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Thank You to our Sponsors

NJWLA’s Solo and Small Firm Members were treated to a lovely dinner hosted by Geeta and Priya Sundrani of Hudson Court Reporting where our members were able to meet and talk about all things solo and small firm related while discussing upcoming programming ideas and more ways the NJWLA Sisterhood can assist in helping the SSF practitioners collaborate. Thank you to NJWLA’s Solo and Small Firm Directors and to our fabulous hosts, Geeta, Priya and Hudson Court Reporting!


NJWLA members have enjoyed two fun and meaningful gatherings this week – and it’s only Wednesday!

We started with an inspiring 

Tales From the Bench hosted by Ferro Labella & Weiss with our guest of honor, Judge Bonnie J. Mizdol.

We are so grateful for candid, honest, and entertaining conversations like this, and for the wonderful hospitality of our host firms! The opportunity to have intimate meetings with such phenomenally accomplished women of the bench and bar is just one of the perks of the NJWLA Sisterhood! Thank you to NJWLA’s Judicial Outreach Committee for coordinating all the details!


Thank you to NJWLA’s Young Lawyers Committee and the NJSBA Young Lawyers Division, for an informative and fun panel discussion surrounding in person practice in the court room, the board room, and the lunch room. Our impressive panelists, Melanie Chernoff, Ali LopreteValerie WeissNaSheena Porter and Nicole Castiglione, led by Moderator, Rachael Segal and introduced by Danielle Schweizer, provided helpful tips on practicing, managing time, managing adversaries, and tools that have worked for them in their various fields of practice. The event was graciously hosted and sponsored by

Lerner David LLPin a lovely space for networking, with an incredible spread of dinner that led to even more conversation and gathering. We thank all who attended, our panelists, planners, and host and sponsor for a fabulous event!


On Monday, NJWLA members were treated to an awesome Holiday Party at CSG Law’s new offices! With over 100 members in attendance it was the perfect evening to catch up with old friends and to meet new members all while exploring CSG Law’s new headquarters and learning about the life changing work of our charitable partner, Manavi, the first organization in the United States dedicated to ending all forms of violence against South Asian survivors.

NJWLA is grateful to all who attended, for your generous support of Manavi, and of course, to our gracious host and sponsor, CSG Law, for an evening of great food and fabulous accommodations!


Thank you to our awesome panelists, Rhasheda Douglas, Savaria Harris, Valerie Jackson and Jey Rajaraman to our Moderator, Clarissa Gomez, and to NJWLA’s Diversity Committee for an insightful and enjoyable CLE discussion about Tolerance in our professional and personal lives. We are so fortunate to be able to hear from such accomplished women in a relaxed and candid conversation!


Thank you for attending NJWLA’s CLE presentation

Navigating Your Career in the Changing World of Work!

We had a wonderful time meeting the VIPs of the Seeing Eye, both human and furry, and enjoying an honest, open, inspiring dialogue from our rock star panelists who spoke about “growing forward” and shared their professional journeys.

Thank you to our panelists, Lauren Paxton, Sharmila Jaipersaud and Sheea Sybblis for such a thought provoking and candid discussion and to Mary Clare Garber for moderating and prompting such thoughtful responses. Thanks to the Seeing Eye for hosting us on its picturesque campus and for sharing some highlights of their amazing work and finally, special thanks to our sponsor, Princeton Legal Search Group, for being a loyal supporter of NJWLA and its mission of advancing women of all backgrounds in the law!


Thanks to NJWLA’s In-House Committee and Solo/Small Firm Committee for an informative CLE on AI!

Thanks to you for attending, special thanks to our awesome panelists, Judith Bachman, Kerrie Heslin, Rose Reyes McKiernan and Karen Stringer and to our moderator, Jillian Stein, for sorting through many of the benefits (and pitfalls) of this constantly evolving topic! Stay tuned for follow up discussions!


Thank you for coming out to help NJWLA kick off the new term of programming, networking, CLE and events!

Thank you to our loyal members, our new acquaintances, our generous sponsor, Everest Discovery, and especially to the weather gods who made it such a fabulous evening to be outside together!

We look forward to seeing you all again soon!


