The following is a summary of actions taken at the Jan. 15, 2016,
meeting of the New Jersey State Bar Association Board of Trustees at the New
Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick. This summary does not constitute official
minutes.
New trustee sworn in:
Alexandra Gallo was sworn in as the newest member of the NJSBA’s Board of
Trustees. Gallo is of counsel to McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP in Morristown, where she
practices corporate law, handles appellate work and local government matters.
She fills an unexpired vacancy as a section/committee trustee.
New member benefit:
The trustees approved a new benefit with Verizon Fios. Members will be able to
receive discounts on certain services the company offers. Members who are new
customers can receive up to $10 off triple-play service and $5 off double-play
serving. It also applies to those customers who upgrade their services.
Additional details will be available soon at njsba.com.
Name changes
approved: Two association groups have new names that better reflect their
members and mission. The Automobile Reparations Committee will now be known as
the Automobile Litigation and No Fault Committee and the Government, Public
Sector and Public Interest Lawyers Special Committee is the new name of the former
Government and Public Lawyers Special Committee.
Diversity and
inclusion: The trustees agreed to support Resolution
107 that the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates will consider
next month. The resolution would encourage states to require that existing mandatory
continuing legal education requirements be modified to incorporate programs
regarding diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. The proposal does
not increase the number of credits required in a two-year reporting cycle.
The
trustees also approved a request from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Rights Section to encourage the anonymous and voluntary collection
of data by the Juvenile Justice Commission about sexual orientation, gender
identity and gender expression, consistent with the recently adopted juvenile
justice reforms.
As a way help high school students
understand legal issues and ways they can be applied in real life, the New
Jersey State Bar Association’s Diversity Committee will present a daylong
pipeline program at Atlantic City High School. The event will focus on the
principles of constitutional law and the Bill of Rights. The pipeline program
will be held May 17, the day before the association holds its three-day Annual
Meeting and Convention in Atlantic City.
Judicial independence
public hearings: A recommendation
of the association’s Task Force on Judicial Independence, which spent 18 months
examining the threats to a fair and impartial justice system and ways to keep
it free from political influence, was to take a closer look at the issue in the
municipal courts. The Municipal Court Practice Section is taking steps to do
just that, and the board approved a proposal that the section hold four public
hearings to gather examples and data about what it means in practice. One of
the hearings will be held at the Annual Meeting in May.
Uniform bar exam: The
trustees did not support adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) in New Jersey.
The board further recommended that if adoption is to occur then consideration
should be given to ensuring that portions of the exam test for proficiency in
New Jersey law.
The association
expressed concerns about use of the uniform exam, which is used in New York and
16 other states. While the UBE has some benefits, there are unanswered
questions about the impact its use would have on law students, newly admitted
attorneys, employers and the profession, the trustees said. The board said data
should be collected and reviewed for at least one year before the UBE is
considered for adoption in the state. The Court’s report is here.