njsbf new jersey state bar foundation logo a 501c3 non profit organization

Informed Citizens

are Better Citizens

CONTACT
Awards Celebration
Tuesday, Sept. 22
5:30 – 8 p.m.
Park Chateau, East Brunswick

Medal of Honor Award

The New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s Medal of Honor Award is given annually to lawyers and law-related professionals, as well as lay people, who best exemplify either or both of the following criteria:

  • significant contribution to the advancement or improvement of the justice system
  • the betterment of the legal profession in New Jersey
  • professional excellence as demonstrated by accomplishments in the law
  • or service to the profession and the community during their careers
Event Tickets, Sponorships and Ads

About the 2026 Medal of Honor Award Recipients

“It is an absolute pleasure to recognize two people whose dedication to the rule of law is unsurpassed,” said NJSBF President Ralph Lamparello. “Judge Esther Salas and Gerald Baker exemplify professional excellence and commitment to the public and legal community. The Foundation is honored to recognize their contributions which have served the legal profession well and made a difference for the citizens of New Jersey. I am particularly proud that they both have Hudson County roots.”
Hon. Esther Salas U.S.D.J.

I am both honored and, frankly, humbled, to have been selected as a 2026 recipient of the NJSBA’s Medal of Honor. Seeing the list of previous recipients, and knowing their incredible accomplishments and contributions to the practice of law and to the bar and bench in New Jersey (and beyond), I will do all that I can to earn my place among them. The timing of the award is particularly meaningful to me, as it coincides with the tireless efforts that so many members of the bench, bar, and community-at-large have made to defend the rule of law and protect our democracy.  It is my sincere hope that we will continue to work together to ensure that judges and their families are protected against violence and acts of intimidation, which only serve to weaken the constitutional framework of this country. We must continue to highlight these important issues confronting our democracy in order to ensure the full and fair administration of justice.

U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas has long been a trailblazer for women and Latinx lawyers. She made history as the first Latina to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge and a Federal District Judge for New Jersey.
 
Receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers College in 1991, she earned a doctorate of jurisprudence from the School of Law at Rutgers University–Newark and participated in its Minority Student Program.
 
Her career in the profession has encompassed a wide range of public and private service. Salas began her career as a law clerk for state Superior Court Judge Eugene J. Codey Jr. in Essex County. From 1995 to 1997, Salas worked for Garces & Grabler, P.C., where she practiced criminal matters in superior and municipal courts. From 1997 to 2006, she served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Newark, representing indigent clients in federal criminal cases. She was elected president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey in 2001 and served on the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Committee for Policy Development, the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns, and the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Women in the Courts.
 
In 2006, she was appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey, the first Latina to occupy that position. President Barack Obama nominated her to the U.S. District Court, to which she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2011—another first as a Latina.
 
In response to an attack on her family by a disgruntled litigant, she became a prominent advocate for judicial security, driving state and national efforts for the passage of the bi-partisan Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, which restricts the disclosure of personal information of federal judges and their families and was named for her son.

 

 

Gerald H. Baker Esq.

The “Rule of Law” is the engine that propels—and protects—our Democracy. If the “Rule of Law” is the engine, then we, the lawyers, are the engineers.

The New Jersey State Bar Association is the home for more than 16,000 lawyers. It serves as the “Voice of the Bar” and insures that the “Rule of Law” is followed by all branches of government: The Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislative.

I have been a member of the NJSBA for over 50 years. I was pleased to have served on the Board of Trustees, represented the Association as amicus curiae before the New Jersey Supreme Court and lectured frequently for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on Civil Trial Practice.

I am honored to receive the 2026 Medal of Honor from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and to be added to the long list judges and lawyers who have previously been recognized for their professional excellence and service to the legal community. I share this award with all of the members of the NJSBA who strive to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. 

Gerald H. Baker is a pillar of the personal injury bar in New Jersey and New Jersey’s foremost expert on automobile insurance. He has argued many cases as amicus curiae on behalf of ATLA-NJ and the New Jersey State Bar Association. He has deep roots in fighting for the legal rights of workers and victims of accidents. He is son of the prominent, street-smart Hoboken attorney, Nathan Baker, who opened his office in 1921 to represent immigrants from Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia and Poland. Nathan Baker specialized in representing longshoremen and seamen and built a reputation as one of the nation’s leading admiralty lawyers.