On June 8th, NJWLA’s Women’s Leadership Committee Directors led a lunchtime Zoom with the participants in our Mentor/Mentee Program. We discussed an article on mentoring and “investing”, shared mentoring and sponsorship experiences, enjoyed the virtual camaraderie and planned another Mentor/Mentee follow up discussion.


FORE Women Only Golf Outing & Clinic. The weather helped to make this a perfect day for all who joined to golf, learn to golf, improve their golf game or just network with friends and colleagues. This year’s charitable partner is the

Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges. We were pleased to be able to raise awareness of the organization and to be able to make a donation! As always, our sponsors were generous and a great time was had by all! Thank you to our supporters and our attendees!


NJWLA has had a busy June and we are only half way through the month!

We started out on June 1st, co-hosting with HBA-NJ for an incredible panel discussion on the Nuts and Bolts of the Judicial and NJ Appointments Process.

Thank you to our fabulous moderator, Kristin Sostowski, our rock star panelists,

Valentina DiPippo, Diana C. Manning, Sam Parker, Arlene Q. Perez and

Abby Webb, our generous host, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, our sponsor,

Hudson Reporting, and of course, to all of our members and friends who attended. The discussion was lively, insightful and honest! The food and the space were awesome and the company was a perfect mix for learning, catching up with old friends and meeting new people!


On Thursday, March 16th, members of EWNJ, GSBA and NJWLA were treated to an inspiring Fireside Chat with Liz Forminard, Executive Vice President, General Counsel of Johnson & Johnson!

The conversation was led by GSBA President, Natalya Johnson and was hosted in J&J’s Cafe for a candid and intimate gathering of the organizations. There were plenty of anecdotes and pearls of advice to take away, but one of Liz’s mantras that should stay with the attendees is to “assume you belong”; a somewhat simple way to approach a situation that may seem a bit uncomfortable at first.

It was a lovely night of gathering, learning from Liz, and bringing so many leaders in the state together. Thank you to Natalya for arranging, to Johnson & Johnson for hosting, to GSBA and EWNJ for the camaraderie and to Liz for the genuine and candid discussion.


NJWLA is wrapping up an incredible week of programming, guests, speakers, panelists and Free CLE! We hope that many of you were in attendance for Tuesday’s Labor of Love program discussing reproductive rights and reproductive justice with our panelists and partners Diamond J. Brown, Counsel, Lawyers Network, Center for Reproductive Rights, Dr. Kristyn Brandi, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Alejandra Sorto, Campaign Strategist for the ACLU-NJ, Melissa Torres-Montoya, Senior Lawyer Engagement Manager at If/When/How , and Moderator, Penny M. Venetis, Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Rutgers Law School. We are grateful to our panelists for their expertise in their fields, their advice on ways to become more involved, and for being so generous with their time!


Last night, as part of our Judicial Outreach Committee’s Tales From the Bench series, NJWLA’s Board was delighted to have retired Justice Jaynee LaVecchia join us for an informal dinner and candid conversation, led by Hon. Harriet F. Klein. NJWLA thanks retired Justice Jaynee LaVecchia for her words of wisdom and engaging and inspirational personal stories and Bressler Amery & Ross for generously hosting the event. This was NJWLA’s Judicial Outreach Committee’s 12th incredible installation of its Tales From the Bench series which was started in 2014 and continues to raise the bar by offering opportunities to hear from some of the most respected jurists in our state. Prior New Jersey Supreme Court guests of honor have included Justice Anne Patterson, former Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, retired Justice Virginia Long and retired Justice Helen Hoens, as well as The Honorable Patty Shwartz, U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.


NJWLA Members and Friends gathered at Jockey Hollow’s Rathskeller last night for a fantastic Fall Kickoff Cocktail Party!

We were joined by our generous sponsors, Gillman Strategic Group and Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

Please follow NJWLA on social media and check the NJWLA website for upcoming events, Member News and our Job Corner!

We hope to see you all at our upcoming events.


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  • Colleen Skinner - Executive Director
    (973) 819-9488
    cskinner@njwla.org

  • ABOUT NJWLA

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    • Engage in statewide efforts to support and promote our members.
    • Endorse qualified female attorneys for appointments to the state and federal judiciary.
    • Foster leadership among our membership
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