Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (HBA-NJ) applauds the milestone appointment of Superior Court Judge Julio L. Mendez to serve as Assignment Judge of Atlantic/Cape May Vicinage. This appointment is especially noteworthy since Judge Mendez will be New Jersey’s first Hispanic assignment judge.
In 2002, Judge Mendez began serving as Superior Court Judge in the Criminal Division in Cumberland County and then in the Family Division. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Mendez received his juris doctorate degree from Rutgers University School of Law – Camden, and worked in private practice for 20 years. Judge Mendez also served as Staff Attorney for the Cumberland County Board of Social Services, as Vineland City Solicitor, and as a Trustee for Cumberland County College. While on the bench, Judge Mendez has served with distinction in various leadership roles, including as a Chairman of the Children in Court Committee of the Conference of Presiding Family Judges, Vice-Chair of the Supreme Court Committee on Family Practice, and as a policy maker and problem solver on various statewide conferences and committees. His commitment to serve the Hispanic community has been evident throughout his career and through his affiliation with the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey.
In commending this appointment, HBA-NJ President Suzette Rodriguez remarked: “Judge Mendez is a trailblazer who has led a distinguished career first in private practice and then as a jurist. Judge Mendez is highly deserving of this appointment and we are confident that he will continue to serve New Jersey in a spirit of fairness, honor, and excellence. We are also very pleased because Judge Mendez’s ascension as an assignment judge is groundbreaking for the continuing advancement of the Hispanic community.”
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (HBA-NJ) commends the U.S. Senate for unanimously confirming the Honorable Esther Salas to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey. This confirmation is especially noteworthy since Judge Salas was the first Latina to ever serve as a Magistrate Judge for the District Court in New Jersey and will be the first Latina to serve as a Federal District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey.
In 2006, Judge Salas began serving as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the District of New Jersey. Judge Salas received her juris doctorate degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark, where she served in leadership roles within various student associations. After clerking for the Honorable Eugene J. Codey, Jr., Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Judge Salas began her career as a litigator at the law firm of Garces & Grabler, P.C., where she handled criminal defense amongst other matters. Before her appointment as a magistrate judge, Judge Salas served for nine years as Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey, where she represented indigent clients in federal criminal matters, and argued before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in notable cases. Her commitment to public service has been evident also through her service in several leadership roles in various civic organizations, including the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Council for Policy Development, the Supreme Court Committees on Minority Concerns and Women in the Court, the Committee on Pro Se Litigation for the District of New Jersey, and as former president of the HBA-NJ and Hispanic Bar Foundation of New Jersey.
Suzette Rodriguez, HBA-NJ President, noted that “We are very pleased with the U.S. Senate for confirming Judge Salas for this seat in the federal court and for what such an important appointment represents for the advancement of the Hispanic community. Judge Salas is a well-respected jurist and eminently qualified to serve as a federal judge in the District of New Jersey. She has led a distinguished career of public service first as a public defender and, most recently, as a federal magistrate judge for the District of New Jersey. We are confident that Judge Salas will continue to serve the federal judiciary of New Jersey extremely well.”
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
Cesar Perales to Step Down as Head of LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Nov. 18, 2010
New York, NY – Cesar Perales, President and General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, announced
today that he will be leaving the organization once a successor is identified.
After founding the civil rights group as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education
Fund (PRLDEF) in 1972 with two other lawyers, and then leaving for several posts in public
office, Cesar returned in 2003 to help revive the organization when it was in peril of
closing. Seven years later, Cesar leaves LatinoJustice PRLDEF in a position that is
financially healthy and with its high standing restored in the eyes of its constituents,
the foundation world and its civil rights peers.
“It is no exaggeration to describe Cesar as one of the giants in the struggle for civil
rights in the modern era,” said David Arroyo, Chairman of the Board. “We owe him a
great debt of gratitude for paving the way for our successes, both personal and
professional. His legacy will endure for decades to come.”
The board has developed a comprehensive planning process to identify Cesar’s
successor and will be seeking national candidates as soon as possible.
“We owe it to the organization and the community it serves to conduct the most
rigorous search possible and identify the very best candidates,” noted Will Malpica,
Chair of the Transition Committee. “We have carefully prepared for this moment and
today the organization is in its best shape ever – we have a very good story to tell.”
Cesar will be staying at LatinoJustice PRLDEF through the transition process.
During the past few years LatinoJustice PRLDEF has recaptured a successful past that
includes landmark litigation in education rights, Latino voting rights, workers rights
and immigration issues. Two years ago, Sonia Sotomayor, once a board member,
was named to the Supreme Court, crowning the founders’ stated goal of creating
leaders in the legal community.
More recently, the organization has also been on the forefront of litigation to stop
local anti-immigration legislation, winning a landmark case that prevented Hazleton,
Pennsylvania from enforcing a law that targeted Latinos. LatinoJustice PRLDEF is also
involved in the case to stop Arizona’s SB1070 anti-immigration law.
