Education
J.D. Law Degree, Seton Hall University, School of Law, Newark, NJ, 1977, Top 20%
B.A. Music Education; Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, NJ, 1966, Full Scholarship, Dean's List
Teaching and Administrative Experience
1994-present
Associate Professor, Legal Studies Department, Montclair State University. Graduate advisor since 1995. Serve as liaison with Graduate Studies; provide advisement to all applicants and matriculated students; supervise graduate assistant. Responsible for coordination of all dispute resolution courses in the department. Assisted in the development of curriculum and faculty for the Master of Arts in Legal Studies. Courses developed and taught include Negotiation Theory and Practice and Mediation Theory and Practice; other courses developed include Peer Mediation and Arbitration.
1985-1994
Assistant Professor, Legal Studies Department, Montclair State University. Coordinator for Paralegal Studies. Responsible for student counseling and advisement of both program participants and potential students, full-time, part-time, undergraduate and post B.A. students; joint supervision of large adjunct teaching staff; programmatic planning and development of curriculum; processing of graduates of the Paralegal Studies Program; coordination of multi-section courses. Courses developed and taught include Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration and Conflict and its Resolution; Real Estate Law; Paralegal Seminar and Internship; Women and the Law; Introduction to Para legalism and Family Law.
Departmental Outcomes Assessment Coordinator responsible for developing, administering and integrating results of Assessment in the Paralegal Program, 1988-present.
Acting Department Chair, Legal Studies, Spring 1991.
Faculty Advisor to Student Paralegal Association, 1985-1995.
Faculty Supervisor of Legal Studies Internship, Co-operative Education and Placement. Responsibilities include pre-screening, pre-placement planning, job development, seminar, resume preparation, WESTLAW and Litigation Projects, 1986-1996.
Faculty Supervisor and Advisor to all Legal Studies students participating in the Washington Center Project, 1988-1996.
Coordinator for Legal Studies Continuing Education in the areas of Alternate Dispute Resolution, Environmental Law, Westlaw Training, Mediation Training and Bankruptcy, Credit and Collection Practice and Immigration, 1988-1996.
Legal Experience
Attorney at Law, (part-time) Sole practitioner, 1984 to present.
Carella, Byrne, Bain & Gilfillan: Senior Associate, 1983-1984.
Levy, Schlesinger & Breitman: Associate, 1981-1983.
Nagle & Powell: Partner, 1978-1981.
County of Essex, Assistant County Counsel, 1978-1980.
State of New Jersey, Judicial Assistant to the Honorable James H.Coleman and the Honorable Bryant W. Griffin, Judges of the Superior Court, 1977-1978.
Scholarship and Professional Achievements
Book, Conflict and Its Resolution, Aspen Law & Business (formerly Little, Brown and Company), New York, 1997.
Article, "Learning Styles and Paralegal Studies", Journal of Paralegal Education and Practice, a juried publication of the American Association for Paralegal Education, KA, Vol. 11, No. 1, Spring 1995, p 67-77.
Article, "Montclair State University: Masters of Arts in Legal Studies" The Paralegal Educator, American Association for Paralegal Education, KA, Vol. 10, No. 3, June/July 1996, p 12-13.
Co-author of Book Review, "Paul L. Tractenberg, New Jersey Dispute Resolution: A Lawyer’s Guide to State and Federal Court Programs", Rutgers Law Review, Vol. 47, No. 2, Winter 1995, Rutgers Law School, Newark, p 965-974.
Recipient of Global Education Award to develop curricular materials to globalize the graduate course, Negotiation Theory and Practice, 1995.
Fellow at the Hewlett Socio-Legal Institute on Dispute Resolution at Ohio State University School of Law, July 1993.
Co-author of Article, "Specialized Knowledge is Key for Paralegals", New Jersey Law Journal, September 12, 1994.
Author of Article, "Outcomes Assessment in Legal Studies" for Outcomes Bulletin, Office of Institutional Assessment, Montclair State, Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 1992-93.
Reviewer of proposed text, Ethics and the Paralegal for Little, Brown and Company, MA., summer, 1991.
Author of Article, "Out of the Fray, Alternate Dispute Resolution: A Review of Current Trends", published in Perspective, a publication of the Legal Assistants Association of New Jersey, Inc., 1990.
Co-author of Book Review of "How to Practice Law with Computers", for Journal of Paralegal Education, a juried publication of the American Association for Paralegal Education, KA., September, 1989.
Reviewer of outline of proposed text, Real Estate Law for West Publishing, MN., Summer, 1989.
Editor of Book, An Introduction to the Use of Computers in Litigation, (J.A. Gurdak, Author), Pearson Publications, TX., 1988.
Editor of Book, Computer-Assisted Research for Legal Personnel, (J. A. Gurdak, Author), Pearson Publications, TX., 1988.
Co-Author of Article, "A Legal Study Skill Development Program", Legal Assistants Update, Volume 5, a juried publication of the American Bar Association, pp. 1-18, 1986.
Author of Article, "How Satisfied Are You With your Job", Legal Assistant Today, TX., Volume 3, No. 3, Spring 1986.
Editor and Contributor to Monograph, Developing a Legal Assistant Program, published by the New Jersey State Bar Association, 1986.
Compiler of book of statutory law, both state and federal, containing all law relating to record retention requirements for federal savings and loan associations, 1984.
