They say all good things must come to an end.

It seems like only yesterday that I was being sworn in as NJAJ President and now I am just a few  weeks away from ending my term.

This is my last In Brief column as president, so it is a good time to look back at the many accomplishments NJAJ has had this year.

There is much to celebrate and I am honored to have played a part.

On the legislative front, we have a number of new laws on the books that greatly help trial lawyers and the clients we represent.

• The automobile minimum insurance coverage minimums have been raised for the first time in 50 years.
• We have expanded the law that says attorneys no longer have to file a lawsuit to get policy disclosures from auto insurance companies to now include other types of policies.
• We have increased consumer protections in arbitration agreements.

These accomplishments would not have happened without the hard work and dedication of many NJAJ leaders and members.

It has been an honor for me to represent NJAJ and advocate for trial lawyers and the clients we represent before  legislative committees on these and many other bills,

Much of what NJAJ does is to help trial lawyers help each other. That is part of the beauty of our organization. We may be professional competitors in some respects, but we band together to help each other when the time comes.

That has been true as we deal with the realities of a continuing judicial vacancy crisis that has made it extremely difficult for NJAJ members to move cases forward and help their clients seek justice.

I am grateful to the members of the Judicial Vacancy Task Force who spent hours speaking with judges and others to better understand the situation.

At the Boardwalk Seminar^® last month I spoke about how there is a lack of qualified candidates to become judges.

As I said then, if you are interested in becoming a judge, speak to your state senator and to judges you know and seek their guidance. If you have colleagues who may be interested in becoming judges, advise them to do the same.

Another aspect of NJAJ’ s unity is the ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

I am grateful for the important and continuing work of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for their dedication to that effort and their wise counsel.

The work of the committee was shown at the New Members Breakfast NJAJ held at the Boardwalk and Meadowlands seminars and the continued effort for members to fill out the Demographic Data Survey. If you have not yet filled out the online survey, please do it now.

In my role as president of NJAJ, I have been aided and guided by a tremendous Board of Governors and Executive Committee. Thank you to all of you.

I am eternally grateful to Cornelius Larkin, our incomparable executive director. Corny is the best in the business and he has put together a superb headquarters staff, who make everything look easy.

It has been an honor to join the illustrious group of men and women who have led NJAJ.

I am privileged  to turn the reins over to my good friend Trish Giordano. I know she will be a tremendous leader of NJAJ and I look forward to helping her any way I can.

Trish will be sworn in at the Installation Dinner on Thursday, June 22, along with the 2023-2024 officers and national representatives. I urge you to buy tickets to attend or purchase a congratulatory ad in the ad journal.

Thank you for the opportunity you gave me to represent you.