Associate Professor, Legal Studies. Graduate Director since 2003. 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.
1984 to 1994
Assistant Professor, Legal Studies. 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 Supervisor, 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 & 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.
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 & PROFESSIONAL ACHEIVEMENTS
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 Lawyers 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 CONTRIBUTION
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 & 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 & 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 & 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 MEMBERSHIP
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.
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.