Author of Appellate Brief which resulted in a favorable opinion by the State Supreme Court in a published decision on a contractual issue previously unresolved, Ligran, Inc. v. Medlawtel, Inc., 1981.
Professional Contributions
Member, New Jersey State Bar Foundation Law Related Education, Subcommittee on Dispute Resolution. Participated in the development of curricular materials for secondary school teachers in conflict resolution and peer mediation. Provide ongoing training for middle and high school teachers.
Member, New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force on Alternate Dispute Resolution, and Subcommittee on Pilot and Design, 1988-1990.
Advisor, Supreme Court Committee on Complementary Dispute Resolution, Subcommittee on Special Issues, which drafted Court Rule changes to implement the New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force and Committee Recommendations, 1990-1992.
Panelist, Rutgers University, "Ethical Constraints in Mediation", spring 1995.
Presenter, "Teaching Dispute Resolution; an Opportunity for Creativity and Diversified Learning", Northeast Regional Conference of American Association for Paralegal Education, spring 1995.
Supervisor of volunteer graduate student mediators in Montclair Municipal Court, 1996-present.
Participant in Conversation "Charting a Vision for the Future: Neutrality, Justice & Gender Power as Applied to Mediation", Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts, April, 1997.
Participant in first Symposium of Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution, March, 1996.
Panelist, Garden State Alliance Paralegal Convention, "The Role of Non-Attorneys in Mediation", spring 1995.
Presenter, "Alternate Dispute Resolution: Another Facet of Litigation", The Legal Assistants Association of New Jersey, Inc., September 1993.
Presenter, "New Courses in Dispute Resolution", Northeast Regional Conference of American Association for Paralegal Education, April, 1992.
Presenter, "Educating the Public and Litigants", New Jersey Supreme Court Statewide Planning Conference on Complementary Dispute Resolution, October 1991.
Chair, Real Estate Curriculum Committee of the American Association for Paralegal Education, 1991-1992.
Judge, American Bar Association Negotiation Competition, Cardozo Law School/Yeshiva University and Seton Hall University School of Law, 1990, 1992, 1993.
Represented Montclair State College at the Legal Assistants Association of New Jersey's First Annual Conference, 1992.
Arbitrator, Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County Special Civil Part; collaborated with the Hon. Rosemarie Higgins-Cass in the training of arbitrators, 1991.
Member, New Jersey State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Committee, 1988-present.
Member, New Jersey Paralegal Educators Consortium Educators, 1992-1996.
Member, newly formed New Jersey State Bar Association Paralegal/Legal Assistants, 1992-present.
Member, New Jersey State Bar Association Committee on Law Office Management and Subcommittee on Legal Assistants, 1987-1992.
Presenter, "Alternative Dispute Resolution-Mediation and Arbitration: New Opportunities for Growth", New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Convention, May 1991.
Volunteer Mediator, Essex County Young Lawyer's Special Civil Part and Municipal Court Mediation Program, 1977-1990.
Member, American Association for Paralegal Education,1985-present.
Presenter, "Outcomes Assessment", National Conference of American Association for Paralegal Education, New York, October 1991.
Coordinator and Organizer of the Northeast Regional Conference of American Association for Paralegal Education, sponsored by Montclair State College, April 1989.
Member, Essex County Bar Association, and Real Estate Section, 1989-present.
Moderator, "Paralegals in the Law Firm", New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Convention, May 1987.
Speaker and presenter at various career days, student orientations and the Barringer Cluster Program, 1985-present.
Presenter, "Internship and Placement of Paralegals", American Association for Paralegal Education, Northeast Regional Conference, New York, 1987.
Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association, 1991-1996.
Consultant and Reviewer of Publication for the Legal Assistants Association of New Jersey, 1992.
Member, Legal Assistants Association of New Jersey, 1986-present.
Member, Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR), 1990-present. Participated in 1993 Annual Conference in Toronto highlighting multi-culturalism in Dispute Resolution.
Serve on Executive Committee of New Jersey Chapter of SPIDR.
Professional Development: Mediation Training, Office of the Public Advocate, 1978; Family Mediation Training, Program Approved by the Academy of Family Mediators, 1989; Arbitration Training, American Arbitration Association, 1991; Critical Thinking Seminars, Montclair State College, 1989-present.
Committee Memberships
College of Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Curriculum Committee, 1990-present.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences representative to the Senate Experiential Education Committee, 1995-present.
School of Humanities and Social Sciences Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, 1986-1990.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences Separately Budgeted Research Committee, 1988-1995.
All-College Separately Budgeted Research Committee, 1992.
Legal Studies Representative to College of Humanities and Social Sciences Personnel Action Committee, 1990-1991, 1995-1996.
Member, Legal Studies and Paralegal Studies Advisory Boards, 1985-present.
Member, Educational Opportunity Fund Legal Studies Advisory Board, 1985-1995.
Montclair State Alumni Association, Alumni in Law, 1986-present.
Women's Studies Advisory Board, 1985-1990.
Chair, Legal Studies Search Committee, 1989-present.
Community Involvement
First Baptist Church of Montclair; past member of Board of Trustees; serve on real estate committee, participate in informal writers groups; past member of adult choir and director of youth choir; pro bono legal work provided on behalf of indigent clients referred by Pastor.
Montclair-North Essex YWCA; past president; past chairperson of Goals Committee; active participant in a variety of programs; guest lecturer at Divorce Seminar.
Revised March 2004