Middlesex Bar Gives Practice Area Awards

The Middlesex County Bar Association on March 20 held its 14th annual practice area awards dinner at The Pines Manor in Edison to recognize attorneys practicing in Middlesex County and adjacent municipalities who devote a significant portion of their work to their respective specialty areas and exhibit leadership, contributions to the bar, contributions to the community and/or charitable endeavors, involvement in the association, and a reputation for personal and professional integrity. The “Young Lawyer of the Year Award” recognizes attorneys for community-oriented activities such as pro bono work or government service, volunteer time to bar activities at the county or state level, and other professional achievement. The “Pro Bono Award” recognizes attorneys who have devoted substantial time and effort doing pro bono work through the Central Jersey Legal Services Corporation. This year's award recipients were: for the “Robert J. Cirafesi Chancery Practice Award,” Steven L. Fox of Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper in Westfield/Red Bank; for the “Civil Trial Practice Award,” Eric Kuper of Martin Kane & Kuper in East Brunswick; for the “Criminal Trial Practice Award,” Bina Desai of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office; for the “Municipal Court Practice Award,” Robert M. Adochio of New Brunswick; for the “Young Lawyer Award,” Alison Sutak of the Law Offices of Edward R. Weinstein in East Brunswick; and for the “Pro Bono Award,” Maritza Rodriguez of Newark and New Brunswick.

Essex County Prosecutor's Office and Essex County Bar Sponsor Gun Buyback

GUN BUY-BACK PROGRAM: Shown, from left to right: Essex County Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; Matthew S. Adams, Esq., Essex County Bar Association trustee; Raj Gadhok, Esq., ECBA president; Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose; Acting Essex County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Detectives Mitchell G. McGuire; Acting First Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Romesh C. Sukhdeo; and Essex County Prosecutor's Office Captain of Detectives Nichele Patrick, at the Bethany Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Newark on Saturday, March 30, 2019.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office and the Essex County Bar Association jointly sponsored a one-day gun buyback program for Essex County residents, held at Bethany Baptist Church, Fellowship Hall in Newark on March 30. Police officers from the Newark Police Department and detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office were at the church to collect and secure the guns and to assist with the valuation of the weapons. The gun buyback program is one of the first initiatives in New Jersey involving law enforcement and a private organization, according to a release. More than 300 guns were turned in, and in exchange more than $41,000 was given out, at a maximum cash amount of $250 per weapon, the release said. “The proliferation of guns is an ongoing problem in Essex County and beyond. This is a unique collaboration between law enforcement and a private, nonprofit organization to reverse that trend,'' said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II in a statement. “The leadership of the Essex County Bar Association came to us and offered to fund the gun buyback. The funds needed for this were raised by the Bar Foundation through the generous support of law firms, individual attorneys and others who understand the importance of removing guns from our streets.'' According to Matthew Adams, a criminal defense lawyer and trustee of the Essex County Bar Association, “The event was a resounding success.”