Installation News

Innauguration of Donald A. DiGioia, of Weiseman DiGioia, P.A.

On May 21, 2009, the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (ACDL-NJ) held its annual inauguration dinner at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange. More than 300 guests attended that evening as Donald A. DiGioia, of Weiseman DiGioia, P.A. (Mountainside, N.J.), was sworn in as President by the Honorable Kenneth J. Grispin, J.S.C.

Donald A. DiGioia is a 1976 graduate of Fordham University School of Law, and since being admitted to the bar later that year, he has devoted his entire practice to trial work. Mr. DiGioia is one of a very small group of lawyers who is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Criminal and Civil Trial Attorney, and he has held this dual distinction for over twenty years. A Master and Past-President of the Richard J. Hughes American Inn of Court, Mr. DiGioia served as Chairman of the Union County District XII Ethics Committee, and he is currently designated as a Special Ethics Master by New Jersey Supreme Court appointment. A frequent lecturer and co-author of two books on trial advocacy topics, Mr. DiGioia is recognized as an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), and he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America-New Jersey (ATLA-NJ). He has been rated as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New Jersey by Super Lawyers, as well as the American Trial Lawyers Association. Formerly an adjunct professor of criminal trial topics at Seton Hall University School of Law, Mr. DiGioia served on the ACDL-NJ Board of Trustees for several years before being elected as an officer. He is a Life Member of both ACDL-NJ and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

Judge Grispin also swore in the remaining officers: President-Elect William H. Buckman (Moorestown, NJ) Vice-Presidents Leslie Stolbof Sinemus (South Orange, NJ), Timothy Donohue of Arleo, Donohue & Biancamano (West Orange, NJ), Darren Gelber of Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer (Woodbridge, NJ), and Secretary-Treasurer Joseph D. Rotella, (Newark, NJ), as well as thirty members of the Board of Trustees.

Installation News by Leslie Stolbof Sinemus

Inauguration of John C. Whipple, of Arsenault, Whipple, Farmer, Fassett and Azzarello

The Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (ACDL-NJ) held its annual inauguration dinner at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, on May 8, 2008.

President John C. Whipple, of Arsenault, Whipple, Farmer, Fassett and Azzarello (Chatham, NJ), was sworn in by the Honorable Tonianne J. Bongiovanni, U.S.M.J. (a former ACDL-NJ Board of Trustees member). Mr. Whipple is a 1982 graduate of Seton Hall Law School. He was a Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor from 1982 to 1985, when he joined the Federal Public Defender’s Office. In 1988, he become a Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer and went into private practice,. He has since been rated one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers of New Jersey. John Whipple served on the New Jersey Supreme Court District X Ethics committee from 1996 to 2000, and has served as a Member of the Board of Trustees for several years before being elected as an officer. He, along with past-president Blair Zwillman (Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer), is presently a co-chair of the Lawyers Assistance Program with the ACDL-NJ.

Judge Bongiovanni also swore in the remaining officers: President-elect Donald DiGioia of Weissman, Healy and DiGioia (Mountainside, N.J.), Vice Presidents William Buckman (Moorestown, N.J.), Leslie Stolbof Sinemus (South Orange, N.J.), and Timothy Donohue, of Arleo and Donohue, (West Orange, N.J.), and Secretary/Treasurer Darren Gelber of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer (Woodbridge, N.J.), as well as the remaining thirty members of the Board of Trustees.

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