After the coronavirus pandemic struck early this year, New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) President Kimberly A. Yonta established the Pandemic Task Force to examine and address the issues facing the legal community during the worst public health crisis to hit the country in more than a century.

Chaired by former NJSBA President Thomas H. Prol, the task force's five committees brought together thought leaders from across the profession to study questions including how to safely reopen law firms, adjust courthouse operations, and resume jury trials, as well as to examine the impact of the pandemic on substantive areas of law and how access to justice has been affected.

"The NJSBA Pandemic Task Force has been a leading voice in making recommendations about best practices as law firms reopened for clients and as the courts reopened for in-person and virtual hearings," Yonta said.