By 1982, Baker had succeeded his father as managing partner of the firm. Over the years, his cases have included groundbreaking and high- profile personal injury claims. He has represented the families of TWA Flight 800, Korean Airlines Flight 007 and EgyptAir Flight 990. These cases have led to seven-figure settlements and bolstered Baker‘s reputation as one of the nation’s leaders of personal injury law.

In late 2009 Baker’s firm merged with Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins, P.C., giving Javerbaum’s firm an immediate and strong presence in Hudson County. Baker’s Hoboken-based practice continues to focus on personal-injury law, and each year it handles scores of cases, including aviation, automobile, railroad, products liability, medical malpractice and maritime law.

His colleagues have expressed their appreciation for his service to the bar. Baker served on the New Jersey State Bar Association Boad of Trustees from 1988 through 1922. He is a frequent lecturer for the New Jersey Institute of Legal Education, the New Jersey State Bar Association and the New Jersey Association for Justice on automobile insurance and premises liability. He is the author of an annual supplement for the New Jersey Law Journal on “Automobile Injury, A Look at No Fault.” His ability to read, analyze and comment on the law helps by teaching it so others can help their clients.

Past Medal of Honor Recipients

1988—Vincent J. Apruzzese, Esq.
1988—Matthias D. Dileo, Esq.
1989—Hon. Richard J. Hughes
1990—Hon. Stanley S. Brotman
1991—Daniel L. Golden, Esq.
1991—Joseph M. Nolan, Esq.
1992—Fred W. Friendly
1992—Melville D. Miller Jr., Esq.
1993—Hon. John F. Gerry
1993—James O’Brien
1994—Dean Ronald J. Riccio
1994—Miriam L. Murphy
1995—Hon. John J. Gibbons
1995—Lois A. Winnberg
1996—Hon. Samuel G. DeSimone
1996—Paulette Brown, Esq.
1997—Murray L. Cole, Esq.
1997—Walter N. Read, Esq.
1998—James Youngelson, Esq.
1998—Alan I. Gould, Esq.
1999—Hon. Joseph L. Rodriguez
1999—Thomas F. Campion, Esq.
2000—Hon. Marilyn Loftus
2000—James McCloskey
2001—Hon. Marie Garibaldi
2001—Raymond R. Trombadore, Esq.
2002—Raymond A. Brown, Esq.
2002—Joseph H. Kenney, Esq.
2002—Nancy Erika Smith, Esq.*
2002—Raymond A. Noble, Esq.*
2003—Justice James H. Coleman Jr.
2003—Saul A. Wolfe, Esq.
2004—Hon. Sylvia Pressler
2004—William John Kane, Esq.
2005—Hon. Anne E. Thompson
2005—Joel A. Leyner, Esq.
2006—Hon. Martin L. Haines
2006—Professor Paula A. Franzese
2007—Hon. Daniel J. O’Hern
2007—Thomas R. Curtin, Esq.
2008—Hon. William A. Dreier
2008—Hon. Stewart G. Pollack
2009—William S. Greenberg, Esq.
2009—David E. Johnson Jr., Esq.
2010—Hon. James R. Zazzali
2010—Hon. Renee J. Weeks
2011—Hon. L. Anthony Gibson
2011—Cynthia M. Jacob, Esq.
2012—Hon. John E. Wallace Jr.
2012—David H. Dugan III, Esq.
2013—Richard J. Badolato, Esq.
2013—Michael R. Griffinger, Esq.
2014—Hon. Helen E. Hoens
2014—Raymond S. Londa, Esq.
2015—Hon. Edwin H. Stern
2015—Hon. Lawrence M. Lawson
2016—Hon. Peter G. Verniero
2016—Wayne J. Positan
2017—Hon. Marie White Bell
2017—Joseph P. LaSala, Esq
2018—Hon. Linda R. Feinberg, AJSC (Ret.)
2018—Justin P. Walder, Esq.
2019—Ralph J. Lamparello, Esq.
2019—Shirley Berger Whitenack, Esq.
2020—Susan A. Feeney, Esq.
2020—Hon. John E. Keefe Sr. (Ret.)
2021—Lynn Fontaine Newsome, Esq.
2022—Raymond M. Brown, Esq.
2022—Hon. Jaynee LaVecchia (Ret.)
2023—Justice Barry T. Albin (Ret.)
2023—Lawrence S. Lustberg, Esq.
2024—Peter F. Bariso, Jr. AJSC (Ret.)
2024—Karol Corbin Walker, Esq.
2025—Domenick Carmagnola, Esq.
2025—Hon. Lee A. Solomon (Ret.)
*In recognition of the generous contributions of the legal community on behalf of the victims of 9/11.