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Essex County Bar Hosts Town Halls with Vicinage Judges

Kevin G. Walsh, of Gibbons. [Courtesy Photo.]The Essex County Bar Association, in cooperation with Essex County Assignment Judge Sallyanne Floria and the vicinage's presiding judges, hosted five virtual "town hall" forums between May 21 and May 29. More than 500 within the Essex County legal community, according to the association, attended the forums, which addressed remote court operations necessitated by the pandemic. In the virtual town halls, Floria and the presiding judge for each division offered up-to-date information on the filing of new matters, general discovery practices, arbitration and mediation procedures, procedures to assist pro se filings and appearances, privacy concerns for attorney-client communications, issues regarding motion hearings, the prospect for remote grand jury proceedings, how and when jury trials may return, and oral arguments. The judges, Trial Court Administrator Amy K. DePaul, and other court administrators also provided answers and input in response to participants' questions posed during the town hall forums, the association said. "The judiciary's move to remote operations was unprecedented in the 73-year history of the modern New Jersey court system, and the response of the organized bar must be equally unprecedented," association president  Kevin G.  Walsh, a partner  Gibbons in Newark, said in a statement, calling the forums "vital to ensuring that Essex County attorneys and their clients can have confidence that the administration of justice will continue, even during a national public health emergency." The association said it will continue to provide up-to-date information through its COVID-19 resources page, and through initiatives and programs.

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Dunican Elected Chair of Iona College Board of Trustees