Association of the Federal Bar Holds Judicial Conference

The Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey hosted its 42nd Annual Judicial Conference on March 29 at Mayfair Farms in West Orange. The event, which was attended by approximately 325 attorneys and members of the federal judiciary, featured three panels.

The day started with opening remarks by Sabrina G. Comizzoli, organization president, then by Jose L. Linares, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, and Keith J. Miller, president of the U.S. District Court Historical Society.

The first panel, “Ethical Responsibilities and Pro Bono Opportunities in the District of New Jersey: the Re-Entry/ReNew Program, Section 1983 Litigation, and Seeking Justice For All,” featured several panelists. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Hammer and U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman discussed the court's re-entry program, which provides support to released federal prisoners in order to reduce recidivism, improve public safety, and save money. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois H. Goodman and Edward T. Kole, a partner with Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer and association first vice president, discussed how attorneys in private practice can volunteer their time to assist the court by representing plaintiffs in intellectually challenging, nonfrivolous actions, many of which involve constitutional claims brought by indigent, incarcerated litigants. The panel also featured Cathy Keenan, executive director of Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, who presented other pro bono activities available to members of the New Jersey bar. The panel was moderated by Charles M. Lizza a partner and litigation vice chair at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr.

The second panel, “Navigating Corporate Internal Investigations: Perspectives from the Company, Private Counsel, and the Government,” was a discussion of issues concerning corporate internal investigations from the perspectives of in-house counsel, white collar defense counsel, and the U.S. Attorney's Office. Appearing on the panel were: John J. Hoffman, general counsel of Rutgers and former state acting attorney general; Vikas Khanna, special litigation counsel in the U.S. Attorney's Office's Health Care and Government Fraud Unit; William F. Maderer, managing partner of Saiber; and Maureen Ruane, vice president and head of U.S. litigation at Novartis. The panel was moderated by Zahid N. Quraishi, a partner in the white collar criminal defense & investigations group at Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti.

The third panel, “Ethics of Maintaining Security of Attorney-Client and Other Sensitive Data–Before, During, and After a Law Firm Data Breach,” was an examination of a law firm's data security obligations, best practices, and effective solutions concerning a data breach. The panelists were Angelo A. Stio III, a partner with Pepper Hamilton; Kevin H. Michels, professor and director, school of business center for innovation and ethics, The College of New Jersey; and Ann Gorr, legal technology consultant & principal, Ann Gorr, LLC. The panel was moderated by Fernando M. Pinguelo, a partner and chair of the cybersecurity & data protection and crisis & risk management groups at Scarinci & Hollenbeck.

The conference culminated with the announcement of the recipient of the 2018 annual William J. Brennan Award: Michael A. Chagares of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He will be honored during an awards ceremony and reception to be held on June 14, 2018.

Hudson County Bar Seeks Scholarship Applicants

The Hudson County Bar Foundation will award scholarships to students who are attending law school or who have been accepted to law school for the September 2018–May 2019 term. Students must be bona fide residents of Hudson County; must demonstrate financial need; must provide two current letters of recommendation; and must account for appropriate academic standards. Interested applicants can write to the Hudson County Bar Foundation Scholarship Committee, 583 Newark Ave., Jersey City, New Jersey 07306, or call (201) 798-4708, or send an email to [email protected], or visit www.hcbalaw.com for an application. All applications must be received on or before April 27, 2018.