New Jersey Legal Award Honorees Selected

The New Jersey Law Journal has announced this year’s honorees for the New Jersey Legal Awards.

Among them are the finalists for two of the Law Journal’s most prestigious awards: Attorney of the Year and Law Firm of the Year.

And for the first time this year, the Law Journal will be announcing an overall winner in two additional categories: Litigation Departments of the Year, General, and Dealmakers of the Year.

The honorees will be recognized—and the winners of Attorney of the Year, Law Firm of the Year, General Litigation Department of the Year and Dealmaker of the Year announced—at the awards celebration, scheduled for Sept. 13 at the Park Chateau Estate in East Brunswick. For more information, please visit the NJ Legal Awards event site.

Special thanks to the members of our outside judging panels who provided indispensable help in evaluating the Attorney of the Year and New Leaders of the Bar categories.

Please join us in congratulating these honorees:

Attorney of the Year Finalists

Natalya Johnson, Johnson & Johnson – Johnson recently concluded an impactful presidency of the Garden State Bar Association, in which she led efforts to: launch the organization’s charitable arm, launch a mental health and wellness committee, secure office space in Newark, and issue some $100,000 in scholarships.

Jeralyn Lawrence, Lawrence Law – Lawrence, too, is concluding a presidency. As leader of the New Jersey State Bar Association, she championed attorney wellness, taking on longstanding attorney ethics rules and strictures, and was a leader in addressing the state’s judicial vacancy rate. She is credited with contributing to “a revolution in the legal profession.”

Ian Marx, Greenberg Traurig – In addition to his victories in a decade-long litigation battle over vacation timeshares, Marx has taken on inequities in the justice system, including his argument before the New Jersey Supreme Court on the issue of eyewitness identification in criminal cases.

Law Firm of the Year Finalists

Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi – With Dealmaker, New Leaders and Unsung Heroes accolades.

Gibbons – With Litigation Departments, Dealmakers and New Leaders accolades.

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden – With Litigation Departments, New Leaders, Mentors and Unsung Heroes accolades.

Lifetime Achievement

Fredric Knapp, Laddey Clark & Ryan

Stephen “Skippy” Weinstein, Britcher, Leone & Sergio

Dealmaker of the Year Finalists

Frank Cannone, Gibbons

Rhonda Carniol, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi

Connell Foley Corporate Group

Martin Dowd, McCarter & English

Henry King, Reed Smith

Alan Leeds, Morgan Lewis & Bockius

Allen Popowitz, Brach Eichler

Mentors

Geri Albin, Saiber

Ehsan Chowdhry, E. F. Chowdry Law Practice 

Colleen Foley, Saul Ewing

Jennifer Golub, Schenck, Price, Smith & King

Joseph Gorrell, Brach Eichler

Ellen Koblitz, Pashman Stein Walder Hayden

Natalie Kraner, Lowenstein Sandler

Peter Levy, Mandelbaum Barrett

Lauren Manduke, Cole Schotz

Kelly Purcaro, Greenspoon Marder

Debra Rosen, Archer & Greiner

Sheryl Seiden, Seiden Family Law

Nicholas Zaita, Peckar & Abramson

Unsung Heroes

Melissa Abatemarco, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Maureen Coghlan, Archer & Greiner

Paul J. Criscuolo, Callagy Law

Joseph “Drew” Dickson, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi

Ahsan A. Jafry, Burns White

Karen Kelsen, Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman

Timothy Malone, Pashman Stein Walder Hayden

William O’Shaughnessy, Quest Diagnostics

Pauline Tarife, Bressler, Amery & Ross

In-House Impact

Kristin Badalamenti, NFC Amenity Management 

BASF Corp.

Michael Chong, MKC Law Group

Ferrero North America

Steven Llanes, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark

Innovator of the Year Finalists

David Carlson and John Oroho, Porzio Bromberg & Newman

Gavin Colaco, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy

Eric Gang, Gang & Associates

Brad A. Molotsky, Duane Morris

Litigation Department of the Year, General – Finalists

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden

Riker Danzig

Sills Cummis & Gross

Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty

Brach Eichler – Health Care Litigation

Gibbons – Labor and Employment Litigation

Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik – Intellectual Property Litigation

Methfessel & Werbel – Insurance Litigation

Tanenbaum Keale – Products Liability Litigation

New Leaders of the Bar

Guillermo Artiles, McCarter & English

David Badie, University Hospital

Christopher Ayers, Seeger Weiss

Melody Block, Mandelbaum Barrett

Dominique Carroll, Fox Rothschild

Jessica Carroll, Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis

Melissa Clarke, Saul Ewing

Carly Clinton, Schenck Price Smith & King

Michael Collins, King, Moench & Collins

Michael D. DeLoreto, Gibbons

Thomas Forrester, Connell Foley

Matthew Frisch, Pashman Stein Walder Hayden

Christopher Geddis, Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman

Alexandra S. Jacobs, Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads

Chelsea Jasnoff, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi

Gregory A. Kopacz, Sills Cummis & Gross

Philip Lamparello, Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Cappuzzo

Michael Morano, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter

Monique Moreira, Moreira Sayles Ramirez

Salomao Nascimento, Epstein Ostrove

Amit Parikh, Comcast

Abigail Remore, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi

Hoda Rifai-Bashjawish, Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik

Diego Rosado, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

Peter Saad, Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman

Jorge Sanchez, Riker Danzig

David Scott, Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis

Caleb Seeley, Seeger Weiss

Samantha Stillo, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer

Kaitlyn Stone, Barnes & Thornburg

Cassandra Jahnke Walsh, O’Toole Scrivo

Jordan Wassel, Schenck Price Smith & King

Richard Wells, Archer & Greiner

Laura N. Wilensky, Orloff, Lowenbach, Stifelman & Siegel

George Zalepa, Greenberg Traurig

Jamie Zug, McCarter & English