Courts Name County Citizens To Attorney Ethics Committees

TRENTON — Five Cape May County residents have been named to two volunteer committees associated with the state Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE).
The Office of Attorney Ethics acts as the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the state Supreme Court in discharging the Court’s constitutional responsibility to supervise and discipline New Jersey attorneys.
On Oct. 16, OAE Director David E. Johnson Jr. announced the appointment of 100 attorneys and other citizens to the state’s 18 District Ethics Committees. These committees investigate and prosecute ethics cases involving state attorneys.
Two county volunteers, Andrew D. Catanese, of Court House, and Richard A. Russell, of Ocean City, were appointed to four-year terms on the Attorney Ethics Committee for District I, which includes Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties.
Catanese and Russell joined four other volunteers from this county: James B. Arsenault Jr., of Court House; Epiphany J. McGuigan, of Ocean City; Jane M. Hoy, of Stone Harbor; and Thomas Gill, of Ocean City.
“We are grateful that so many committed and involved citizens have chosen to devote themselves to this important work,” Johnson stated in a press release. “We all benefit from their efforts to uphold and ensure the integrity of the legal profession in New Jersey.”
Statewide, there are 548 volunteers serving on the district committees, according to the release.
On Oct. 20, Johnson also announced 62 new members to the OAE’s 17 district fee arbitration committees. Members of these committees resolve fee disputes between consumers and their attorneys, according to a release.
Three individuals from this county – William G. Cottman Sr., of Rio Grande; Jon Christopher Gibson, of Wildwood; and Eileen McGuire, of Court House – were named to four-year terms on the District I committee.
Other county volunteers on the committee included Dorothy F. McCrosson and Daniel J. Young, of Ocean City; and James E. Wren, of Stone Harbor.
“The fee arbitration system serves three important purposes,” Johnson said.
“First, it provides attorneys and their clients a fair and affordable system for resolving fee disputes. Second, it assures the public that the legal community is working on their behalf to protect them from unfair attorney fees. Finally, the committees provide the public a unique opportunity to observe and contribute to our attorney ethics system.”
Currently 304 volunteers serve on the state’s 17 committees. In 2007, clients filed 1,003 new fee disputes statewide. The committees resolved 1,038 disputes involving almost $11.3 million in total billings, according to a release.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com