Certified Civil Trial Exam Prep Course

Presenters

Hon. Gregg A. Padovano, J.S.C.

was sworn in as a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court in February 2015 and sits in Hackensack, New Jersey. He initially served in the Family Division and has served in the Civil Division in Bergen since 2015. He has been assigned to handle civil trials, actions in lieu of prerogative writs and Mt. Laurel/affordable housing matters.

Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court, Judge Padovano worked at the law firm Beattie Padovano, LLC in Montvale, New Jersey, where he concentrated his practice in land use, real property tax, municipal law and insurance defense litigation. He served as a Municipal Court Judge for the Township of South Hackensack and was a Municipal Court Prosecutor for the Borough of Moonachie. He represented land use boards for several municipalities, including Leonia, Oradell, Maywood and Weehawken, and also served as Mayor of the Borough of Maywood immediately prior to his appointment to the bench.

Judge Padovano received his B.A. from Gettysburg College and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.
(9/23)

Diane L. Cardoso, Esq.

Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, Kearny

Certified as a Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, is a Partner in Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC in Kearney, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in civil litigation involving automobile negligence, premises liability, construction site negligence, medical malpractice and legal malpractice.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, Ms. Cardoso is First Vice President of the Hudson County Bar Association and Treasurer of the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ). She is a member of the Hudson County Bar Association’s Civil Arbitration Selection and Civil Practice Committees, and is the co-founding Chair of the Association’s Women in Law Section. Ms. Cardoso is Secretary of the American Association for Justice’s Women Trial Lawyer Caucus and is a member of the Board of Governors of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. She is a 2017-2018 Fellow of the New Jersey State Bar Association Leadership Academy.

Ms. Cardoso was the recipient of the 2021 American Association for Justice Women Trial Lawyers Caucus Excellence in Leadership Award, the 2021 American Association for Justice Distinguished Service Award, the 2017 Professionalism of the Year Award from the Hudson County Bar Association and several other honors. She has lectured for ICLE, the Hudson and Essex County Bar Associations, and the New Jersey Association for Justice.

Ms. Cardoso received her B.A. from Seton Hall University and her J.D. and Certificate in International Law from Pace University School of Law. Upon graduation from law school she served a Judicial Clerkship with the Honorable Dennis F. Carey, III and the Honorable John C. Kennedy, Judges of the Superior Court of New Jersey.
(9/23)

Marc D. Garfinkle, Esq.

The Law Office of Marc Garfinkle, Morristown

maintains a solo practice in Morristown, New Jersey, where since 2012 he has limited his practice to matters relating to legal ethics, bar admission, judicial misconduct and attorney discipline. He has also been the municipal public defender in Livingston, New Jersey.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and California, and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Northern District of California, Mr. Garfinkle is a former New Jersey ethics investigator and has been a member of the American, New Jersey State, Morris County and Essex County Bar Associations, as well as the Association for CLE Administrators (ACLEA). He is Past Chair of the District VB Ethics Committee, has written a monthly “Practice Paper” on legal ethics for the New Jersey Law Journal, and is a frequent guest of the media in professional responsibility matters. In addition to lecturing for ICLE, Mr. Garfinkle produces live ethics and “new lawyer” CLE for attorneys coast to coast, and his clients have included state bar associations in Ohio, Missouri, South Carolina, Alaska and Oregon, as well as the ICE trial attorneys for the United States Department of Homeland Security. His online programs have been produced by Lawline.com, West LegalEduCenter, Solo University.com and RocketMatterCLE, among other providers. Having taught Persuasion and Advocacy at Seton Hall Law School since 2007, he is also the self-published author of several books including $olo Contendere: How to Go Directly from Law School into the Practice of Law Without Getting a Job (3d. Ed.), The Hip-Pocket Guide to Testifying in Court, The New Lawyer’s Hip-Pocket Guide to Appearing in Court and The Hip-Pocket Guide to Speaking in Public.

Mr. Garfinkle received his B.A. from Marietta College and his J.D. from UC Hastings (formerly Hastings College of the Law, University of California).
(9/23)

Lauren M. Strollo, Esq.

Vasios, Kelly & Strollo, PA, Union

Certified as a Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, is a Partner in Vasios, Strollo & Duran, P.A. in Union, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in the defense of medical malpractice matters, including the representation of hospitals, physicians, nurses, other hospital employees and hospital administrators.

Ms. Strollo is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and before the United States Supreme Court. She is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), has served as a Master of the American Inns of Court and has lectured on medical malpractice litigation topics to health care providers and lawyers.

Ms. Strollo received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she was a member of the University’s International Law Moot Court Team. After completing a summer course at the Notre Dame University School of Law, London campus, she served as a Legal Intern with the United States Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization and with the Honorable Norman P. Ramsey of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She also served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable John A. Marzulli, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court, Essex County.
(9/23)