Nominations sought for 2020 James B. Boskey Award

January 30, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barbara Straczynski
732-937-7524
   
NEW BRUNSWICK – The New Jersey State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section is seeking nominations for consideration as this year’s recipient of the James B. Boskey Award. The Boskey Award, formerly the ADR Practitioner of the Year Award, was renamed in honor and in memory of the late Professor James B. Boskey of Seton Hall University School of Law. Jim Boskey was an intellectual, humanitarian, law professor and mediator. For ten years before his untimely death in 1999, he published The Alternative Newsletter, a resource guide on Alternative Dispute Resolution that provided a comprehensive window into the rapidly developing field of ADR. He enjoyed a national and international reputation and was considered by many as the voice of the ADR community.
   
The Dispute Resolution Section presents the Boskey Award annually to a practitioner in recognition of achievements in (1) informing and educating the public about Alternative and Complementary Dispute Resolution techniques; (2) encouraging and promoting reform and modernization of our legal system, particularly as it relates to dispute resolution; (3) improving the relationship between members of the legal profession and the general public; (4) [exemplifying] promoting and advancing the goals and purposes of the Dispute Resolution Section, including service to and contributions to the Section, as set forth in Article I, Section 2 of the Section’s Bylaws; and/or (5) membership on committees appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, or other committees and associations which address dispute resolution issues, and other service to the residents of the State of New Jersey. The Award is widely recognized as the highest honor that an individual can achieve in the development and practice of ADR in New Jersey.
   
Any member of the New Jersey State Bar Association who serves as an ADR neutral or as an advocate in ADR proceedings, or who advocates in the public sphere to advance the cause of alternative dispute resolution in New Jersey (except for the current members of the Boskey Award Committee), is eligible. Self-nominations are permitted.
   
Prior recipients have been: Felicia Farber (2019), F. Peter Phillips (2018), David Weiss (2017), Amy Shimalla (2016), N. Janine Dickey (2015), Laura A. Kaster (2014), John R. Holsinger (2013), Hon. Linda R. Feinberg (2012), Hon. John J. Harper (2011), Hon. William A. Dreier (2010), Caroline Petrilla (2009), Richard Jeydel (2008, posthumously), Prof. Jonathan Hyman (2007), Barbara Weisman (2006), Suzanne M. McSorley (2005), Bonnie Blume Goldsamt (2004), Robert E. Margulies (2003), Holly C. Bakke (2002), Robert J. MacPherson (2001), Hon. Rosemary Higgins-Cass (2000); and as the ADR Practitioner of the Year Award, Hanan M. Isaacs (1999), Richard H. Steen (1998) and Robert S. Greenbaum (1997).
   
The By-Laws of the Dispute Resolution Section provide for the Chair of the Section to appoint the members of the Boskey Award Committee each year. The Committee’s composition and this year’s members are as follows:
   
    • The Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section: A. Rene Hollyer
    • An officer or member of the Board of the Section, who is to be the Chair: Hon. Raymond A. Batten (Ret.)
    • A member of the Section who is neither an officer nor a Board member: Michelle M. Cresti
    • Two past recipients of the Award: N. Janine Dickey and David Weiss
    • Chairs (or a Chair’s designee) of two other Sections or Special Committees of the NJSBA. Chair, Minorities in the Profession Section, Dean L. Burrell and Chair, Elder and Disability Law Section, Benjamin J. Menasha
   
Nominations should be sent either by email to Boskey Committee Chairperson, Hon. Raymond A. Batten (Ret.) at [email protected]
or by regular mail to
Boskey Award Committee,
Attention: Barbara Straczynski
New Jersey State Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section
One Constitution Square
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1520
   
The deadline for submission of nominations is March 3, 2020. Click here for the nomination form, which requires a statement of no more than 500 words describing why the nominee deserves the 2020 Boskey Award.