. When not attending to her law practice and political chores, Aldona put miles on the family automobile, driving up and down the East Coast to see Pete pitch. 6 In the early 1940 s, Wilentz arranged Aldona s appointment to the position of deputy clerk of the Middlesex County courts. She was also the first woman to be elected president of the Perth Amboy and Middlesex County bar associations. In 1952, Aldona E. Appleton was the Democratic Party candidate for New Jersey s Fifth District congressional seat. Running against Republican Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen, II, the scion of a New Jersey political dynasty in a heavily Republican venue, Aldona had little chance of winning and was swamped that November, collecting only 37.8% of the popular vote. Still, her willingness to be a sacrificial candidate was not forgotten by her party. In July 1958, Democratic Governor Robert B. Meyner appointed Aldona to the New Jersey bench as a judge of the newly created Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Sworn in on September 3, 1958, Judge Appleton be- (Continued on next page)

52 (Continued from previous page) came only the second female jurist in state history. For the next 12 years, she would preside over the often heartwrenching matters that came before her with diligence and compassion, ordering the incarceration of even the most incorrigible juvenile offender only as a last resort. She continued her duties as a Middlesex County judge until reaching the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70 in September Shortly after Aldona s retirement from the bench, the Appletons moved their home to nearby Colonia. And following her husband s death in 1974 and brother s death in 1975, she accepted a longstanding offer to return to the Middlesex County bench as a retired judge on temporary recall. 7 Given her experience handling family-related matters, Judge Appleton was assigned to the court unaffectionately known as Pay or Stay, where those delinquent in alimony or child support payments are generally afforded the option of satisfying their arrearages or going to jail. Commencing in 1975, this temporary return to judicial duty would last for the next 14 years, during which time courthouse observers would marvel at the efficiency and finesse this now elderly jurist brought to her difficult (and often disputatious) judicial post. And characteristically, Judge Appleton sought payment solutions, rather than imposing incarceration, whenever possible, no matter how large the deadbeat hauled before her. In August 1987, Judge Appleton, then 86 years old, expressed her appreciation for the recall assignment, telling the New York Times that, If I am not working, I doubt if I d be around at all. 8 Besides, she added, there was so much work for the county s judges to do and I happen to have the experience and I love what I am doing helping children and families that have problems. 9 Judge Appleton continued her duties for another two years, finally retiring from the bench for good in On April 17, 1997, Aldona Lesczynski Appleton died quietly at her retirement home in Cranbury. She was 96. Tributes from colleagues flowed in on her passing. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Joseph F. Deegan, Jr., a fellow Perth Amboy native, remembered Aldona as a very gracious lady and a compassionate judge [who would] be missed by all who knew her, 10 while her friend Judge Martin Kravarik recalled that Judge Appleton believed being a judge was the highest calling in the world. 11 Following a Funeral Mass at St. Stephen s Church, Aldona was laid to rest beside her husband and mother at St. Gertrude s Cemetery in Colonia. Without children, she was survived by her sister-in-law Helen Lesh and her husband s youngest brother, Alex S. Jablonowski, Jr. During her lifetime, Judge Appleton had been honored by organizations including the New Jersey Association of Chosen Freeholders, the New Jersey Catholic and Jewish war veterans associations, the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association, and the New Jersey Association of Free Public Libraries, often being feted as their Woman of the Year. To preserve the memory of this selfless and dedicated attorney/jurist after her death, the Middlesex County Bar Association subsequently named its annual laurel for women achieving excellence in the legal profession the Aldona E. Appleton Award. And in Spring 2001, Middlesex County dedicated a handsome new five-story courthouse building, its foyer greeted by a large oil painting of Judge Aldona E. Appleton, the judicial pioneer who served as the county s first juvenile and family court judge a fitting reminder of a woman who was far more than just a ballplayer s wife. (Bill Lamb, a retired 27-year member of the Middlesex County Prosecutor s Office, was introduced to Judge Appleton in 1980, but never appeared in court before her and knew her only slightly. The biographical aspects of this profile have been drawn largely from US Census data, the extensive Aldona Appleton obituaries published in The (Newark) Star-Ledger and The (East Brunswick, NJ) Home News Tribune, and the reminiscences of New Jersey Superior Court Judge Martin Kravarik, distinguished Woodbridge attorney Warren W. Wilentz, and other colleagues and acquaintances of Judge Appleton who spoke to Bill after the Bill James anecdote about Pete Appleton s name change was published in 2001.) Notes 1 According to US Census notations, Thaddeus Bronislaw Lesczynski was an ethnic Pole who emigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the United States in He married Lottie Mieszkowski in 1900 and their second child, a son born in 1907, was named for his father. By 1910, Thaddeus, Sr., had separated from his family and taken up residence as a boarder in Newark. He later moved to Chicago where he remarried and worked as an insurance agent until his death in During those years and then afterward, Aldona s mother would inform local census takers that she was a widow. 2 The 1929 Middlesex County Bar Association photo was long on display in the civil assignment clerk s office at the courthouse. 3 For a detailed exposition of his professional playing career, see the BioProject profile of Pete Appleton. 4 While the Polish surname Jablonowski roughly translates into Appleton in English, the actual reason why Pete changed his name is uncertain. 5 During the 1930 s, Aldona s brother Thaddeus (later Ted Lesh), also a Middlesex County attorney, served as a clerk to David T. Wilentz while Aldona often babysat the three Wilentz children, all of whom would go on to lead prominent lives in their own right. 6 As recalled by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Martin Kravarik at the time of Aldona s death. See The (Newark) Star-Ledger, April 18, In New Jersey, vacant judicial positions are oft-times filled by the recall of a retired judge. The physical and mental fitness of retirees must be certified by a physician and the recall must be approved by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Judicial recall orders are of two years duration but can be renewed indefinitely. In the case of Judge Appleton, her recall was approved seven times. 8 New York Times, August 6, Ibid. 10 As noted by The (East Brunswick, NJ) Home News Tribune, April 18, Ibid.

53 The David Pavlovsky Service to the Bar Award This award was created in 2001 in honor of the late David Pavlovsky, an active member of the Bar Association from 1935 until his passing in April of David was well known, liked and respected throughout Middlesex County and the State of New Jersey. In addition to being a superb traditional general practitioner, he was extraordinarily dedicated to the MCBA. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees during the 1960 s and was President during the term. David continued his active participation on the Board of Trustees up until his death, helping the MCBA develop into a leader among the Ceil & David Pavlovsky state s bar associations. The purpose of the David Pavlovsky "Service to the Bar" Award, given out annually, is to comend one bar member for his or her unselfish rendering of continuous, outstanding and/or nique service to the MCBA. It signifies unusual and extraordinary help and assistance that has een given generously and in a spirit of self-sacrifice. It will be awarded to members who truly exmplify the characteristics that other lawyers admire, respect and honor. avid Pavlovsky was the quintessential "Middlesex County" attorney, dedicated to his family, his rofession, his community and the Association. The Pavlovsky Award is presented to a lawyer ho carries on David's commitment to service to the Association and the Profession. Past Winners 2014 Manny Gerstein, Esq Jack Borrus, Esq Arthur H. Miller, Esq Jeffrey C. Green, Esq Paul V. Mullin, Esq Edward Schoifet, Esq. (in memoriam) 2011 Robert E. Goldstein, Esq Linda Lashbrook, Esq James B. Smith, Esq. (in memoriam) 2003 William G. Brigiani, Esq Dennis A. Estis, Esq Dennis Alan Auciello, Esq Michael K. Rutter, Esq.

