The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Board of Trustees, the association's governing body, addressed numerous issues at its Jan. 17 meeting at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick.

The board announced the creation of an inclusive speakers bureau for use as an internal resource to foster the NJSBA's goal of inclusion in all aspects of the profession. The NJSBA website now has a portal for individuals to list their expertise and background in order to be considered as potential speakers for future educational programming by the NJSBA and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE). The education division will regularly review speaker applications and promptly respond to all submissions.

The board approved the first two speakers—Kevin Richardson and Eric LeGrand—for the upcoming Diverse Voices speakers series. LeGrand is a former Rutgers University football player who sustained a spinal cord injury during a game. He has undergone an impressive recovery, written a book and served as a sports commentator. He will speak in April, and discuss overcoming obstacles and maintaining a positive outlook in the face of adversity. Richardson, who will speak later in the year, was arrested at 14 as one of five boys charged with the attack on a jogger in New York's Central Park. The Central Park 5, as they were called, spent several years in prison before being exonerated of the charges. Richardson will tell his story and discuss the need for criminal justice reform.

The board also took action on several American Bar Association (ABA) resolutions.

  • The board opposed Resolution 115, which encourages United States jurisdictions to consider adoption of regulatory innovation approaches to address the crisis in access to justice in the nation. The board discussed an innovation the NJSBA developed called LegalEdge, which is a software that leverages technology to help solve New Jersey's unmet legal needs crisis. The web interface connects New Jersey attorneys with individuals with modest means who do not meet the income requirements for pro bono services from New Jersey Legal Services, but cannot afford to pay full legal fees.
  • The board supported Resolutions 103B and 103D, which concern lawyers being protected from prosecution if they give clients advice about cannabis-related matters.

The board will ask NJSBA delegates to vote in accordance with these positions when the ABA House of Delegates considers the resolutions at the 2020 Mid-Year Meeting next month.

The board also agreed to support:

  • A-5978 (Greenwald)—The bill would revise certain requirements for individual and small-employer benefits plans and for small-employer members of multiple employer welfare arrangements.
  • A-5978 (McGuckin)/S-3655 (Holzapfel) —The measure provides for court dismissal, with prejudice, of civil actions for which lis pendens notices, which are official notices that a lawsuit has been filed that involves a claim on a property, are filed under certain circumstances.
  • A-4463 (Freiman)/S-3927 (Andrzejczak)—The bill establishes an "Electronic Permit Processing Review System." The NJSBA will advocate that the proposal to use an electronic system to make permit requests on the local level be launched statewide.

The board agreed with the Legislative Committee recommendation to pursue the following proposed legislation:

This draft legislation has been recommended to address a recent decision in the matter of Golden, et al. v. NJIT, 934 F.3d 302 (3d. Cir. August 14, 2019). In sum, the Third Circuit held that a state agency was responsible for attorneys' fees for withholding documents in its possession deemed confidential by a federal agency, which were later released after review in camera.