Vincent J. Apruzzese Annual Mock Trial Competition
Sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation in cooperation with the Somerset County Bar Foundation, the Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition is held annually at the Somerset County Courthouse. Local high school students become attorneys, witnesses and jurors in the county-wide Mock Trial Competition which is begun in January. Each year, students prepare for the case competition beginning in mid-fall. Each year the case is different. Winners from the Somerset County competition move on to regional semi-finals and if successful, on to the State finals which are held in March-April. The winner from the State Finals proceeds to the National Mock Trial Championship competition.
The Goals of the competition are several-fold:
Mount Saint Mary Academy students captured the 2012-13 Somerset County Mock Trial Competition. NJ Supreme Court Justice Helen E. Hoens and the Hon. Robert B. Reed, JSC presided over the final trial competition on January 30, 2013.
For more information, contact the Somerset County Bar Foundation (tel: 908-685-2323) or the New Jersey State Bar Foundation (732-249-5000 or visit its website at www.njsbf.org).
Law Day
The Somerset County Bar Foundation, in cooperation with the New Jersey State Bar Foundation hosts an annual Law Day / Court Night program on or about May 1st. This is a law-related education progam open to the public and is funded in part by the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey.
Recent programs have included:
For more information contact the Somerset County Bar Foundation at 908-685-2323.
The Raymond R. Trombadore, Esq. Scholarship Award
In recognition of his many years of service, the Somerset County Bar Foundation named a Scholarship Award in honor of Raymond R. Trombadore, Esq. in 2004. Mr. Trombadore was president of the Somerset County Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, on the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, as well as a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates.
Perhaps his greatest contribution was his lifelong accomplishments in the field of professional responsibility since the beginning of his career. He served as member and chair of the McKay Commission, the ABA Commission on Evaluation of Disciplinary Enforcement. A report issued during his tenure as chair, serves as the model of lawyer discipline in this country. As chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Discipline, he carried on the work of implementing in every state a lawyer regulatory system that is fair, efficient and effective. He tirelessly advocated lawyer regulation that inspires public confidence and assists lawyers under the auspices of an independent judiciary.
The Somerset County Bar Foundation awards scholarships annually to local law school students at one of New Jersey’s three law schools, Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, in Newark and Seton Hall University School of Law. Consideration is given to financial hardship, academic accomplishments and local community involvement. Click here for the Scholarship Application.
Jordan Hollander, a 3L at Rutgers University Law Schoolin Camden was the 2013 recipient of the Raymond R. Tromadore Scholarship award at a fall dinner. Presenting the award was SCBF Chair Francine A. Gargano, Esq.
For more information regarding the Scholarship Program, please contact the Somerset County Bar Foundation at 908-685-2323 or cawinder@somersetbar.com.
SCBF Community AwardsEach year, the Somerset County Bar Foundation selects a worthy local non-profit organization to receive the Community Award. Generally, this award is given out to an organization that has some ties to the justice system. Previous recipients have included:
The 2012 Community Award was given to Central Jersey Housing Resource Center. CJHRC President Michael Armstrong and Director Julia Bey Ahmet, receive the award from SCBF Chair Francine A. Gargano.