54 The Arthur H. Miller Lawyer Achievement Award The MCBA's Arthur H. Miller Lawyer Achievement Award is given out annually to the bar member whose actions best exemplify what the practice of law is all about and serve as a model for others to emulate. Arthur passed away on May 26, 2012 after a long illness at the age of 76. During his more than 50 years of practice and more than 40 years as a practitioner in New Jersey, Art served in numerous capacities on behalf of the Bar. He was President of the Bar Association from 1993 to 1994 and President of the Bar Foundation from 1997 to Outside of his involvement with the Middlesex County and New Jersey Bar Associations, Art served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Middlesex County Legal Services Corporation for many years and served as a member of that Board until his death. He served for many years as a pro bono cooperating attorney with the New Jersey Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He was a visiting lecturer in the Politics Department of his alma mater, Princeton University, was a frequent lecturer before numerous bar groups and CLE programs, and was one of the innovators of the "Law on the Line" program established by the Middlesex County Bar Foundation. He practiced law in New York City immediately after graduating from Columbia Law School and commenced his own practice in New Brunswick shortly thereafter. The purpose of the Arthur H. Miller Lawyer Achievement Award is to accord recognition to attorneys practicing in Middlesex County whose work: Fosters a greater public understanding of the inherent values of our American and New Jersey legal and judicial systems; Informs and educates citizens as to roles in society of the law, the courts, the law enforcement agencies and the legal profession; Encourages and promotes local, state and federal efforts to improve and modernize our legal system including our legislative and court system; and Assists the legal profession and judiciary so that they can attain the goals set forth by the code of professional responsibility and the code of judicial conduct. Past Winners Dennis A. Estis Bertram E. Busch John A. Hoffman Barry S. Goodman Darren M. Gelber Hon. Robert A. Longhi Peter J. Barnes, III Hon. C. Judson Hamlin Manny Gerstein Sanford Rader Christopher Placitella Edward Schoifet Stuart Hoberman Gail Chester Daniel Golden Edward J. Byrne Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Arthur H. Miller David Pavlovsky Barry T. Albin Bradley J. Ferencz Jeffrey C. Green William G. Brigiani Jacob Wysoker Marina Corodemus Paul V. Mullin Morris Brown Richard Levinson William H. Gazi Samuel C. Inglese Martin S. Goldin

55 Renèe Denise Booker Anthony Past President (in memoriam) Renèe passed away on September 29, She was a member of the Middlesex County Bar Association for 16 years and served as the Association s 98 th President from May 9, 2012 to May 22, Renèe was the Association s first African American President and the third ever among the state and county bar associations. Renèe received her undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and her JD from Suffolk University Law School. She opened up her own solo practice in New Brunswick and served as a counselor at law in the areas of family, criminal, and chancery practice. During her 16 years in practice she helped many and mentored more. In addition to her service to the Middlesex County Bar, Renèe served as Secretary on the Executive Board of Trustees for Central Jersey Legal Services; she was a member of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation, a panelist for the Middlesex County Matrimonial Early Settlement Program, a civil arbitrator locally and in Federal United States Postal Service matters of the AFL-CIO Union, a foreclosure mediator, as well as a Judicial Volunteer for Middlesex Vicinage and a member of the Middlesex County Bar Association s Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee and served as Chair of the District VIII Ethics Committee, and was an active member of the Family Law Executive Committee for the New Jersey State Bar Association. Renèe was selected by the NAACP and honored with the Johnnie Cochran Legal Award and similarly selected by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated with the P.E.A.R.L.S. Award for leadership and received numerous awards for her service to the legal community and community at large. She also led the Piscataway High School Mock Trial Team, as their attorney-coach, to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition Middlesex County Championship in 2004 and Renèe was a model of courage and strength for all women battling breast cancer, was an advisor and mentor to anyone who called upon her for help, and in particular a mentor to young lawyers as the Chair of the Bar Association s Young Lawyers Committee. Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! Congratulations to the Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award Winners John J. Hoagland, Esq. Alan E. Davis, Esq. E. Ronald Wright, Esq. Hon. Marina Corodemus, JSC (Ret.) Frederic K. Becker, Esq. (in memoriam) Congratulations to the Officers & Trustees Edward J. Santoro, Jr., Esq. MCBA Past President Maple Avenue South Plainfield, NJ

56 The Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award In February, 2003, the Family Law Section established the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award, to be presented each year to a Family Law Practitioner who has been engaged in the practice for 15 years or less and who exemplifies those principles by which Marty practiced family law, including: maintaining a continuous study of past and present case law; making a careful and detailed analysis of each case; presenting the issues and applicable law to clients in a readily understandable manner; attempting to settle issues on a fair and reasonable basis before resorting to litigation; fostering respect and courtesy for the bench and bar; maintaining high standards of integrity and professionalism, and exhibiting leadership in the County or State Bar Association. Marty, the Chair of the Family Law Section since its inception in 1972, passed away in He was regarded as a fair and reasonable adversary and was renowned for his good nature, collegiality and genuine respect for all members of the bench and bar. Marty took great pleasure in discussing legal issues with newer attorneys and generously gave his time to mentor any attorney who sought his counsel. Past Winners 2013 Cheryl E. Connors, Esq Megan S. Murray, Esq Paula Menar, Esq Daniel M. Brown, Esq Lisa M. Vignuolo, Esq Robert M. Zaleski, Esq Gregg Rubenstein, Esq Steven R. Enis, Esq Frank Tournour, Esq Cheryl Spilka, Esq Lee Ann McCabe, Esq. The Edward Schoifet Family Law Award The Schoifet Award, the highest honor presented by the Family Law Section, commemorates the legacy of Edward Schoifet who passed away in Ed was considered the dean of the Middlesex County Family Bar and was recognized as a role model for all family law practitioners. The Award is presented annually to a Family Law Practitioner who has been engaged in the practice for 15 years or more and who exemplifies those principles by which Ed practiced family law: maintaining knowledge of past and present case law to advise clients thoroughly; analyzing the facts of each case in detail and diligently applying the law to those facts; presenting the issues and applicable law to the client in a manner appropriate to the client s understanding; making purposeful efforts to settle the issues in fair and reasonable terms before resorting to litigation; fostering respect and courtesy for the bench and fellow attorneys; maintaining highest standards of integrity and professionalism; and exhibiting leadership in the Middlesex County or State Bar Association. Past Winners 2014 William G. Brigiani, Esq Charles F. Vuotto, Jr., Esq Evelyn M. Hartmann, Esq Leonard Busch, Esq Jean Ramatowski, Esq Manny Gerstein, Esq John P. Paone, Jr., Esq David M. Wildstein, Esq.

