New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) President Kimberly A. Yonta swore in Valerie Jackson as the Middlesex County trustee at the NJSBA's Board of Trustees' Oct. 16 meeting. Jackson is a deputy public defender in Middlesex County and managing attorney of the Office of Parental Representation's central regional office.

Prior to joining the public defender's office, she spent over a decade in the private sector, including at her own firm in New Brunswick and the Wilentz firm. Jackson has been active with the NJSBA through the Diversity Committee and Child Welfare Law Section. She is a trustee of the Middlesex County Bar Association, where she also serves as secretary of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation. Jackson is also active with the Garden State Bar Association and Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey.

In other matters, the board was presented with the findings from WithumSmith+Brown's audit of the NJSBA, which received a clean slate. The firm conducted the audit for the NJSBA's financial transactions in fiscal year 2019. The auditors said they will issue an unmodified opinion, which provides the highest level of assurance that the financial statements are accurate and free of any misstatements. The auditors also confirmed that all policies and procedures are up to date with current accounting standards.

The audit did reveal a reduction in revenue and expenses as a result of the cancellation of all in-person events for the final quarter of the fiscal year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NJSBA has a roughly $12 million annual budget to serve its over 18,000 members, and offers hundreds of educational programs through the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.