As her installation as president of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) approached this week at the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, Kimberly A. Yonta waved off concerns from well-wishers that she would not experience the traditional swearing-in ceremony.

Instead, she'll take the oath of office from her East Brunswick home and get straight to business as she takes the helm of the state's largest association for legal professionals during the greatest public health crisis the country has faced in more than a century.

"This is a crucial time for New Jersey's lawyers and the Association, and I am more than ready to steer this ship during what will be one of the most challenging years for the state's legal profession," said Yonta, who has a rich tradition of service in the organized bar. "The New Jersey State Bar Association is the guiding force that advocates for and unites the legal community during this turbulent time. The lawyers of this state can look to the Association as a beacon that will help us navigate these rocky waters and see us safely to shore."

A New Brunswick solo practitioner who concentrates on criminal trial advocacy and municipal criminal matters, Yonta is described by friends and colleagues as a tenacious, energetic leader who gets things done.

"If Kim needs to knock down a brick wall in order to get where we're going, where she thinks it's best where the organization needs to go, she's going to do it. No one works harder than Kim," said Brandon D. Minde, who worked with Yonta in the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), which she chaired.

Yonta will draw from her depth of experience and leadership skills honed over 20 years with the Association and county bar associations. In addition to serving as chair of the Young Lawyers Division, she is also a past chair of the Criminal Law and Women in the Profession sections, and the Lawyers in Transition and Finance and Operations committees. She is also a member of the Amicus, Finance and Operations, Government and Public Sector Lawyers, and Meetings Arrangements and Program committees.

She was the Association's representative to the New Jersey Supreme Court Committees on Model Criminal Jury Charges and Jury Selection. She received the Solo Small-Firm Lawyer of the Year Award for her work related to lawyers in transition, and the 2018 Legislative Service Award for efforts on the veterans diversion program. She is also a trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and the Middlesex County Bar Association, and is a former assistant coach of the Rutgers University Mock Trial Association, the national runner-up for champion in 2011–2012.

Christina Hardman O'Neal, said Yonta is well suited for the role she is about to take on. "Particularly in the crisis we are facing now, I wouldn't want anyone else leading us…She's very dedicated to lawyers and the pursuit of justice. She knows why the law is so important and the things the law and lawyers can do to help make society a better place," she said.

A tradition of hard work

That sensibility was shaped, in part, by Yonta's humble roots growing up in a small, rural town in eastern Connecticut. Her father owned a small furniture shop in town. Her mother, a teacher whom she considers her role model, was a Polish immigrant who came to the United States alone at age 13, worked hard, and worked her way through college at a pizzeria.

"I grew up in a house where you really had to work hard, be responsible and reach your potential, and if you didn't strive to reach that potential—which my parents knew my sister and I had—there were consequences," Yonta said.

Inspired by classes on the Constitution and government, Yonta knew she wanted to be a lawyer in sixth grade. She graduated from Providence College with a degree in political science and, for a time, considered a career in politics when she spent a semester at American University Washington College of Law and worked as an intern with the House Judiciary Committee during President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearing.

Heartbroken after her father died from a brain tumor during her final year of law school, Yonta returned to Connecticut to be closer to her family.

Finding a professional home in the NJSBA

Yonta has been heavily involved in the state and county bar associations since she moved to New Jersey in 1999, shortly after earning her law degree at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

She soon found a home with the NJSBA and the YLD. "I was a young female attorney who knew no one in this state. The Association really became a family of friends for me at a time when I needed it," she said. "In many ways I grew up in the Bar Association and it helped shaped who I am today, personally and professionally."

After Yonta clerked for Judge N. Peter Conforti, she became a trial team supervisor and chief of the appellate unit in the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office during her 10 years there.

Barbara Turso-Dembowski, her supervisor at the time and now a retired Hudson County executive assistant prosecutor, said she could always rely on Yonta.

"She's incredibly organized, very focused and knew what she was doing. She knows what she doesn't know and asks questions," Turso-Dembowski said.

Many spoke of her ability to get things done. Jonathan P. Cowles, executive director of the Middlesex Bar Association, said, "I'm reminded of an old Hubert Humphrey campaign poster: 'Some people talk change, others cause it.' Yonta is a doer," he said.

Saul Wolfe, a former president of the NJSBA, said he has confidence in Yonta.

"She is going to fight for the lawyers of New Jersey who need a champion," he said.

A passion for helping people

Yonta said working as a prosecutor was one of the most rewarding times in her career.

"I felt I was helping a lot of people. When you are a prosecutor you are a public servant and you put in a lot of time, hours and dedication because you truly believe in what you are doing. I learned to appreciate my adversaries," she said.

Yonta's husband, Craig M. Aronow, a former NJSBA trustee whom she met in law school, said one of the things that makes them a good match is they often have different viewpoints but always have respect for the other's passion for their cause or position.

"As a perfect example, we've been happily married for almost 17 years. She's a Red Sox and Patriots fan and I'm a Yankees and Giants fan. We negotiated a compromise when the kids were born as to which teams they would root for. I got football and she got baseball," he said.

The couple have two daughters, Abigail and Madeline. When Yonta took some time off after her second child, she decided she wanted to continue working in the law, but with a level of flexibility. As a result, she started her own practice in 2012.

"I can't imagine not having the New Jersey State Bar Association in my life in pursuing a solo practice. It's given me the camaraderie that I lacked after I left the prosecutor's office and the network of attorneys to bounce ideas off, whether it's a trial or legal issue," she said.

An agenda to focus on the needs of lawyers

Yonta said her primary focus will be helping lawyers overcome the challenges of the pandemic and economic crisis.

"This is testing our strength, resolve and resilience as individuals, as a society and as a profession, in ways we never imagined. I want lawyers of this state to know they are not alone."

Yonta said she would also focus the Association's efforts on promoting access to the justice system, which includes matching attorneys with members of the public who qualify for reduced-fee legal services through Legal Edge, the NJSBA's new platform under development, and by protecting the public by advocating against non-lawyers providing legal services. Yonta said she would also place a renewed focus on the YLD, creating ways to connect young lawyers with mentors and firms and developing a new series, with county bar associations, to teach them trial skills; and bring attention to the well-being needs of all attorneys.

"I could not ask for a greater honor than to be serving as the president of this great institution at this time. I have always believed—and it is true now more than ever—that what we do as lawyers is essential to this great nation. And it will be even more so in the months ahead, as we rebuild society and adapt how we practice law," she said.