57

58 Edward J. Patten Bar President, By: John P. Paone, Jr., Esq. It would be impossible to present here a complete review of the life of Edward J. Patten, former President of the Middlesex County Bar Association. That task is better left for a biography in book form, which is one of my goals. However, it is my hope that the following excerpt will provide an insight into this special man and his place in the history of Middlesex County. Edward J. Patten served as Bar Association President during the post- World War II years of Unfortunately, there are no archives to provide us with the details of his tenure as President. He practiced law in Perth Amboy in what can best be described as a general practice. Yet, he distinguished himself not as a practicing attorneybut as a public servant. Patten s public career started in 1934 when he was elected the boy Mayor of Perth Amboy at the age of 28. During his time as Mayor, Patten initiated many public works projects improving the city s waterfront, parks and streets. These were the depression years, and projects of this kind not only improved the town, but also put people to work and gave them hope during one of America s darkest periods. Patten became a popular Mayor and his gift for being an entertaining public speaker brought him to the attention of many beyond the city of Perth Amboy. As a result, after two terms as Mayor, he was asked to run for county office in 1940, and was elected Middlesex County Clerk. Patten served for 14 years as County Clerk. During the years that Patten served as County Clerk he also ascended the chairs to becoming Bar President. In these roles, he gained notoriety beyond Middlesex County. This was borne out in 1954, when Robert Meyner, then a candidate for Governor, tabbed Patten to be his campaign manager. Although Meyner entered the race as a decided underdog, through hard work and some good fortune, Meyner was elected. In turn, the Governor appointed Patten the 21st Secretary of State of New Jersey, a post he held from 1955 through By the late 1950 s the State of New Jersey was growing and so too was Middlesex County. As a result, a new congressional district was created in 1962, the 15 th district which encompassed primarily Middlesex County. Patten gave up a judicial nomination to the Superior Court in order to run for the newly established seat. After winning a contested primary, Patten went on to serve nine terms in Congress retiring in Patten did not campaign through media advertisement as is common today. Indeed, the Congressman would take pride in his annual campaign report which he described as collected nothing/spent nothing. Instead, he campaigned 365 days a year, attending every wedding, funeral, bar mitzvah and pancake communion breakfast. He was literally omnipresent in the district such that I think it would be fair to say that for his time, he was the most recognized person in the County. The best testament to his political resiliency was the 1972 Nixon- McGovern landslide, when every Democrat candidate running countywide in Middlesex County lost, except Patten. I started working for the Congressman in 1975, first as an aide in his Perth Amboy office and later in Washington. I observed that Patten made it a practice to drive home to the district every weekend while Congress was in session. Saturday mornings in the Perth Amboy office would usually bring a line of 10 to 20 constituents waiting (without appointment) to see Patten. Some needed a job, some had immigration issues to address, and others wanted to get a child into college. No matter the request, no matter how extraneous it may have been to the responsibilities of a Congressman, no one was turned away. All were added to his legion of supporters, which made it quite difficult for his political opponents. This was best summarized by his challenger one year who remarked, running against Ed Patten is like running against Santa Claus. And so it was. From the parking garage attendant to no less than Tip O Neill (the Speaker of John Paone and Ed Patten in Washington, DC the House), everyone on Capitol Hill was won over by Ed Patten. Whether it be by giving away baskets of New Jersey s prizewinning tomatoes, or handing out ties made by a manufacturer in the district, or merely by his Irish wit and charm, in his own way Patten became a very influential member of the New Jersey congressional delegation. Patten used that influence to advance his love of education (having started off as a public school teacher himself); health care; science and technology; and the youth of America. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Patten was responsible for obtaining federal dollars for Middlesex County College, which was established in the mid-1960 s. Rutgers College also received federal aid thanks to Patten s assistance. These institutions flourished under his tenure in Congress and in the process, the people of Middlesex County were benefited with first rate colleges at an affordable cost.

59 Patten supported funding for research in the battle against heart disease, cancer and stroke. He was an early supporter of NASA and the space program and took great interest in cutting-edge technologies that we accept as commonplace today. Patten loved the youth of America. He supported scores of high school candidates for admission into our prestigious military academies. He worked to help young people by supporting student loan programs, and helping them get into college and graduate school. He filled his office each summer with dozens of college student interns, even though he did not have the office space or even chairs to accommodate them. To this day, these interns attest to the great generosity of Patten and remember fondly their time in Washington with the Congressman. Ed was very generous with the people who worked alongside him. He always showed concern for the lives of his coworkers outside of the office. One of his Then Bar Officers (now Past Presidents) with Ed Patten and Aldona Appleton at a Bar Event in Ed Patten and Robert Kennedy most important co-workers was his office manager and wife, Anna Patten. As the staff would say, she was his right hand and his left hand. She made certain that the office ran like a clock, notwithstanding the Congressman s easygoing ways. Together they were the perfect political couple of their time. After retiring from public office in 1981, Patten remained active in community and Bar affairs. He was present at the Bar s 1 st celebration for practitioners of over 50 years in 1993, an event which included Judge Aldona Appleton and others. He also attended the dedication of the County Bar office in New Brunswick in April of Patten died on September 17, 1994 after more than a half century of service to the people of Middlesex County. His many recognitions include an elementary school in Perth Amboy and a stretch of Route 440 which bear his name, and a wing at Roosevelt Hospital dedicated to him. Ed Patten was truly the champion of the common man and has left behind a proud and lasting legacy.

60 The Middlesex County Bar Associat Guaranteed Subpoena Service has been meeting client expectations since Since inception, Guaranteed has been Building Trust, Advertising Honestly, Telling the Truth, Being Transparent, Honoring Promises, Being Responsive, Safeguarding Privacy, and Embodying Integrity. Guaranteed has repeatedly been voted the Best Process Server by The New Jersey Law Journal Best of 2013, The Legal Intelligencer Best of 2013, and The Connecticut Law Tribune Best 2013 Readers Survey. Whether you require service of process, document retrieval/pickup, court filings, record searches, investigations or skip traces, GSS will complete your tasks with the highest degree of professionalism. Guaranteed utilizes the most advanced software and hardware in the industry. Combined with a permanent Quality Review team, you are assured accuracy, completeness and instant, 24/7 advice on the status of your work. The system is great. But it is the people of Guaranteed that make the difference, trained to deal with your questions efficiently and intelligently, and give you the most cost-effective service. With 15 dedicated customer service representatives, separate out of state, international and foreclosure departments, 35 constable officers in New Jersey alone and over 850 process servers under contract, the Guaranteed family of companies provide world-wide service. Guaranteed s Process Server Due Diligence Program is an industry first, designed to provide client feedback on the efficiency and professionalism of our Process Servers. Guaranteed is licensed, bonded and insured, is EEO-certified, and the outsource partner for government agencies across the United States. Guaranteed is a member of the National Constables Association (NCA), The New Jersey Association of Professional Process Servers (NJAPP), The New Jersey Fraternal Order of Constables (NJFOC), Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), The Union Chamber of Commerce (UCC), The National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS), and many other associations nationwide and worldwide. Our company is built on both integrity and honesty. Everyday someone else feels that they can do what we have done and everyday they are trying. The longevity of most of these companies is six to eighteen months. We have been serving process for thirty-five years. We are the most experienced, efficient, cost effective and professional servers of process anywhere. We sponsor monthly training sessions to the industry and speak throughout the United States on the subject of process serving. Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group (CBIG) is a large, Independent Regional Insurance Agency, headquartered in Liberty Corner, NJ, proudly serving our customers since Our owners and employees are actively engaged in giving back to our community. We are a Trusted Choice Agent, and a shareholder of Assurex Global, the world's largest group of Commercial Insurance brokerage firms. We have established strong ties with leading national insurers, and our Experience, Diligence and Professionalism set us apart from the competition. CBIG was created by merging two long-established and wellrecognized specialists, one with a large property and casualty base, and the other an agency in the association group arena with an emphasis on attorneys. Agency History 1903 Braunsdorf Agency Established 1940 Braunsdorf Agency Incorporated 1946 John A. Couch Agency Incorporated - Initial Relationship with the MCBA Established 1979 Jim Johnston Acquires Braunsdorf Agency 1984 Braunsdorf Agency Acquires John A. Couch Agency 1984 Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group Incorporated 1987 CBIG Acquires Feller and Feist 1988 CBIG Acquires GSA 1993 CBIG Acquires McDermott Boyer Group

