This year, Michelle Schaap of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi in West Orange began her term as president of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association and became co-chair of the firm’s women’s initiative. Schaap, a partner handling corporate and other transactional matters, also founded in 2015 and continues to chair the firm’s privacy and data security practice. She previously practiced as in-house counsel at Toys “R” Us Inc. and at Mori, Hamada & Matsumoto, a law firm based in Tokyo.

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