One of LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s goals from the start has been to create new Latino
leaders. Cesar feels his leaving creates just the opportunity he and the founders
envisioned when they started PRLDEF.
“It’s a perfect time for the next generation of leaders to take over at LatinoJustice
and a perfect time for me to seek out new adventures,” Cesar said. “Our finances are
very strong right now, our legal team is involved in many cases critical to our
community and our education department is preparing many young people to come
into the profession. I am very confident that LatinoJustice PRLDFEF is perfectly
poised to continue on its steady path.”
The son of a Puerto Rican father and a Dominican mother, Cesar grew up in New
York City. He first considered becoming a lawyer as a child, after his father’s
business declared bankruptcy. Cesar went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from City
College in 1962 and graduated from Fordham Law School in 1965.
Upon graduating from Fordham, Cesar worked at the legal unit for a Ford
Foundation-funded program on the Lower East Side of New York called Mobilization
for Youth. In 1968, when the federal government began to open neighborhood legal
services programs as part of the War on Poverty, Cesar, at 27 years old, was
selected to establish the first Brooklyn Legal Services Office.
His experiences working in New York’s Puerto Rican neighborhoods allowed him to
also assume the role of legal advocate for New York’s Latino community. In April
1969, he represented the students who took over his alma mater, the City College of
New York, to demand the admission of more minority students. In January, 1970, he
represented the Young Lords Organization when they took control of a church to
provide community services to poor community in El Barrio. Perales negotiated the
early morning non-violent arrest of over 100 members the Young Lords who refused
to leave the church.
In 1972, Cesar, along with two Puerto Rican lawyers Jorge Batista and Victor
Marrero, raised enough seed money to open the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and
Education Fund, a legal organization modeled on the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Cesar served as the first Executive Director and Marrero was Chairman of the Board.
In 1974, the consent decree issued in PRLDEF’s suit Aspira v. New York City Board of
Education became central to the United States’ establishment of bilingual education
programs in schools across the country. And, in several lawsuits against the New
York Civil Service Commission, New York Police Department and New York Sanitation
Commission, PRLDEF was able to get the courts to strike down numerous civil service
requirements that kept Latinos from public employment and eliminated barriers to
government benefits for non-English speaking applicants.
During his career, Cesar served in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare;
as an Assistant Secretary for Human Services; as Commissioner of the New York
State Department of Social Services; and as Deputy Mayor for Health and Human
Services for New York City. He also served as Senior Vice President at Columbia
Presbyterian Medical Center.
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
The HBANJ commends Gov. Jon Corzine on his nomination of Garcia for re-appointment. Garcia, an exceptionally talented lawyer, has shown that she has the experience and insight to perform the duties necessitated by her appointment through her outstanding service in years past.
The HBANJ is pleased to endorse Garcia because of the qualities that she has exhibited through her work with us and her continuing exceptional service to the New Jersey community. She has been a long-time active member of the HBANJ, and we are particularly proud of her leadership in the Hispanic legal community. Through the law student mentorship program established by the HBANJ, she has demonstrated her understanding and commitment to en riching the lives of students at Rutgers Camden by providing a steadfast example for new members of the legal profession. We are pleased that, with this nomination, Gov. Corzine has reaffirmed his commit ment to promoting diversity in the New Jersey criminal justice system.
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
The HBA-NJ was nominated and chosen by the Convention Committee and ratified by the Executive Committee of the HNBA. The award will be presented on Friday, October 5th, during the Awards Breakfast at the HNBA Annual Convention in San Juan.
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
The Rutgers-Camden Latino Law Students’ Association, Alianza, hosted its 4th Annual Campeones de la Justicia Banquet on Wednesday, April 4, 2007. This year’s honorees include Milagros Camacho, Esq., President-Elect of the HBA-NJ.
Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
Fernando M. Pinguelo, Esq. was named a member of Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus effective January 1, 2007. Mr. Pinguelo practices in the areas of civil litigation and appellate law, specializing in complex commercial litigation and labor & employment matters in both federal and state courts. He regularly counsels and negotiates contracts for television personalities, including Emmy Award-winning talent.
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Aplausos
The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey applauds the naming by Attorney General Anne Milgram of our own Ricardo Solano Jr. as her new first assistant - the No. 2 spot in the 9,300-person Department of Law and Public Safety.
Hispanic Bar Association President Ivette Ramos Alvarez, Esq. was honored by the New Jersey State Bar Association on February 23, 2007 where she as presented the Annual Legislative Recognition Award. She was selected for this prestigious recognition as a result of her extraordinary efforts, unselfish service, countless hours to the Association and recognized expertise. Ms. Alvarez is receiving this award for her work on S-1467 (Scutari) which adds new causes of action for divorce based on irreconcilable differences. She worked to promote S-1467, attending meetings with members of the State Legislature and participating in numerous conference calls and discussions. Thanks to her effort, S-1467 was signed into law on January 20, 2007.