61 ion Salutes It s Longtime Sponsors SCHULMAN, WIEGMANN & ASSOCIATES, Certified Court Reporters, has a long storied history of court reporting in Middlesex County and throughout the State of New Jersey. At SWA we believe there is a secret to our success: Experience and hard work. Our Certified Court Reporters know there is no substitute for either and in the past 40 years SWA has developed into a uniquely equipped full-service Certified Court Reporting and litigation support firm, always riding the wave of technology. Seymour Schulman, C.S.R., of Edison reported depositions and court trials from 1951 to Most notably he was the Official Court Reporter appointed to the Larner Probe, a special hearing investigating political corruption in Jersey City. Barry J. Wiegmann, C.C.R., of Carteret, Certified Court Reporter since graduating from the Cittone Institute in Edison, New Jersey in 1981 has long been found at depositions and in the courthouse on trial reporting such cases as Sarah Lee Kessler vs. WWOR TV and Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Tyson and The World Boxing Commission. Barry has taught countless attorneys and judges how to utilize technology at the deposition and in the courtroom. Barry is a member of the Certified Court Reporters Association of New Jersey and the National Court Reporters Association. First recipient of the Maureen E. McCully Award, April 23, Certified Court Reporters dedicated to proudly serving the members of the Middlesex County Bar Association. BARRY J. WIEGMANN, C.C.R. SCHULMAN, WIEGMANN & ASSOCIATES 216 STELTON ROAD, SUITE C-1 PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY FAX [email protected] 1995 Couch Braunsdorf Establishes Title Division 1997 CBIG Acquires Tucker Camiolo 2003 CBIG Relocates Headquarters to Liberty Corner, NJ 2006 CBIG Establishes Professional Liability Division 2006 CBIG Establishes Strategic Alliance with Allstate 2007 CBIG Acquires A.P.P.L.E CBIG Acquires PCM Services, LLC 2010 CBIG Appointed MGU for Zurich Professional Liability 2011 CBIG Establishes Strategic Alliance with Prudential 2012 CBIG Establishes Strategic Alliance with Farmers Our staff is comprised of industry recognized specialists with in-depth experience in the fields of Commercial Insurance, Professional Liability, Personal Lines, Employee Benefits and Title Insurance. We recognize that our clients are the most important asset we have, and our experience, diligence, professionalism and commitment to customer service set us apart from the competition. In our Personal Lines Insurance Division, for example, over 75,000 homeowners trust us with their insurance. In the Professional Liability Division, we maintain a staff of more than 20 seasoned professionals in the fields of Professional Liability and Executive Risk Management, serving more than 7,000 clients. For more than 50 years we have been developing and managing programs that assist professionals with the development and implementation of comprehensive liability coverage. We are appointed as the program administrator on behalf of Zurich in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C. With access to numerous additional markets, we provide a wide range of custom tailored solutions to address our clients specific needs.

62 New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law Middlesex County Professional Lawyer of the Year Award Winners Since 1997 the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law (NJCPL) has presented Professional Lawyer of the Year awards to recipients from around the state, as chosen by the various county and specialty bar associations. The awards recognize and honor attorneys who are considered by their peers to exhibit the highest professional character and competency, are respected in the community, and are considered to be models of professional behavior. Recipients of the NJCPL Middlesex County Professional Lawyer of the Year Award 2013 Emily A. Kaller 2012 Dennis Alan Auciello 2011 Jack Borrus 2010 Hon. Peter J. Barnes, III 2009 Hon. Steven L. Lefelt 2008 Anthony B. Vignuolo 2007 Hon. Robert A. Longhi 2006 Jeffrey C. Green 1997 Edward J. Byrne 2005 Hon. Rosemary K. Reavey 2004 Alan I. Dunst 2003 Warren W. Wilentz 2002 David B. Rubin 2001 E. Ronald Wright 2000 Linda Lashbrook 1999 Edward Schoifet 1998 Manny Gerstein (The NJCPL is a cooperative undertaking of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the state and federal judiciary, and New Jersey s three law schools; it promotes professionalism within the bench and bar through educational initiatives and related programs.)

63 Middlesex County Bar Association Practice Area Award Recipients Civil Trial Practice Award Winners Nicholas Leonardis, Esq George Shamy, Jr., Esq Edward J. Rebenack, Esq Wendy Reek, Esq Adam Rothenberg, Esq John J. Kane, Esq John R. Gorman, Esq Linda Lashbrook, Esq James D. Martin, Jr., Esq Criminal Practice Award Winners James Millner, Esq William Fetky, Esq Steven D. Altman, Esq Hon. Barnett E. Hoffman, JSC (Ret.) Mary P. Nelson, Esq Joseph J. Benedict, Esq Judson H. Hamlin, Esq Nicole Albert, Esq James P. Nolan, Jr., Esq Richard D. Barker, Esq Ralph Cretella, Esq Mark A. Anderl, Esq Darren M. Gelber, Esq Renee Anthony, Esq. (in memoriam) James P. Durek, Esq William G. Brigiani, Esq Municipal Court Practice Award Winners Jeremy Solomon, Esq Joshua Altman, Esq Peter J. Hendricks, Esq Kenneth A. Vercammen, Esq James E. Trabilsy, Esq Peter H. Lederman, Esq Dalya Youssef, Esq Allan Marain, Esq Deborah A. Rose, Esq Pro Bono Award Winners Evelyn Hartmann, Esq Robert E. Goldstein, Esq Brenda Vallecilla, Esq Henry Gurshman, Esq Steven Kropf, Esq Ronald B. Grayzel, Esq Thomas J. Denitzio, Jr., Esq Stephan Barcan, Esq Transactional Attorney Award Winners Malcolm Busch, Esq Peter Greenbaum, Esq Meryl Gonchar, Esq Robert J. Chalfin, Esq Michael E. Schaff, Esq Elliot S. Solop, Esq Megan S. Murray, Esq Young Lawyers Award Winners Jemi Lucey, Esq Senwan Akhtar, Esq John E. Hogan, Esq Hany Mawla, Esq Kimberly Yonta, Esq Paul A. Rowe, Esq Brian Molloy, Esq Robert J. Cirafesi Chancery Practice Award Winners Dennis A. Estis, Esq Anthony B. Vignuolo, Esq Andrea J. Sullivan, Esq

64 CONSTITUTION of the MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION Organized June 19, 1914 ARTICLE I. Name This Association shall be known as MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION. ARTICLE II. Objects The objects of the Association shall be the promotion of social intercourse and good-fellowship among its members, the discussion of legal questions of general practical importance, the investigations of complaints affecting the professional conduct of lawyers practicing in Middlesex County and the adoption of such action in relation thereto as shall seem just and expedient, to guard against the admission to the bar of immoral or incompetent persons; to promote and encourage the more profound study of the law; the due administration of justice and reforms in the law; and in general, the advancement of the honor, dignity, welfare, efficiency and enjoyment of the members of the bar. ARTICLE III. Membership Section 1. Qualifications of Members. Any member of the bar of New Jersey, of good character and reputation, residing or practicing in the County of Middlesex, shall be eligible to active membership, provided such member shall have practiced law in New Jersey for at least two years, and provided further, that if said member resides outside Middlesex County, he shall have filed with his application a recommendation from the Bar Association of the County where he resides, of if there be no such Bar Association, a recommendation signed by at least two reputable attorneys of the County where he resides. Sec. 2. Honorary Members. In addition to the active members there may be such honorary members as the Association may from time to time elect by a vote of two-thirds of members present at any meeting. Sec. 3. Election of Members. Lawyers eligible to membership shall make application in writing to the Secretary in the manner and form approved by the Committee on Membership which application shall be referred by the Secretary to that committee. Upon recommendation by a majority of such committee the application shall be referred to the Board of Trustees who may by a majority vote approve such application. Upon such approval by a majority of the members of the Board of Trustees applicant shall become a regular member of this Association provided the necessary dues have been paid. Should the Committee on Membership of the Board of Trustees refuse or fail to approve such application at least fifteen (15) days prior to the annual meeting the Secretary shall submit to the membership at least ten (10) days prior to the annual meeting a list of applicants who desire to have their names considered for election by the membership at large at the annual meeting. At such annual meeting proper ballots shall be furnished by the Secretary and two-thirds of the vote of the members present at the annual meeting shall be necessary to election. Sec. 4. Suspension or Expulsion of Members. Any member may be suspended or expelled by the Association on the recommendation of the Committee on Ethics and Grievances after an investigation by said committee upon ten days written notice by mail to the member accused with a statement of the charges preferred against him. Notice of the time and place of meeting and that the report of the committee will be considered at said meeting shall be given to the member against whom complaint has been made or mailed to his last known post-office address at least five days before such meeting. Two-thirds of the vote cast shall be necessary to suspend or expel. If a member be expelled he shall forfeit all his right, title and interest in the funds or other property of the Association. ARTICLE IV Officers The officers of this Association shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and a Board of five Trustees. They shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Association and hold their office for one year and until their successors are elected. All vacancies in office shall be filled by the Board of Trustees for the unexpired term thereof. The officers elected at the first meeting held under this constitution shall hold office to the next annual meeting and until their successors are elected.

