With the pandemic altering so much of life, even the traditional administration of the Lawyer's Pledge at Seton Hall Law and Rutgers Law in Camden was different this year. New Jersey State Bar Assocation (NJSBA) President Kimberly A. Yonta delivered it virtually.

The Lawyer's Pledge focuses on the ideals of the profession. It was developed by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law, which was created 25 years ago by the NJSBA, the state's law schools and state and federal Judiciary.

Seton Hall Law School Dean Kathleen M. Boozang noted while it was poignant not to be able to watch the first-year students stand and raise their right hands in the auditorium and take the oath together, "We are together today, nonetheless."

Yonta recalled being told by professors on her first day of orientation that she would learn to think and write like a lawyer. It was all true, she said, but her orientation was not held on a Zoom platform.

"I know this must be a bit of a strange way to begin your law school career, but as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, 'The only way to begin, is to begin,'" Yonta said.

She encouraged the students to take advantage of the opportunities in law school by getting involved in law societies, student bar associations, mock trial, moot court—and the NJSBA.

"If you want to be a good lawyer, then apply yourself to your studies and do well. If you want to be a great lawyer, then apply yourself to your studies and take that extra step and get involved in your law school community and, dare I say, in your legal community," she said.

"As you begin, know that the New Jersey State Bar Association is here for you in support and as a valuable resource. You are not alone, and membership for law students is free. Let me repeat that: Membership to the New Jersey State Bar Association for law students is free," Yonta said.

"Over 18,000 attorneys belong to the NJSBA. They sat where you sit now, and know the pressures you will face and challenges you will experience," she said.

Yonta said the NJSBA is an important resource that can connect students with mentors and help them find a full-time position or internship through its job bank or a volunteer opportunity in the legal community.

She held up her trajectory in the NJSBA as an example of where membership can lead, noting that she joined the Association as a law student member, then became a Young Lawyers Division member, and ultimately working her way to president.

"It has been a fulfilling and gratifying experience. And many of my colleagues who I met as a young lawyer are now some of the closest family friends that I have," she said.