Supreme Court Names Members of Committee to Analyze Duration of Disbarment

The Supreme Court today announced the members of a committee that will analyze whether New Jersey should establish a process allowing disbarred attorneys to apply for reinstatement.

The committee will be chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Virginia A. Long, who chairs the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC). Incoming Camden County College President Lovell Pugh-Bassett will serve as vice chair.

The committee’s 28 members include a wide range of leaders from the legal community – including the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Garden State Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association, the Muslim Lawyers Association, Legal Services of New Jersey, active and retired judges, and attorneys from a number of private law firms – as well as religious leaders, higher education officials, directors from the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union, and top officials from the state Disciplinary Review Board, the Office of Attorney Ethics, the Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, and the ACJC.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court in IMO Wade reaffirmed the longstanding rule for automatic disbarment of attorneys who knowingly misappropriate client or escrow funds. In its decision, the Court called for the formation of a committee to consider whether disbarred attorneys should be given a second chance to practice law and to examine what process and timeframe, if any, should be adopted for readmission.

The full list of committee members is available at njcourts.gov.