65 ARTICLE V Committees The following shall be the Standing Committees of the Association, each to consist of five members: Committee on Membership; Committee on Legislation; Committee on Library; Committee on Ethics and Grievances together with such other Standing Committees as the Association may from time to time establish. The Standing Committees shall be appointed by the President within two weeks after his election. ARTICLE VI Duties of the Officers and Committees Section 1. The duties of the officers are such as ordinarily appertain to their respective offices. Sec. 2. The Board of Trustees shall be charged with the selection and furnishing of a suitable room or rooms for the Association and with the general conduct and management of the Association. Sec. 3. The Committee on Membership shall consider the applications for admission to the Association and report to any regular or special meeting the names of such applicants as are recommended for membership by a majority of said committee. Sec. 4. The Committee on Legislation shall report to the Association from time to time any recommendations in regard to pending or proposed legislation. Sec. 5. The Committee on Library shall perform such duties in relation thereto as the Association may from time to time request. Sec. 6. The Committee on Ethics and Grievances shall investigate complaints affecting the professional conduct of lawyers practicing in Middlesex County, and shall take such action in relation thereto as shall seem just and expedient. ARTICLE VII Meetings The annual meeting of the Association shall be held at the Court House in the City of New Brunswick on the first day of April term in each year at twelve o clock noon, and there shall be such other meetings as the Association or the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, deem proper. Special meetings may be called at any time by the President, and must be called at the written request of five members. ARTICLE VIII Dues An entrance fee of five dollars shall be paid by each active member at the time of his enrollment. Said payment shall be credited as the annual dues for the current year. The annual dues for the next year shall become due on the day of the next annual meeting after such enrollment or election. The dues of this organization shall be five dollars a year for active members, payable annually in advance on the day of the annual meeting of the Association. Any member in arrears for dues for six months shall cease to be a member after thirty days notice in writing given to him by the Secretary to that effect, but may be reinstated by the Board of Trustees on payment of the dues for the year in which the said member was dropped and the dues for the year in which said reinstatement is acted on. ARTICLE IX Quorum Ten members shall constitute a quorum of this Association, but a less number may adjourn from time to time. ARTICLE X Amendments Amendments to this constitution shall be submitted to the Secretary before action thereon, and the Secretary shall give five days notice in writing of the meeting at which it is proposed that such amendments shall be acted upon, including with the notice a copy of said proposed amendment, and an adoption of such amendment shall require a two-thirds vote of the members present at such meeting. The proposed amendment may be amended as to form or substance without a new notice being given, provided the amendments to the proposed amendment relate to the subject matter of the clause or article to be amended.

66 In the Rearview Mirror By C. Judson Hamlin As we approach the centennial celebration of the Middlesex County Bar Association, now part of the vibrant and expanding New Brunswick scene, it may be of some interest to look back on how we and the Middlesex County Courts got here. To paraphrase a once popular song We ve come a long way, baby! But New Brunswick was not always the legal hub of Middlesex County. Long before America was a Country and New Jersey become a State what is now Middlesex County was part of the Province of New Jersey governed by the crown appointed Governor and Council. Not surprisingly the settlers of this new colony recognized the need for a forum to administer some form of predictable justice. In a burst of enthusiasm for judicial efficiency the first county court was established on March 28, 1683 by appointing a Presiding Judge and 5 assistants. The court adopted a total of only eight (8) rules to govern the filing and trial of actions! The first court session was held in Piscataway on June 19, 1683 when one case was tried wherein one of the newly appointed Judges had posted bail for the defendant. The second session of the County Court was held in Woodbridge on September 18, From 1683 to 1688 court session were held in meeting houses and taverns in Piscataway and Woodbridge. In 1688 Perth Amboy joined that rotation and become the sole site of the Middlesex Courts in Perth Amboy, then a center of commerce and a busy port, became the legal center of what would became Middlesex County Courts until after the revolution. New Brunswick was a growing town in the early 18th Century and required the appointment of two constables to maintain order although the judicial business of the County remained in Perth Amboy. New Brunswick grew in size and importance as New Jersey became the cockpit of the revolution. The Raritan River provided easy water access to central New Jersey and New Brunswick which British and Hessian troops garrisoned. New Brunswick became a major British supply base and stronghold. It was to be the planned target of Washington and his troops after his Christmas defeat of the Hessians at Trenton only to be frustrated at the following battle of Princeton. It was New Brunswick that was the overnight stop of Ben Franklin and John Adams on their way to meet with a British negotiator on board a british man of war anchored in Raritan Bay during the early part of the revolution. The first County Court session in New Brunswick was held in After the revolution Middlesex County Courts were held in both Perth Amboy and New Brunswick until The business of the County Court in those distant days was far different from our current practice. There were no jails except to await trial which, in any event, would occur promptly and with dispatch. Because there was no place to serve a term of imprisonment rehabilitation was accomplished through fines, whippings or death. Conduct not considered unusual today was punished as a penal offense. One ordinance prohibited stage plays, games, revels, bull baitings and cock fights which may excite people to rudeness, cruelty, looseness and irreligion. Constables of New Brunswick were instructed to take into custody night walkers or revelers after nine o clock and hold the same until morning. To complete that picture of bucolic virtue that was New Brunswick in the 18th Century there was a law making lying a penal offense. The town fathers were serious about it! There was a provision that liars convicted a second time were to pay of fine of 20 shillings and, if not paid, to receive a whipping or placed in stocks. One may only conjecture on the effect of such an ordinance were it in place now in the context of political campaigns. Following the revolution New Brunswick s growth rivaled Perth Amboy and led to a confrontation between those two forums as to which should be the seat of County Government and the site of the County Courts. It became the hot button issue of The matter was put to a vote which elicited 2,540 ballots which was a significant turnout in 1793 recognizing that only white male freeholders could vote. As a foretaste of things to come the regularity of that ballot issue was challenged in the courts. So there it was Perth Amboy had been the center of commerce and government for the colony of New Jersey. The Royal Governor of New Jersey had been William Franklin, the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, but with the revolution he remained loyal to the crown and was now safely back in England, and the former royal seat of government in Perth Amboy, which had been used as the courts for Middlesex County, lay in disrepair. New settlers, farmers and businessman thought that New Brunswick should be the site of County Government and the courts for this new country called the United States of America. The issue was submitted to a vote on March 11, 1793, in which New Brunswick prevailed. But not without controversy. In the absence of electronic or mass media a group of Perth Amboy and Woodbridge citizens distributed handbills advising the electorate that the former buildings used as the courthouse and jail in Perth Amboy till the beginning of the late war would be repaired at the cost of Perth Amboy citizens alone at no cost to the county tax payer if Perth Amboy were selected. They grimly predicted that if New Brunswick were selected, taxes would increase five fold. Dire warnings didn t deter New Brunswick supporters and sure enough the New Brunswick Common Council then imposed a tax on its citizens which was challenged in the courts. As a harbinger of things to come in the judicial/legislative arena then Chief Justice Kinsey pungently observed... without entering into these peculiar circumstances, which in this case furnish strong suspicions of intentional and premeditated deception in this double faced transaction, the vote imposing the tax upon the Citizens of New Brunswick was illegal and void. The judicial heritage that came to New Brunswick was a mix of attitudes and practices that were as abhorrent by present standards as they were acceptable to our ancestors. On January 10, 1729 a court of three judges and five freeholders tried a negro man named Prince for murdering one William Cook, a white man in Perth Amboy. Following a plea of not guilty the trial and sentencing were completed in one day! The sentence was that he should be burned alive on the twelfth of this instant which sentence was then put into execution on the next day. I suppose from a viewpoint of calendar efficiency one could admire indictment, trial and execution in two days. I doubt that Prince or anyone reading this would so view it. (Continued on next text page)

