Our three Attorney of the Year finalists did exceptional work in 2018. The winner will be announced at our June 12 Professional Excellence gala. Links to the finalists' full profiles are below. Please join us in recognizing their accomplishments.

Edward Barocas marked the conclusion of a rich and influential legal career last year when he retired as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union's New Jersey chapter after 17 years in that role. But for Barocas, 2018 was about more than just looking back over prior work. He was involved in two cases raising important questions of constitutional law that made their way to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Read More

Robin Kay Lord of Trenton is known for her accomplishments as a criminal defense trial attorney, but she also represented the plaintiffs in Moreland v. Parks, which in 2018 yielded an Appellate Division ruling that recognized a same-sex spouse's right to pursue a Portee claim. “The Morelands came to us 10 years ago,” Lord said in an interview. “It was a horrific case.” Read More

For Stephen Orlofksy, the call to come into a case on a motion for leave to appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court isn't an uncommon one. But in representing the City of Paterson in Lee v. Brown, he recognized the importance of the issue. “I said, 'look, there are no guarantees,'” Orlofsky, a well-known litigator in New Jersey and former federal judge, recalled telling the client. “When they [the Supreme Court] took it, I knew I had a shot.” Read More