Thousands return to Atlantic City for NJSBA’s Annual Meeting and Convention

The New Jersey State Bar Association will kick off its Annual Meeting and Convention tomorrow in Atlantic City, the premier event of the state’s legal community.
   
Nearly 2,500 judges, lawyers, law clerks and law students are expected to attend the three-day educational and networking event, held at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa from May 17-19. Legal colleagues from across the state will have the chance to connect over seminars, speeches and networking programs that cover issues in a wide range of practice areas.
   
The agenda includes over 100 seminars for attendees to earn up to 16 CLE credits, programming that ranges from animal law to workers’ compensation matters. Dozens of sitting and retired judges from every bench – the U. S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, every sitting member of the state Supreme Court, as well as several retired members, nine members of the U.S. District Court, and dozens of appellate, bankruptcy, trial, tax, administrative law and municipal court judges– are slated to speak. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb will each deliver a featured address.
   
Other speakers include leading attorneys who are thought leaders in their practice areas, as well as state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin; state Public Defender Joseph Krakora; state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette; Parimal Garg, chief counsel to Gov. Phil Murphy; county prosecutors from Bergen, Morris, Hudson, Monmouth, Essex and Middlesex and more than a dozen members of the state Legislature.
   
The event will also feature a presentation of resolutions honoring two recently retired New Jersey jurists for their decades of service on the bench – state Supreme Court Justice Barry T. Albin and Freda L. Wolfson, former Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
   
At an installation ceremony on Thursday, the NJSBA will reorganize its Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. Monmouth County attorney Timothy F. McGoughran will take the oath as President of the Association for 2023-2024 and share his insights and goals for the year ahead. The NJSBA will also express its thanks to outgoing President Jeralyn L. Lawrence.
   
Reporters and photographers are welcome to cover the event. Visit njsba.com for the full list of programs.
   
Here is a look at some of the featured seminars:
   
WEDNESDAY
   
Avoiding the Next Judicial Vacancy Crisis – Is it Time to Change How Judges are Appointed in New Jersey? – An opportunity to hear from retired Supreme Court jurists, legislators and current and former government officials on what the judicial selection process involves, where the system needs improvement and what the vacancy crisis means for lawyers, litigants and the public.
   
Law Firm General Counsel Roundtable – The Ethics of Advertising Lawyer Awards and Other Issues Unique to Law Firm Representation – General counsel from some of New Jersey’s most prominent law firms discuss new rules in attorney advertising and other issues unique to representing law firms.
   
Looking Beneath the Surface: How Practitioners Can Recognize and Disrupt Implicit Poverty and Race Bias in the Justice System – The historical association of poverty with race and class in the justice system has produced a cadre of systemic inequities. The seminar covers the impact of poverty on the justice system and strategies to disrupt race biases in daily work.
   
Inside Trenton – New Jersey legislators come together to discuss what is currently happening in the state's capital and what to expect in the months to come.
   
The Mental Health Diversion Program – This seminar will focus on the proposed legislation to establish a Mental Health Diversion program. The purpose of the program is to divert “eligible persons away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate case management and mental health services as early as possible following an interaction with law enforcement where the person is alleged to have committed an “eligible offense.”
   
Sittin’ In With the DJ’s (With a Little Help from Two Retired AJ’s!) – A Candid Discourse on Federal Trial Practice With a Comparison to State Trial Practice – Esteemed federal court and state court judges and a respected litigator/past NJSBA president offer insights into federal and state procedures through a question and answer format.
   
Pathways to the Bench – A panel of bar and government leaders help to demystify the process of becoming a judicial nominee in New Jersey, particularly for potential candidates of historically-underrepresented communities.
   
THURSDAY
   
Voir Dire Changes: Attorney vs. Judge Led – A program on the state’s reforms to the jury selection system.
   
The Supreme Court Year in Review – An esteemed panel of Supreme Court justices and Superior Court judges discuss the cases from the past year that will have the greatest impact on the practice of law.
   
First Generation Lawyers and Multi-Generations in the Law Firm – Making This Additional Kind of Diversity a Competitive Advantage – In this session, the panelists will explore the impact of multiple-generations and first-generation lawyers in the workplace.
   
The New Jersey Supreme Court: A Guide to Practice and Procedure – A seminar on the procedural issues surrounding the Supreme Court, including how the Court deals with petitions for certification, how opinions are assigned, the effects of oral argument on cases and more.
   
Understanding the Impact of Racial Trauma: Supporting the Mental Health of Minority Attorneys – In this seminar, panelists will explore race-based traumatic stress and navigating racism within the profession for Black attorneys and other attorneys from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.
   
Hot Topics at the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General: Civil Enforcement Actions and Priorities Under AG Platkin – A panel of senior leaders across the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General discuss Platkin’s civil enforcement priorities, including civil rights, environmental justice, consumer protection, social media accountability, firearms and reproductive rights.
   
FRIDAY
   
State of the Judiciaries – Annual reports from the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
   
Bench/Bar Conferences – A slate of panels for judges and lawyers to discuss the cases, emerging issues and trends in Criminal, Civil, Workers’ Compensation and Family Law.
   
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2023
Contact: Thomas Nobile
Director of Communications
Tel: 732-937-7527
ENDPRBLOCK