Todd's Annual Meeting Blog: Wednesday - May 13th By D. Todd Sidor, Director of Judicial Administration 05/14/09
-----Wedneday, 7:30 PM Mixx Welcome Reception Approximately 500 people attended the 2009 Annual Meeting Welcome Reception last night at Mixx. The food was great where participants had a chance to sample cran bcakes from Wolfgang Puck's, sushi from Iskaya, mini kobe steak burgers, pasta, spicy shrimp and coconut rice. It seems that lawyering may run deep in the Dalton family. Angela Dalton, former YLD chair and NJSBA trustee, has a daughter Amanda who recently graduated from LaSalle University and attended the meeting perhaps eying up future assocaites and adversaries. Her next stop looks like it could be the University of Pennsylvania for law school. Dad, Mark, a doctor is fine with it so long as his youngest two daughters enter the medical profession like he did. -----Wednesday, 5:30 PM Firt Time Attendee Reception Nice turnout for the first-time attendee reception. The guacamole was excellent. Trustees and officers mingled and the Young Lawyers Division had a strong presence. -----Wednesday, 2:00 PM Openng Session NJSBa President Peggy Sheahan Knee opening the NJSBA's 110th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Salon A. The first order of business was presentation of the 2009 Pro Bono Awards. She noted that Elise Collins, from McCarter and English, and Vice Chair of the Committee, was present to to represent the Committee at the event. Two awards were presented for individual and organization efforts. The awards went to Arnold Natali, of McCarter and English, for his efforts as chair of the firm's pro bono committee, and increasing the firm's pro bono representation form 7,000 hours to more than triple that amount. Mr. Natali also supervised a number of cases including family law, tenant’s rights, guardianship proceedings, asylum hearings, death penalty appeals, employment law and civil rights matters. Receiving the 2009 Pro Bono Award for an organization Wyeth has been a leading participant with the Pro Bono Partnership’s pro bono program, providing corporate and transaction legal services to 501(c)(3) public charities, only about one year ago. After initiating a successful pro bono program with Legal Services of New Jersey, Wyeth, with the support of its General Counsel, Lawrence Stein, and under the supervision of Vice President, Chief Trademark & Copyright Counsel and Assistant General Counsel Bret Parker, decided that Wyeth attorneys also might be interested in an expansion of the pro bono program to provide corporate and transaction legal advice to nonprofit corporations serving underserved communities. Mr. Parker accepted the award on behalf of Wyeth. Next, Ms. Knee introduced Young Lawyers Division chair Kimberly Yonta, noting, "the future of this Association, and our profession, will be determined by the quality and energy of today's young lawywers." -----Wednesday, 10:30 AM And so begins the yearly migration of New Jersey attorneys from the four corners of the state to Atlantic City for the New Jersey State Bar Assoication's Annual Meeting. Outgoing President Peggy Sheahan Knee, incoming President Allen Etish, and NJSBA Executive Director Angela Scheck decided to beat the rush and head down on Tuesday, May 12th. This allowed them to iron out last-minute details and ease into the festivities. For me, I met up with NJ Commission on Professionalism in the Law Executive Director Charles Hollenbeck for an apple turnover at an Italian bakery in Allentown to begin the trek down. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Traffic was light. Arriving we checked into the hotel and helped to start receiving members. More about that first day later...
Make a Comment	Recommend this to Others
<<< Previous Blog - How to Make it Rain in a Drought - Law Office Management Seminar
Surviving as a Young Lawyer - Next Blog >>>