67 Mazel Tov and Congratulations Ellen Schwartz! Jeff and Linda Urbach Pamela and David Avraham Certified Public Accountants 1581 Route 27, Suite 201 Edison, NJ cpas.com Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association Celebrating 100 Years! Judith Deer, Esq. of ALL PRO QDRO, LLC The Professional Choice for QDRO Preparation and Pension Evaluation P.O. Box 1600 * Livingston * New Jersey Phone: (973) * Fax: (973)

68 (Continued from previous page) But in that time even speech and seemingly harmless amusements were criminal matters for the courts. In 1684 Matthew Moore was found guilty of speaking reproachful words against authority for which he was fined four Spanish dollars. In 1692 the Grand Jury indicted John Taylor and Francis Walton for being drunk and Daniel Robins for carting wood on the Sabbath Day, for which they were fined. But then, sometimes, the scales of justice did balance out. Benjamin Hall, who was the foreman of the Grand Jury that indicted Taylor, Robins and Walton was himself indicted later by the same Grand Jury for keeping and allowing gaming at cards and bowle (sic) and pins at his house. Hypocrisy never goes out of style. The first regularly held court in New Brunswick as the seat of County Government was conducted in the old revolutionary war barracks described as a two story sandstone building 100 feet wide and 60 feet deep on the west side of what is now George Street near Paterson Street. Not long after that the old barracks courthouse was gutted by fire and a new courthouse was built in what was then the commercial center of New Brunswick on the southwest corner of what is now Neilson and Bayard Street. That courthouse and adjacent jail served the County until 1840 when what is now the site of our present judicial home was relocated to Bayard Street. In a burst of budgetary largesse the county built a classic Greek revival courthouse at a cost of $30,000 with six massive marble columns supporting a triangular Frieze. It looked like what a courthouse should look like. A separate structure was also built on the westerly side of the courthouse facing Bayard Street consisting of a home for the Middlesex County sheriff with jail cells to its rear. An engraving of 1876 shows a spacious two story home, an attached office and a cell building to its rear reaching Paterson Street and surrounded by a wrought iron picket fence. It was in that classic courthouse and sheriff s enclosure that one of the most sensational Middlesex County murder trials of the 19th century took place. In the early morning hours of February 25, 1867 the murder of Mrs. Ellen Coriell of New Market, now part of Piscataway, was discovered. Ellen was the wife of Dr. William Coriell and the mother of a toddler daughter named Mamie. They employed an Irish immigrant, Bridget Deignan, as a servant in their home. Without delving into the detailed reports of the event Bridget murdered Mrs. Coriell by stabbing her, beating her with a chair and setting the house on fire. The Grand Jury handed up an indictment on April 29, 1867 to which the defendant pleaded not guilty. The court appointed counsel and trial began on May 11, In the absence of instant news network coverage and court television the public thronged the courthouse each day of the trial until its conclusion on May 31. The jury returned its guilty verdict in less than an hour. On June 17, 1867 Bridget was sentenced to be hung (sic) on Friday, August 30, 1867 until she be dead. An appeal to the Court of Pardons was denied three weeks later on July 9. Morbid curiosity is nothing new. The sheriff complained of the number of strangers who wished to visit Bridget while she was awaiting execution. It became even more pronounced as the day for execution neared. A contemporary account related that the Sheriff was also terribly annoyed by the demand for tickets of admission to the execution. He eventually issued 500 tickets to upstanding and reputable citizens who wished to witness the actual death of another human being. In those days executions were carried out by the County Sheriff in the county of the crime. On the day of the hanging an estimated crowd of 2,000 people appeared at the Sheriff s Office and Jail. Order was maintained by two companies of the New Jersey Militia. At the appointed time Bridget was led out of her cell by the Sheriff and Fathers Rogers and Duggan, who gave her last rites as the black hood was placed over her head. The following eyewitness account is more evocative than my pen. The crowd was boisterous to that point but quieted and parted to let her through. Then it rushed madly forward to get good vantage points. Bridget kissed the jailer, shook hands with the sheriff and the rope was put around her neck. She shouted Don t let a Protestant touch me! The weight dropped and the former servant girl was jerked three feet into the air. Her pulse continued to beat for thirteen minutes (ready volunteers taking the count). She had been strangled with horrible slowness, not killed suddenly. No one seemed to mind. Unlike Prince in 1729 Bridget received a jury trial, counsel and an appeal before execution. Some progress? I suppose. We last noted the 1840 construction of the then new courthouse at its present location on Bayard Street. That court house, after two fires and substantial improvements and expansions in 1878 and 1920 served our profession and the citizens of Middlesex County until That classic Greek revival courthouse housed not only the courts but also the Office of the Prosecutor of the Pleas as well as his county detective staff. The Prosecutors Office then did not require much space because until 1971 the County Prosecutor and his assistants were part time and maintained private offices for the full time practice of law. A major expansion was undertaken in 1920 when the growing population of the county and its legal business required additional court rooms and space for its support staff. That expansion extended the courthouse to its rear to abut Paterson Street. To accompany that expansion the sheriff s house and jail were replaced in 1910 as well as a separate County Administration Building that remained in use until But, of course, buildings are merely the repository of echoes now silent. The real story of our legal evolution and growth is found in the trials, emotions, anger, and human drama in the efforts to do justice by lawyers and judges. Those efforts reflect the constantly changing identity and moral values of our citizenry as expressed in trials and the courts. While most of us now are concerned with the development of civil law the public s imagination is more frequently seized by crimes and trials. That was so in the past and is so now as witnessed by simply perusing the continued media interest (often morbid) in crimes and criminals. For those of you who read my earlier recounting of the trial and execution of Bridget Deignan I offer a brief recounting of another then famous 19th century Middlesex County murder trial which seized the public interest and was breathlessly reported in the Daily Fredonion New Brunswick newspaper as well as the New York Times. In that trial John Fox of Elizabeth was indicted for the murder of John Henry on December 27, 1855 in New Brunswick. The trial took place at the Special Term of the Court of Oyer and Terminer (then being the court of criminal jurisdiction) of May The indictment accused Fox of beating John Henry with a pistol and slashing his throat with a knife. Although the State asserted that the crime occurred on (Continued on next text page)

