A Monmouth County lawyer, who has served as a New Jersey State Bar Association trustee and president of Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, will be the next secretary of the state
John E. Keefe Jr., a founder and co-managing partner of Keefe Law Firm, is on the path to the presidency in 2018. Keefe bested trustee Bonnie Blume Goldsamt in a 2,335-to 1,319
Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Now is the time to mend the fences of a vigorous election and recommit our mission of the bar; the
preservation of our system of trial by jury; the work ethic needed to bridge the issues facing our county bar associations; and to the development of the young legal talent in this
Keefe’s practice specializes in negligence and product liability, as well as complex mass tort litigation. He has tried numerous matters to verdict and prosecuted hundreds of cases
on behalf of victims of catastrophic loss, including being appointed as plaintiffs’ liaison counsel in a historic consumer fraud national class action. In addition to serving as a trustee
of the state bar, he is also a former chair of its Civil Trial Bar Section. He has also been a frequent speaker and moderator of educational seminars for the New Jersey Institute for
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Voters cast ballots for candidates seeking two additional leadership positions.
Those results, provided by Votenet Solutions, Inc., which administered the election, are:
Second Vice President:
Nancy Erika Smith – 1,847 votes
Thomas H. Prol – 1,058 votes
Kenneth Vercammen – 821 votes
At-Large Trustee:
Christine A. Amalfe – 1,249 votes
Christina Vassiliou Harvey – 846 votes
Amy Sara Cores – 761 votes
Marla Marinucci – 588 votes
The NJSBA bylaws provide the following when no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast:
NJSBA Bylaws Article IV – Elections
…
10. Where there are more than two individuals competing for a position with more than one vacancy, the nominees with the highest number of votes shall be elected to the vacant
positions, regardless of whether any one nominee receives a majority of votes. Where there are more than two individuals competing for a position with one vacancy, a nominee
must receive a majority of votes to be elected. If, after the first round of balloting, no nominee receives a majority of votes where a majority is required, or there is a tie vote among
nominees for any position, the Election Committee shall cause appropriate ballots to be prepared in accordance with these bylaws for the nominees receiving the two highest
number of votes or the nominees who are in a tie. The ballots shall be transmitted within thirty days following the end of the Annual Meeting and shall be returned so as to be
received at Association headquarters, or such other place as designated by the Election Committee, not later than 20 days following transmission. If, after the second round of
balloting, there is a tie vote for any position, the Board of Trustees shall vote as soon as practicable thereafter to elect one of the nominees who are in a tie to fill the position for
ALL BYLAWS APPROVED
In addition to the candidates, the membership voted on five proposals to change the association’s bylaws. All five were approved by two-thirds of those voting on each question.
The membership approved, by a vote of 2,332 to 1,062, a proposal to include a requirement for association officer and trustee eligibility that stated: To be eligible to serve
as an officer or trustee “a member’s practice of law shall be primarily in the state of New Jersey.”
A proposal was approved, in a 2,940-to-473 vote, to include an amendment requiring members of the Board of Trustees to maintain an active email account and clarify that
the board may act on urgent matters by email under certain conditions.
The members approved, in a 3,026-to-362 vote, a clarification that no member may serve in more than one officer or trustee position at any one time, and that a sitting
trustee elected to an officer position is deemed to have resigned from his or her trustee post at the end of any potential challenge period without opposition, and the
resignation is effective upon the start of service as an officer.
A proposal was approved, in a 2,985-to-406 vote, to clarify that the Board of Trustees has the authority to reorganize sections or divisions that have become inactive.
The membership approved, in a 2,626-to-752 vote, a proposal to include the immediate past president on the Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee.