Lawyer honors his Camden roots

Moorestown lawyer Daniel Mateo grew up a “nerdy, skinny kid” in South Camden, which he describes as excellent training for his profession.

“Nothing that happens in a courtroom [is] quite like being chased down a street,” the father of two says. “Talk about a life lesson. It makes you tough in a different sort of way.”

Two weeks ago, Mateo was sworn in as president of the 300-member Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey. He had the ceremony in Camden, because he wants to emphasize that anything is possible - even for kids who are growing up in one of America’s poorest cities, as he did.

“We invited 10 high school students,” he says. “It was important for them to see 200 to 300 Latino lawyers, dressed up in our finest and giving back to the community.”

Also present were students from New Jersey’s law schools; the association encourages them to mentor high schoolers. It also provides close to $30,000 annually in scholarships, “and this year we hope to provide even more,” he says.

I meet Mateo outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Fatima Church, an anchor for generations of Italians and, later, Puerto Ricans in South Camden.

The Cherry Street rowhouse where he spent part of his childhood is around the corner; vacant lots line the north side of his old block, but houses on the south side are neatly painted.

“Being here is super-emotional,” says Mateo. “It brings back a lot of memories, good memories. Even though it was a very poor neighborhood, there was a sense of safety and community.

“People looked out for each other,” he recalls, a bit wistfully, as we drive past clusters of rowhouses separated by vacant lots. “If you got into something you shouldn’t be doing, the next thing you know someone would be calling your grandparents.”

Mateo attended Sacred Heart School, graduated from Camden Catholic, and earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

He’s now a litigation partner in the Princeton office of the global law firm Reed Smith, where he mainly handles pharmaceutical clients. He has worked there since 1998.

“Dan is one of our finest attorneys,” says Nanette Mantell, team leader for the firm’s life sciences practice group in Princeton.

Despite his position and his election to head the bar group for a year, Mateo insists, “I don’t view myself as any different from any of the people who are living in Camden today.”

What’s missing for many young people in the city is “a real sense of what is possible,” he continues. “When poverty is concentrated, the worldview of the people living in poverty is very small.”

His friend and former Sacred Heart classmate Camden Mayor Dana Redd also believes it’s essential for city youngsters to “see the talent that has emerged” from their hometown. “I’m very proud of Dan, and proud that he held his installation dinner in Camden,” says Redd, who was a guest at the event, along with U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and other dignitaries. “I think it spoke volumes about him.”

The soft-spoken Mateo says he could never have imagined “working for one of the largest law firms” in the world when he was running (or perhaps, running away) on the streets of South Camden.

“The biggest lesson for me of having done well is that my world view has changed,” he says. “I think that’s what most parents want for their children - to give them lots of experiences as they grow up.”

That’s why he often brings his daughters, ages 9 and 12, along when he returns to South Camden for what he calls a “reality check.”

What the neighborhood taught him “is fundamentally about taking those street smarts and applying them to your life,” Mateo says. “It’s about perseverance, no matter what challenges you might face.”

Contact staff writer Kevin Riordan at 856-779-3845, kriordan@ phillynews.com, or @inqkriordan on Twitter.

LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF is now accepting application for our LawBound 2012 Winter program.  This program provides the tools necessary to help undergrads make informed decisions early in their college careers that facilitate acceptance into law school.  All accepted scholars attend a one-week intensive program designed to prepare students for successful law school admission.  Scholars are assigned mentors as part of college-law student-attorney mentoring clusters.  Scholars receive discounts on LSAT prep courses and receive wrap-around services within our current programming.  LawBound scholars are eligible to become JD Prep Fellows through a grant from the New York Community trust.  The fellowship provides a specialized introduction to the LSAT, a scholarship for our LSAT Prep Course, one-on-one counseling services, and personal essay assistance.    Please visit our website for more information about LAWBound or our other Education Division pipeline programs.

APPLY HERE!

- Maritza Maldonado

Education Associate - LatinoJustice PRLDEF 

 212 739 7517

99 Hudson Street, 14th Floor

New York, New York  10013

www.latinojustice.org

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.”

Dear Colleagues,
 
I am pleased to announce that it is that time of year again to recruit mentors for New Jersey law students, who have expressed an interest in being mentored by our esteemed members.  This year we have received over 50 applications from students anxious to be matched with mentors, due in large measure to the positive feedback received by them from past mentees about the productive experiences they received from the program and their respective mentors.  To that end, please take a moment to fill out and return the attached Mentor Application so that you can be paired up with a deserving law student.
 
As you know, the HBA-NJ’s Mentorship Program matches Latino law students with Latino legal professionals from some of the top New Jersey law firms, legal departments, government agencies and public interest organizations to foster relationships between them to offer guidance and advice as they adjust to the demands of law school, navigate the recruitment process and evaluate potential career options and strategies.  At a time in our history when it is reported that the Latino community is steadily increasing, while the number of Latinos applying and admitted into law schools is dropping, it is particularly important for those of us who have been blessed with successful careers to step up to the plate and nurture and encourage this valuable commodity (Latino law students) to continue their academic and professional pursuits.
 
I am mindful that we all have very demanding schedules.  Nevertheless, it is extremely important - in keeping with our mission statement - that we cultivate these students to ensure not only that they succeed, but that they are instilled with high standards of integrity, honor and professionalism.  I, therefore, urge you to join me in this endeavor by volunteering to serve as a mentor.  Kindly complete the attached application and return it to me by Thursday, September 29, 2011, at the e-mail or postal address provided on the application.  If you are unable to meet this deadline, please submit your application as close as possible to this date.  The more volunteers we receive, the more likely it is that we can achieve a mentor/mentee ratio of 1:1, thereby increasing the quality of the mentor/mentee relationship and the success of the program.
 
Thank you in advance for your willingness to support the HBA-NJ and this very important program.
 
Kind regards,
 
 
Louis Acevedo, Vice President
Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO BE A MENTOR

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.”