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70 (Continued from previous page) December 27, 1855 the body was not found until December 30, 1855 in a field at the base of Sonomans Hill near what was then the city steam boat dock. That area lies below the hill upon which Douglass College now sits and near the present location of the Rutgers University Boathouse. The trial began at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 12 and concluded on Friday May 23, The identity of the participants in that trial is an accurate cross section of New Brunswick of the period. They were, as might be expected for that time, all male white Christians. Judge Vredenbergh (described as of prepossessing appearance ) presided. The Prosecuting Attorneys were George Vroom and John Van Dyke. Appointed Counsel for the impecunious defendant was H.V. Speer and A.V. Schenck. The jury was selected in 2½ hours with the exercise of only one challenge. That Jury consisted of two members surnamed Bloomfield and two named Parsell. From our distance we cannot conjecture on their possible familial relationship but given the relatively small jury pool to be drawn from the odds of familial relationship was strong. Would such relationships give a trial lawyer pause today? The trial itself is of interest in its early recognition of some not so new evidentiary concepts. In days before DNA, fingerprints, blood typing and other sophisticated forensic resources criminal trials relied on human observation, memory and recollection. In the Fox case a witness testified to seeing the deceased on the day of the murder in the company of another white male who she did not recognize. The day following Fox s arrest in Elizabeth in January 1856 Middlesex County Sheriff Acken brought the witness to his home adjacent to the courthouse and produced 12 white males similarly dressed into his parlor to stand before the witness. She identified the defendant as the man accompanying the deceased on the day of the crime. The significant aspect of both the witness and the sheriff s testimony was the care which was given to make clear that the line up was not prejudiced by any suggestive comments, unfair positioning or selection of subjects. For those of us familiar with present standards of identification or photo arrays such concerns point out an emerging sense of fair play and concern for accurate identification almost 150 years ago. The prosecution painstakingly supported its theory depicting the murder as a dispute between two burglars who fell out over the loot previously stolen from the railroad depot (then on street level at George Street). The coroner, one John Mitchell, carefully described the contents of the deceased pockets: skeletons keys that fit the railroad depot cash draw, a black silk mask, small saw, chisel and a small false mustache. Sheriff Acken testified to his seizing a powder flask and five bullets from the defendant s person upon his arrest. The picture was clearly limned. The Defendant declined to testify. The attorney s summations were prolonged and littered with classical allusions but, nonetheless, on balance fair and would not have merited reversal even by today s standards. On the other hand Judge Vredenbergh s charge to the jury was a clear throw back to an earlier time. As was customary at the time it was the practice of the court to review the evidence for the jury. The judge recapitulated the evidence at length leaving little question as to how he viewed the evidence. The Judge made no comment on defendant s silence in refusing to testify. The jury retired at 5:30 pm on Friday, May 23, Then, as a contemporary witness reported: About seven o clock the tolling of the court house bell gave notice to the court, prisoner and the public that a verdict had been agreed upon. A general rush of the citizens was made for the court house. The verdict was guilty of murder in the first degree. Sentencing was scheduled for one week later on Saturday, May 31, 1856 at 11:00 am. At that time counsel for the defendant moved for a new trial which argument raised four legal points and was opposed by the State. Argument lasted until 1:00 pm. The court adjourned for lunch and to consider the application for new trial. The Judge only needed 2 hours to eat lunch and consider the application which was promptly denied. Best practices could not have been quicker! At 3:00 pm Judge Vredenbergh sentenced John Fox to the Custody of the Middlesex County Sheriff until the 25th day of July and then and there you be hanged by the neck until you be Dead. John Fox was hanged by the neck until He be dead on July 25, 1856 adjacent to the court house and jail on Bayard Street. That execution was at the same site where Bridget Deignan met her end several years later. The public execution was attended by a full assembly of New Brunswick citizens. As a curiosity I commend to your attention to the bell memorial located to the right of the attorney entrance to the Middlesex County Courthouse. Stop and read its inscription. That bell was forged in 1839 for installation on the then new courthouse to be constructed in It is the bell that tolled the opening of court sessions for 120 years and for the return of verdicts in the Fox and Deignan trials and summoned the eager public to witness their executions right here on Bayard Street.

71 JONATHAN P. DIXON & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS, P.C. PROJECT DESIGN & CM SERVICES EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY JONATHAN P. DIXON, PE PP RRC 104 UNION AVENUE MANASQUAN, NJ CONGRATULATIONS MCBA!

72 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary From the Convery Family Attorneys Hon. Samuel V. Convery, J.S.C (dec d) Samuel V. Convery, Jr., Esq. Hon. James B. Convery, J.S.C. (Ret.) Jerome J. Convery, Esq. Clark W. Convery, Esq. Michael J. Convery, Esq. David E. Convery, Esq Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! Venezia & Nolan, PC 306 Main St., Woodbridge, NJ (732) Fax: (732)

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74 MISSION STATEMENT The Middlesex County Bar Association is a non-profit professional membership organization whose purpose is focused in seven areas: Maintain and improve a viable, fiscally sound, self-sustaining membership organization open to all members of the legal community. Provide a proactive voice to represent the views, interests and concerns of the legal community of Middlesex County on all issues affecting the practice of law and the administration of justice. Promote ethical conduct, collegiality and mutual respect among the members of the legal community in Middlesex County through programs and services. Foster respect for the legal profession by the public. Enhance the quality of the legal services provided by our members through education, networking and mutual support. Encourage and provide opportunities for members to use their knowledge, skills and resources for the benefit of the public. Provide and enhance the economic and social opportunities for members. March 9, 2001

75 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! has been serving the Middlesex County legal community since 1981 and is a proud sponsor of the Bar Association! Volk Insurance Group, LLC 440 South Main Street Milltown, NJ Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! Congratulations to Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Frederic K. Becker Hon. Marina Corodemus Alan E. Davis John J. Hoagland E. Ronald Wright Congratulations to the Officers & Trustees from long-time bar member and friend Hon. Bob Smith

76 TROYAN, INC. The Nation's Premier QDRO Prep. Co. (SPECIALISTS IN THE PREPARATION & REVIEW OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS (ERISA), FEDERAL, STATE & MILITARY ORDERS) Websites: or Communications Parkway Toll Free: Sarasota, Florida Telephone: Fax: Troyan, Inc. - Prepared more QDRO's than any other firm. All QDRO's prepared by a Licensed Attorney Don't draft QDRO's yourself let a licensed Attorney with Insurance Coverage do that. Speak with one of our knowledgeable associates when you call. Fast turn-around for QDRO's Free "Pre-Approval" service for all QDRO's. All Pension Valuations prepared by Actuary with decades of experience. Pension Valuations prepared within 2 days. One convenient Location in Sarasota, FL to serve all your QDRO & Valuation needs. Farkas and Donohue, Esqs. Congratulates Ellen F. Schwartz, Esq. On the well-deserved honor!

77 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! Congratulations to the Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Frederic K. Becker Hon. Marina Corodemus Alan E. Davis John J. Hoagland E. Ronald Wright Congratulations to the Officers & Trustees from long-time bar member and friend James M. Cahill Mayor of the City of New Brunswick Congratulations and Best Wishes to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! Bruce Pomerantz & Jeffrey Kaltman 51 JFK Parkway Office Center at Short Hills 4th Floor Short Hills, NJ

78 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association for dedicating 100 years to preserving & promoting the legal profession. Your continuing education and support for the legal community is present and makes a difference in our society. Thank you! Warm Regards, Dr. David Weiss

79 Lutz Shafranski Gorman Mahoney, P.A. 77 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick, NJ (732) CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES TO THE MCBA ON YOUR 100TH ANNIVERSARY! LAW OFFICES OF JAMES P. NOLAN AND ASSOCIATES, LLC 61 GREEN STREET WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY TEL: FAX: James P. Nolan, Jr., Esq. **Certified Criminal Attorney** Fredrick L. Rubenstein, Esq. Sanford Rader, Of Counsel Eric L. Lange, Esq. * CRIMINAL MATTERS * MUNICIPAL COURT * REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS * DWI / TRAFFIC OFFENSES * PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION * WORKER S COMPENSATION

