Legal Services of Northwest Jersey
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Legal Services of Northwest Jersey
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Legal Services of Northwest Jersey Board Members
LSNWJ is grateful to its volunteer Board Members
Erin Buchalter
Joined the Board: 2018Appointed by: SAFE in HunterdonSecretary 2022Erin is a single mother of two. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Ramapo College of New Jersey. She majored in Cultural Studies and minored in Philosophy with a concentration in Ethics. She is the Executive Assistant to the CEO of the nonprofit organization Life Vest Inside, whose mission is to inspire, empower and educate people of all backgrounds to lead a life of kindness. Currently, Erin works with companies and organizations to help them manage their social media accounts. She enjoys helping organizations to increase their overall potential by taking advantage of the current social media platforms available. She also has professional experience in crisis management and event planning. Some of her interests include reading and geocaching.
Patricia Cistarro, Esq.
Joined the Board: 2021Appointed by: Morris County Bar AssociationPatrick T. Collins, Esq.
Joined the Board: 2003,Appointed by: Somerset County Bar AssociationOffices Held: President (2014); Vice President: (2013, 2018-2021) & Executive Committee (2015)Pat is a member of the firm Norris McLaughlin, serving as Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group. He practices labor, employment, and personnel law on behalf of employers and management personnel. He has experience in all areas of employment-related litigation in both federal and state courts. He has appeared before state human rights agencies, as well as the EEOC, the NLRB, and various wage and hour agencies. Pat graduated from Glassboro State College and Seton Hall Law School. He clerked for the Honorable William T. McElroy in the Appellate Division, Superior Court of New Jersey. Pat is a former member of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, District XIII Ethics Committee, and the Sidney Reitman Employment Law Inn of Court. Pat has been on the Board of LSNWJ and Somerset-Sussex Legal Services for over 20 years. In 1999 he received the Legal Services of New Jersey Equal Justice Medal and Outstanding Board Service Award. Pat has been married A LONG TIME and he and is wife have one daughter.
Jane A. Herchenroder, Esq.
Joined the Board: 2003Appointed by: Somerset County Bar AssociationOffices Held: Treasurer (2015); Secretary (2005-2012, 2016-2017) Executive Committee, At Large Member (2003-04)Jane is a solo practitioner with an emphasis in residential real estate closings, including affordable housing purchases and sales, preparation of wills, living wills, medical and financial power of attorney forms, family law mediation, and family law appeals. She has been an attorney since 1984, initially starting as an attorney with the former Hunterdon County Legal Services, then as a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at the Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice, before opening her own practice in 1995. She is currently an Adjunct Professor, teaching paralegals at Raritan Valley Community College. She was initially appointed to our Board of Trustees by the Hunterdon County Bar Association and presently by the Somerset County Bar Association. She attended Rutgers-New Brunswick as an undergraduate, then the New York University Paralegal Studies Program, and graduated from Seton Hall Law School. Her hobbies include T'ai Chi Chih, walking, reading, attending rock and folk concerts, and vacationing with her 6 nieces and nephews, and a great-niece and grand-nephew.
Mark Hontz, Esq.
Joined the Board: 2019Appointed by: Sussex County Bar AssociationTreasurer 2022Verne Johnson
Joined Board: 2022Appointed by: Raritan Valley Community CollegeMary Ellen Koscs-Fleming, Esq.
Joined the Board: 2008,Appointed by: the Hunterdon County Bar AssociationOffices Held: President (2015, 2022); Vice President (2014); Secretary (2013) Treasurer(2020-Present); Executive Committee (2016-17, 2018-2019)Mary Ellen has been a volunteer with LSNWJ’s Tenancy Project since 1996 and a Board member since 2008. She started volunteering with the Tenancy Project as part of the Merck Legal Department’s Pro Bono Program. She worked at Merck from 1990 to 2004, first as an employee benefits attorney, and for ten years, as Managing Counsel, Employee Benefits, and Executive Compensation. After she left Merck, she continued to volunteer with LSNWJ and was appointed to the Board by the Hunterdon County Bar Association. Mary Ellen has been recognized for her pro bono service by Merck, Legal Services of New Jersey, the Legal Services Corporation, and the NJ State Bar Association. She has a BS in Special Education from Boston University and a JD from New York University Law School. Mary Ellen has also been a volunteer with Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity for 15 years, serving in several volunteer positions and most recently as chair of the Homeowner Selection Committee. She enjoys reading, gardening, and playing tennis.
Kevin Ku, Esq.
Joined Board: 2022Appointed by: Morris County Bar AssociationSamantha LeValley
Joined the Board: 2021Appointed by: Project Self-SufficiencyDiane S. Margolin, Esq.
Joined the Board: 2003-2005; 2009,Appointed by: Warren County Bar AssociationOffices Held: President (2003-2004, 2018-2021); Vice President (2016-2017, 2022) Secretary (2015), Executive Committee (2005)Diane is of counsel at Margolin & Neuner, a small, family-focused litigation and mediation firm on the border of Morris and Warren Counties. She was admitted to the bar in 1986. After four years of working at Bergen County Legal Services and the Hackensack law firm of Galantucci & Patuto, Esqs., Diane moved to Warren County to start her own practice. For a short time, she was a part-time employee at Warren County Legal Services and thereafter a Board member. A self-proclaimed legal services lifer, she was the first president of the Board of LSNWJ. Diane and her family are honored that so many came together to raise funds to renovate LSNWJ’s Belvidere office renamed in memory of her husband, Michael Weiner.
Jully Myers
Joined Board: 2022Appointed by: Good News Home for WomenJohn C. Pierce, Esq.
Joined Board: 2021Appointed by: Warren County Bar AssociationSharon O. Small, Esq.
Joined Board: 2022Appointed by: Garden State Bar AssociationSharon O. Small is Director, Pharma Counsel, Market Access at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation where she counsels clients on regulatory and compliance issues. Prior to joining Novartis, Sharon served as Counsel in the Life Science Practices Group at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C., in Morristown, NJ where she counselled pharmaceutical companies on Market Access and Compliance matters. She also worked as in-house counsel at Celgene (seconded) and Merck providing legal support on R&D and Commercial transactions. Sharon began volunteering with Legal Services of North West Jersey (LSNWJ) in the Tenancy Project as part of the Merck Legal Department’s Pro Bono Program in 2008. Committed to pro bono service, she continued to volunteer with LSNWJ after she left Merck and was recently appointed to the Board by the Garden State Bar Association. Sharon has also been a volunteer with the Jersey Battered Women's Shelter Program in Morris County and has served on the New Jersey State Bar Association's Pro Bono Committee.
Sharon earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.S. in Business Management, magna cum laude, from Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ. Sharon also earned a Certificate in Health Care Compliance from Seton Hall University Law School. She has two adult children and enjoys reading, sports and travel.
Janet Walton
Joined the Board: 2009Appointed by: Franklin Township LibraryLeonard M. Friedman (Board Advisor)
Advisor since: 2008Len Friedman is a volunteer advisor to the Board. He is a CPA, and partner with Rosenberg Rich Baker Berman & Company, PA in Bridgewater. He joined the firm in 1987 and is currently head of valuation services. He has over 28 years of public accounting experience, with extensive experience in business valuations, forensic accounting, and hedge fund and SEC client valuation accounting. Len received his BS from Fairleigh Dickinson University and holds two distinguished appraisal and valuation designations, Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) from the Institute of Business Appraisers. He is a member of the NJH Society of CPAs, the AICPA, and the IBA.
© Legal Services of Northwest Jersey, 2021