Celebrating 38 Years:
1980-2018
THE HISPANIC BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY INSTALLS JULIA A. LÓPEZ AS ITS 39TH PRESIDENT AND SWEARS IN ITS 2018-2019 OFFICERS & TRUSTEES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 31, 2018
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (“HBA-NJ”) held its 39th Annual Installation and Swearing-In Ceremony of its Officers and Trustees at the Pleasantdale Château in West Orange, New Jersey on October 24, 2018. The Honorable Esther Salas, District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, swore in the Officers and Trustees. After 14 years of service to the HBA-NJ, Julia A. López, a Reed Smith attorney and Guatemalan immigrant, was sworn in as the HBANJ’s 39th President.
Longtime member of the HBA-NJ, Albertina (“Abby”) Webb, Vice President for the Southern Region of the HBA-NJ and a partner at LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg &Patti LLC, served as the mistress of ceremonies at the sold-out event. Judges, lawyers, and students from all over the state were among the 400 guests. Hector D. Ruiz, Immediate Past President of the HBA-NJ and a partner at Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP, and Jennifer Salinas, National President of the Hispanic National Bar Association (“HNBA”) and Executive Director of Intellectual Property Litigation at Lenovo, made remarks. The HBA-NJ also recognized Cristal Lambert, HBA-NJ Treasurer and legal counsel at Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., and Jacqueline S. Peña, HBA-NJ Membership Secretary and counsel at Travelers Insurance, with the Corazon, Del HBA-NJ Award for their outstanding dedication and unwavering service to the organization.
During her presidential remarks, Julia A. López announced this year’s theme for the HBA-NJ: “Diversity Makes America Great.” Noting that “we are living in unprecedented times” in which “our community is under attack,” President López observed that the Latino/a community is the largest minority group in the State of New Jersey and in the country and that “our vote is power.” She encouraged attendees to exercise the right to vote on November 6th. She also noted that the HBA-NJ would continue to serve as an “agent of change,” by “empowering our community” and “advocating for diversity and inclusion on our benches, in all branches of our government, at our law firms, and in our law schools.” The HBA-NJ also displayed powerful art donated by Latin American artists to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (“UNHCR”) RefugiArte project. Growing up as an immigrant, Julia thanked the UNHCR and the Latin American artists for raising awareness to this important issue and promoting positive attitudes towards the refugee and immigrant experience.
Also in attendance were: Assemblywoman Annette Quijano; Julio M. Fuentes, Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Jose L. Linares, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey; several HNBA leaders including Irene Oria, HNBA President-Elect and special counsel at Stroock, Stroock & Lavan, Miguel Alexander Pozo, HNBA/HBA-NJ Past President and member of Cozen O’Connor’s Minneapolis office, and Pedro J. Torres-Díaz, HNBA Past President and a principal in the San Juan, Puerto Rico and Miami offices of Jackson Lewis; several state court judges, and many HBA-NJ former presidents. Students from the HBA-NJ’s American Dream Pipeline Program in Union City and Passaic, New Jersey also attended the event.
The HBA-NJ thanks its sponsors and Installation attendees for their generosity and support. In particular, we would like to thank our Platinum sponsor, Reed Smith LLP; Gold sponsors: 1) Archer & Greiner P.C.; 2) Beacon Hill Legal; 3) Day Pitney LLP; 4) Hudson Court Reporting & Digital Media; 5) Lowenstein Sandler LLP; 6) Parker Ibrahim & Berg LLP; 7) Prudential; and 8) Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP; and Silver sponsors: 1) Advanced PMR and Synergy Spinecare and Rehabilitation Medicine PC; 2) Bederson LLP; 3) D’Arcy Johnson Day; 4) Kaufman Dolowich Voluck LLP; 5) Law Offices of George Rios, P.A.; 6) McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney &Carpenter LLP; and 7) Waters McPherson McNeil, P.C.
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About The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
Founded in 1980, the HBA-NJ is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit association that is comprised of attorneys, judges, law professors, law students, and other professionals who share a common interest in addressing the issues affecting Hispanics within the legal community. The purpose of the Association is to serve the public interest: (i) by cultivating the art and science of jurisprudence, (ii) by advancing the standing of the legal profession, and (iii) by preserving high standards of integrity, honor, and professional courtesy among Hispanic lawyers.
Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
P.O. Box 25562, Newark, NJ 07101
For press inquiries, please contact: Alba V. Aviles, Esq., HBA-NJ Press Secretary, at aaviles@daypitney.com
or (973) 966-8034.
For more information about the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, please visit our website at:
www.njhba.org or contact Julia A. López, Esq., HBA-NJ President, at jalopez@reedsmith.com or (609) 524-
2022.
©2018 Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey.
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