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Category Archives: Current News

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Author By J.G.Posted on

On April 6, 2022, I was honored to be installed as the 124th President of our Bergen County Bar Association along with my fellow officers, trustees, and Young Lawyers Division officers. We made history by electing the first Black attorney and person of color as the President of the Association. To be sworn in the presence of my family, friends, and colleagues by the first Black woman to ascend to the New Jersey Supreme Court, Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis, and to have it occur the day before Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court feels like a magnificent turn of events. I am determined to ensure that this opportunity to lead our Association will be more than a surface-level diversity exercise – instead, building a model of the power that can result when inclusion is truly embraced at an institutional level. Read More

A Message from Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Administrative Director Glenn A. Grant: Reduced On-Site Presence of Judges and Staff for First Two Weeks of January 2022

Author By J.G.Posted on

In light of the current COVID-19 surge and consistent with COVID-19 public health recommendations, the Judiciary will reduce on-site presence of judges and staff for the first two weeks of January 2022. As we monitor and assess the changing COVID-19 conditions, we currently plan to resume regular on-site presence as of Monday, January 17, 2022.

During this period, notwithstanding the reduced on-site presence, all state court locations will continue to be fully open to the public and all judicial operations will continue uninterrupted. State court judges and court staff will support all essential functions and conduct emergent matters. In-person trials already in progress may continue. Virtual jury selection and virtual trials will continue but jurors will not report in-person for new trials until after January 17. Certain in-person court events will also proceed as scheduled. The Presiding Judge for Administration of the Appellate Division, Vicinage Assignment Judges, and the Presiding Judge of the Tax Court will provide judges with more detailed guidance as to ongoing and scheduled in-person court events during this time.

Managers will provide further direction regarding work requirements, including as to employee requirements to report on-site to court locations during this time.

Everyone is reminded of the importance of following the masking and social distancing requirements when working in on-site locations. Care should also be taken when working remotely and outside of work.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week issued revised isolation and quarantine recommendations. In light of those recommendations, the Judiciary is in the process of revising certain COVID-19 policies so as to reduce the time for exclusion from work of employees who have tested positive, been diagnosed, developed symptoms, or have been exposed to the virus. Further details will be provided.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner

Administrative Director Glenn A. Grant

 

Attorneys Needed: Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project (DVLAP)

Author By J.G.Posted on

DVLAP is a joint program of the Bergen County Alternatives to Domestic Violence and the Bergen County Bar Association.  Participating attorneys help eligible victims of domestic violence take their first step to begin a life beyond their abusive relationship.

To learn more, please call Elizabeth R. Ostuni, Victim Advocate Coordinator at Eostuni@co.bergen.nj.us.

Any person interested in applying should complete an application using the following link: Bergen County New Jersey. Please complete, print, and sign the application. You may either scan and e-mail to: adv@co.bergen.nj.us or fax to (201) 336-7555.

VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY COACHES AND JUDGES NEEDED FOR VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION

Author By J.G.Posted on

The New Jersey State Bar Foundation is hosting its annual Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial competition this year with a modified format. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the competition will proceed virtually via Zoom for the second season in a row. As a result, volunteering to coach or judge is even more convenient than it has been in the past.

Once again, Nicole McDonough, Esq. of Archer & Greiner P.C. and John McDermott, Esq. of Harwood Lloyd are serving as co-coordinators of the Bergen County competition. We are writing to request your participation in the competition as an attorney-coach or judge.

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NJSBA Working Group on Jury Selection Interim Report

Author By J.G.Posted on

The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Working Group on Jury Selection has formally submitted its interim report to the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Judicial Conference on Jury Selection that will be conducted on November 10th and November 12th.  The report reflects the collective wisdom, analysis, and extensive experience in the courtroom and in thought leadership in the New Jersey Legal Community. See below to read the report in its entirety.

The Bergen County Bar Association ( BCBA) leadership has made significant contributions to the interim report and we will continue to support the NJSBA and our allies in preserving peremptory challenges and proposing meaningful reform to the jury selection process to eliminate or substantially reduce the impact of implicit and explicit bias in selecting a fair and impartial jury from a fair cross-section of the community.  

The filing of this interim report is just the beginning of our joint efforts to reform the jury selection process and, if any member wishes to share an experience during jury selection where explicit or implicit bias affected the jury selection process, please share your experience with the BCBA and we will consider how that experience may be helpful in demonstrating the needs for historic reforms in New Jersey’s jury selection procedures.

Members of the BCBA and the public are invited to attend the virtual Judicial Conference. Information can be found by clicking here.

To pre-register (which is encouraged), please click here. 

Jury Selection Interim Report – Final Version

 

Eileen P. Mulroy, 123rd President of the Bergen County Bar Association

Author By lzPosted on

On April 6th, Eileen P. Mulroy, a native of Bergen County, was sworn in as the 123rd President of the Bergen County Bar Association (BCBA). Ms. Mulroy is the fifth woman to lead the organization. She has been a member of the BCBA since 1983. In 2007, she became a Trustee, where she served for 9 years, and in 2016, she was elevated to the position of  Secretary of the BCBA. Over the years, Ms. Mulroy has served on several BCBA committees, including Bench/Bar, By-Laws, Continuing Legal Education, Membership, Memorial Service, and is the current co-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Committee. Ms. Mulroy served as President of Women Lawyers in Bergen (WLIB) from 2003-2005 and recently completed her two-year term as President of the Bergen County Bar Foundation. She also served as a member and Chair of the New Jersey Supreme Court District IIB Ethics Committee. Ms. Mulroy remains an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and is a frequent presenter on the topic of workers’ compensation and insurance at the NJSBA’s mid-year meeting. Read More

President Maurice Farewell Address

Author By lzPosted on

It has been one year since the pandemic lockdowns began and since my term as the 122nd president of the Bergen County Bar Association commenced. We have all endured difficulties and losses over the year, both personally and professionally. Our year as an Association was markedly different from years past: there was no beefsteak, no annual dinner, no in-person meetings or CLEs.  It has been a full year since we have shaken hands with each other. My swearing-in was a quiet private event conducted by Judge Mizdol and attended by my wife Demetra, Frank, and Tyler. Neither my children nor my father could attend due to the newly imposed restrictions.  Every one of our officer and trustee meetings was conducted via Zoom.  The honorary gavel, which has passed down to each bar president, has remained silent in its velvet pouch. The COVID restrictions not only challenged our members but put the Association in a precarious financial position. From day one, we had to rethink and reimagine how to conduct Bar business and bring value to our members amidst this great challenge. As my term comes to a close, I am pleased to state that we met every challenge and prevailed as an Association.  This was not an individual accomplishment but one shared by the Association’s employees, officers, trustees, and members.   We did it with the support of our Bergen County Judiciary and our local elected officials. We did it with the support of the officers and trustees of the Bergen County Bar Foundation.  We did it with the financial sacrifice of our employees. We did it as an Association. Thank you.

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NOTICE: Guidance on Remote Proceedings in the Trial Courts, Observing Court Events, Obtaining Video Records, and Court Authority to Suspend the Commencement of Certain Custodial Terms

Author By J.G.Posted on

Please follow the link below and read the attached notice below from the Supreme Court of New Jersey in regards to guidelines on remote proceedings in the Trial Courts, obtaining audio and video records, and the extent of the court’s authority to suspend the commencement of certain custodial terms.

4-20-2020 New Jersey Supreme Court Notice.pdf

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