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NJ Commission on Professionalism in the Law, county and affinity bar association awards to honor achievement, highest ideals

October 22, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Wendy Solomon
732-937-7504
   
NEW BRUNSWICK – At a time when civility in social discourse seems to be declining, New Jersey’s legal community takes seriously the idea that its members have an obligation to be professional.
   
To that end, the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law—a cooperative venture between the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), the state and federal judiciary, and New Jersey’s two law schools—will honor outstanding lawyers who demonstrate and uphold a commitment to the profession’s highest standards on Oct. 23, at the Professionalism Awards Luncheon in Edison.
   
The Daniel J. O’Hern Award will be given posthumously to Jerome B. Simandle, a retired chief federal judge who served more than 30 years on the bench. He died in July. The O’Hern Award honors a lawyer who has exhibited a commitment to the highest ideals of professionalism, along with significant career achievements and service to the law.
   
The Charles J. Hollenbeck Award will be given to Tracy M. Thompson, New Jersey’s acting insurance fraud prosecutor and an assistant attorney general in the division of ­criminal justice. Thompson is an NJSBA trustee. The Hollenbeck Award ­honors a lawyer who has served in the legal profession with diligence, competence and dedication through employment by a government agency or a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of the legal community.
   
The Lighthouse Award will be presented to William R. Holzapfel, an attorney for the city of Elizabeth. The award honors a lawyer whose professional and community-based efforts serve as an inspiration to colleagues.
   
At the same event, the state’s county and affinity bar associations will each present Professional Lawyer of the Year Awards to lawyers who are respected by colleagues for their character, competence and exemplary professional behavior. The NJSBA named Michael Noriega, immediate past chair of the Immigration Law Section, its Professional Lawyer of the Year.
   
The following are the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award recipients:
   
County Bars
   
Atlantic County Bar Association                                Samantha S. Wolf
   
Bergen County Bar Association                                 Thomas Loikith
   
Burlington County Bar Association                            John C. Gillespie
   
Camden County Bar Association                               Gary W. Boguski
   
Cape May County Bar Association                             Anthony P. Monzo
   
Cumberland County Bar Association                          Robert J. Pryor
   
Essex County Bar Association                                   Lynn Fontaine Newsome
   
Gloucester County Bar Association                            B. Michael Borelli
   
Hudson County Bar Association                                Frank W. Jablonski
   
Hunterdon County Bar Association                            Sharon B. Ransavage
   
Mercer County Bar Association                                 Jennifer D. Zoschak
   
Middlesex County Bar Association                            William P. Isele
   
Monmouth Bar Association                                      Hon. Mary Catherine Cuff
   
Morris County Bar Association                                 Peter N. Gilbreth
   
Ocean County Bar Association                                  Eugenia M. Lynch
   
Passaic County Bar Association                                 Franco Mazzei
   
Salem County Bar Association                                  Joshua D. Sherman
   
Somerset County Bar Association                              Michael J. Mitzner
   
Sussex County Bar Association                                 Jeffrey S. Katz
   
Union County Bar Association                                  James McGlew II
   
Warren County Bar Association                                Scott M. Wilhelm
   
Affinity Bars
   
Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association               Jack Chan
   
Association of Black Women Lawyers of NJ                Cameryn J. Hinton
   
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of NJ           Sharon Bittner Kean
   
Association of the Federal Bar of NJ                           Mark S. Olinsky
   
Garden State Bar Association                                    James A. Lewis V
   
Hispanic Bar Association of NJ                                 Hector D. Ruiz
   
New Jersey Association for Justice                             Michael A. Ferrara Jr.
   
New Jersey Defense Association                                Natalie H. Mantell
   
New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association                    Faudia A. Hameed Clemenza
   
New Jersey Women Lawyers Association                    Jemi Goulian Lucey
   
South Asian Bar Association of NJ                             K. Raja Bhattacharya
   
Trial Attorneys of New Jersey                                   Richard J. Williams Jr.

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Email: [email protected]

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