CAMDEN —Three outstanding graduates from Rutgers Law School will be honored for their distinct contributions to the legal profession, remarkable service to the community, and achievements in the legal community since graduating from law school, during the sixth annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, the Rutgers Law–Camden Alumni Association will present the 2015 Arthur E. Armitage Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award to Donald Clark, Jr., a 1979 alumnus, who serves as the general counsel for the United Church of Christ, a Protestant denomination of over one million members. Grace Bertone, a 1994 alumna and managing partner of Hasbrouck Heights law firm Bertone Piccini LL.P., will receive the Honorable Joseph Nardi Jr. Distinguished Service Award. Assemblyman Adam Taliaferro, who represents the Third Legislative District in Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland Counties, is the 2014 recipient of the Recent Graduate Award.
According to Rutgers Law School Acting Co-Dean John Oberdiek, the annual alumni event is a celebrated tradition that honors outstanding graduates and recognizes the overall efforts of a deeply committed and valued organization. “A major strength of Rutgers Law School is our well accomplished and fiercely loyal alumni community” he notes. “To the credit of our Alumni Association, our graduates remain connected to the law school through various compelling programs and initiatives, and our current students benefit from their willingness to share insights on navigating the legal profession.”
For nearly three decades, the Arthur E. Armitage Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award has recognized Rutgers Law School’s most accomplished graduates, including governors, attorney generals of New Jersey, noted civil and criminal trial attorneys, and general counsels to Fortune 500 companies. Established in 1983, the alumni award is a memorial to Armitage Sr., who, with a group of interested citizens, founded both the South Jersey Law School in 1926 and its companion College of South Jersey in 1927. In 1950, the Camden campus became affiliated with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. In July 2015, Rutgers’ law schools in Camden and Newark merged to become Rutgers Law School, the largest public law school in the Northeast.
After serving as a litigation partner in two of Chicago’s largest law firms (Isham, Lincoln & Beale and McDermott, Will and Emery), Clark managed his own litigation boutique (Clark & DeGrand) for nearly a decade. Since 2003, he has been serving as the primary legal counsel for the United Church of Christ, a faith comprised of approximately 5,200 churches across the nation, and regularly appearing in courts throughout the country.
Commemorating the life and accomplishments of the Honorable Joseph M. Nardi Jr., a retired Superior Court judge, former Camden mayor, and 1956 Rutgers Law alumnus, the Nardi Distinguished Service Award was established in 2002 to recognize exceptional service to the law school and larger community. This year’s honoree is Grace C. Bertone Esq., a 1984 Rutgers Law alumna. Bertone is the managing partner of Bertone Piccini, where she focuses on estate planning and administration, real estate law, land use and zoning, foreclosure litigation, and general corporate and business counseling. In addition to serving on the Rutgers Law–Camden Alumni Association board, she is a longtime board member of the Resource Center for Women and a member of the Facilities Committee of the Board at Winston School.
Established in 2010, the Recent Graduate Award honors New Jersey Assemblyman Adam Taliaferro as this year’s recipient. Taliaferro represents the Third Legislative District in Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland Counties. He established the Adam Taliaferro Foundation to provide emotional, financial, and educational support to student-athletes who suffer catastrophic head or spinal injuries. As a first-year student at Penn State University, Taliaferro suffered a spinal-cord injury during a football game. He was told that he had a small chance of ever walking again, but was able to overcome his paralysis and walked after four months.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration will be held at the Tavistock Country Club, located at 100 Tavistock Lane in Haddonfield.
Tickets are $80, which includes dinner. Proceeds from this event fund the alumni association’s scholarships. To register, visit http://ralumni.com/DAAC2015.