80 MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION CODE OF PROFESSIONALISM 1. I will provide my client with objective advice and will endeavor to represent my client's interests as expeditiously and economically as possible. 2. I will advise my client against pursuing a course of action that is without merit and against tactics which are intended to delay resolution of the matter, or to harass or drain the financial resources of the opposing party. 3. I will counsel my client that a willingness to initiate or engage in settlement discussions is consistent with zealous and effective representation, and that civility and courtesy to others during the course of representation are both essential to the proper functioning of our justice system, and are practices that can contribute to an acceptable outcome. 4. I will treat opposing counsel, other lawyers and their staffs, parties, witnesses, the court and members of the court's staff with civility and courtesy. I recognize and I will communicate to my client that courtesy is a professional responsibility and is entirely compatible with vigorous advocacy and zealous representation. 5. I will never knowingly misstate facts or law, and I shall always act so that other lawyers and judges can trust in and rely upon my oral or written word. 6. I will agree to requests for reasonable extensions of time or for waiver of procedural formalities when the interests of my client will not be adversely affected. 7. I will endeavor to consult with opposing counsel before scheduling depositions or meetings, and before scheduled hearings; and I will cooperate with opposing counsel when scheduling appearances and in providing notice to all concerned parties at the earliest possible time of cancellation of appointments, depositions or hearings. 8. In the conduct of litigation or negotiations I will comport myself with fairness and dignity, refraining from conduct meant to harass the opposing party; from excessive or abusive discovery and from advancing groundless objections; and from engaging in other practices designed merely to harass or delay, or which are rude or disrespectful. 9. I will be considerate in my communications with others, returning telephone calls and responding to correspondence from clients and other attorneys at the earliest reasonable time. 10. While I will be a vigorous advocate I will always be mindful that I am an officer of the court and that I have an obligation to conduct myself with respect for the court and for my adversary. 11. In civil proceedings, I will voluntarily withdraw claims or defenses if it becomes apparent that they lack merit, and I will stipulate to non-essential facts over which there is no genuine dispute. I will cooperate with other attorneys in working to resolve all matters promptly and fairly. 12. I will not quarrel needlessly over matters of form or style, but will concentrate on matters of substance and content. 13. I will strive to keep current in the areas of law in which I practice. I will familiarize myself with the Rules of Professional Conduct and adhere to these rules in my practice. 14. I will not encourage or knowingly authorize any person under my control to engage in conduct that would be improper if I were to engage in such conduct. 15. I will adhere to all express promises and to agreements with other counsel, whether oral or in writing, and will adhere in good faith to all agreements implied by the circumstances or local customs. 16. I will not ascribe a position to another counsel that counsel has not taken or otherwise seek to create an unjustified inference based on counsel's statements or conduct. 17. I will be mindful of my obligation to preserve and protect the public perception of the legal profession. I will be so guided in my comments about the judiciary, opposing counsel, other attorneys or the members of other professions, and in the methods and contents of any advertising that I may pursue. 18. I recognize that the law is a learned profession and that among its goals are public service, the improvement of the administration of justice and the contribution of uncompensated time toward the administration of justice on behalf of those persons who cannot afford legal assistance. As a member of the Middlesex County Bar Association I agree to practice law in a manner consistent with this code. It is understood that nothing in this code shall be deemed to supersede or in any way amend the Rules of Professional Conduct, or become a basis for the imposition of civil liability of any kind. (As adopted by unanimous vote at the Middlesex County Bar Association General Membership Meeting on January 17, 1996.)

81 Best Wishes to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100 th Anniversary! ASSEMBLYMAN JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI DEPUTY SPEAKER Representing the 19th Legislative District Carteret Perth Amboy South Amboy Sayreville Woodbridge Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! from TERRY CUNNINGHAM Vice President, Manager 464 Valley Brook Avenue Lyndhurst, NJ

82 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! LAW OFFICES RABB HAMILL, P.A. A Professional Corporation 284 Amboy Avenue Woodbridge, New Jersey (732) Fax (732) [email protected] Website: Congratulations to: The Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary! The Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Lifetime Achievement Award Winners The Officers and Trustees 309 Maple Street Perth Amboy, NJ Phone: (732) Fax: (732) [email protected] Website: 20 Nassau Street, Suite 216 Princeton, New Jersey Phone: (609) Fax: (609) Anderl & Oakley, P.C. Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association On Its 100th Anniversary! LAW OFFICES HUTT & SHIMANOWITZ, P.C. 459 Amboy Avenue Woodbridge, NJ Telephone: (732) Facsimile: (732) [email protected] [email protected]

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84 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION ON ITS HUNDRED YEAR ANNIVERSARY The entire staff at Menlo Building Maintenance Co. would like to congratulate the Middlesex County Bar Association on their 100th anniversary and may you have continued success. Woodbridge Veterinary Group and Hospital 424 Amboy Avenue Woodbridge, NJ New Brunswick Avenue Fords, NJ menlobuildingmaintenanceco.com WHEN QUALITY AND AFFORDABILITY COUNT, DEPEND ON THE BEST

85 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary and to Ellen F. Schwartz, President and the entire Board of Trustees Law Office of Brenda Vallecilla, LLC. 300 Maple Avenue, Suite 201, South Plainfield, NJ (908) A Bilingual/Bicultural Firm

86 The Middlesex County Bar Association would like to thank everyone for joining us on this special occasion. The event would not have been possible without the help and support of our major sponsors, program book advertisers, individual bar members and other friends of the bar, as listed below: Event Sponsors Association Stars Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer Senior Partners Paone, Zaleski, Brown & Murray Provident Bank Partners Archer & Greiner Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas Keefe & Bartels Mandelbaum, Salsburg, Lazris & Discenza Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo Associates The Chalfin Group Connell Foley Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group Levinson Axelrod Marcum LLP McGovern Legal Services Watson Stevens Rutter & Roy Friends of the Middlesex County Bar Association Hon. James M. Cahill Jonathan P. Dixon & Associates Document Solutions Gill & Chamas Hudson Court Reporting & Digital Media Investors Bank Maraziti Falcon & Healey Northfield Bank Ramatowski Spilka & Schwartz Hon. Bob Smith Troyan, Inc. Urbach & Avraham Venezia & Nolan Volk Insurance Group WeiserMazars Wells Fargo Advisors Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following individuals, law firms and other sponsors: All MCBA Past Presidents Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo Corodemus & Corodemus All-Pro QDRO All-State Investigations, Inc. Commonwealth Land Title Company Convery Family Attorneys Engineered Corporate Solutions Farkas & Donohue Golden, Rothschild, Spagnola, Lundell, Boylan & Garubo Hutt & Shimanowitz Lutz, Shafranski, Gorman & Mahoney James P. Nolan & Associates The Pines Manor Jean Ramatowski & Cheryl Spilka Edward J. Santoro, Jr., Esq. Hon. Nicholas J. Stroumtsos, Jr., JSC (Ret.) Dr. David Weiss Hon. John S. Wisniewski Amboy Bank Anderl & Oakley E. Martin Davidoff & Associates Menlo Building Maintenance Middlesex County Sheriff s Officers Local PBA 165 Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus Ocean First Bank Premier Pain Centers LLC Rabb Hamill Brenda Vallecilla, Esq. Woodbridge Veterinary Group AV History Project Hon. Barnett E. Hoffman, JSC (Ret.) - Director, Interviewer, Producer Josh Cohen - Video Editor Camerapersons - Jonathan Cowles, Rachel Holt, Greg Cui, Alyssa DiSturco and Tom Twitchell 00th Anniversary Program Book Committee egha Thakker, Esq., Chair homas J. Denitzio, Jr., Esq. obert E. Goldstein, Esq. ouis J. Seminski, Jr., Esq. 100th Anniversary Planning Committee Andrea J. Sullivan, Esq., Chair Dennis Alan Auciello, Esq. Tara Auciello, Esq. Meryl Gonchar, Esq. Ellen F. Schwartz, Esq. Megha Thakker, Esq. Daria Anne Venezia, Esq. 100th Anniversary Bar Composite Committee Craig M. Aronow, Esq. - Co-Chair Louis J. Seminski, Jr., Esq. - Co-Chair Victoria Friend, Photographer 100th Anniversary Sponsorship Committee Daria Anne Venezia, Esq., Chair Dennis A. Estis, Esq. Robert E. Goldstein, Esq. John P. Paone, Jr., Esq. Edward J. Rebenack, Esq. Joanne Vos, Esq.

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88 Congratulations to the Middlesex County Bar Association on its 100th Anniversary Congratulations to MCBA President Ellen F. Schwartz Middlesex County Court House, circa 1840, New Brunswick, N.J. and to our partner Craig M. Aronow President-Elect and congratulations to all of the Officers and Trustees Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP 111 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick, NJ (732) North Bridge Street Somerville, NJ (908)