From the Continental Congress to Trenton – New Jersey Lawyers and Events that Shaped the American Revolution
Date: Jun 29, 2026 12:00 p.m. – 1:40 p.m.
Location: Online
Member Price: $99.00
Non-Member Price: $125.00
Section Price: $0.00
Areas of Law: For All Attorneys
Earn up to 2 credits! (More Information)
Keynote
Moderator
Presenters
- Peter McAleer
- Director of Communications and Community Relations, Administrative Office of the Courts
Presented in cooperation with the New Jersey Judiciary
When you think of the Revolutionary War, you don’t often think of these historical figures. Yet, they played an instrumental role in American Independence and left a lasting effect on New Jersey, our jurisprudence, and our country.
Join Peter McAleer, the Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Administrative Office of the Courts, and a panel of esteemed judges as they take you back in time at a look at some New Jersey lawyers who shaped the new United States. The program will begin with some fascinating videos that recount the lives and adventures of individual New Jersey founding fathers. Then, the panel will discuss their accomplishments and their lasting impact while highlighting other key events connected to the court system, from the court martial of Benedict Arnold in Morristown to battles that started in front of New Jersey courthouses.
Here are some of the key figures the panel will discuss:
- Richard Stockton was one of the most eloquent and well-regarded legal minds of the Colonial Era. An attorney who operated his own law practice in Princeton, he later became the first New Jersey signer of the Declaration of Independence – and the only one of the 56 signers to be jailed for his actions.
- William Paterson was a lawyer and jurist who went on to become a U.S. Senator and Governor of New Jersey. He played a significant role in drafting the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the structure of the U.S. federal court system. As governor, Paterson published a revision of the rules of the chancery and common law courts, later adopted by the New Jersey Legislature.
- David Brearly was a New Jersey lawyer who fought in the Revolutionary War and helped draft the New Jersey Constitution. As Chief Judge of the New Jersey Supreme Court, he presided over the precedent-setting case of Holmes v. Walton. His decision, rendered in 1780, represented an early expression of the principle of judicial review.
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