to be the honoree at the annual Bankruptcy Law Section dinner – I too have said to myself and to the two very dedicated IWRIC Board members who called me with the news: “why am I being honored by IWIRC”?
Of course, it is always an honor to be recognized. So when I couldn’t dissuade the dedicated IWRIC Board members who do such a wonderful job for this very powerful women’s organization (thank you Tara and Nicole), I started to think about what I could say tonight and I want to share with you some very fond memories I have about women in the insolvency practice in New Jersey.
I have to take you back to October 1979, when the Bankruptcy Code came into effect and Judge Gambardella, Fran Gambardella and I were lucky to be among the inaugural class of Bankruptcy Court clerks hired in NJ (I, for Judge DeVito, Judge Gambardella for Judge Commisa and Fran for Judge Hill). At that time, it was no surprise that the bankruptcy practice in NJ (and elsewhere) was dominated by male attorneys. In fact, the only female who occasionally appeared in Bankruptcy Court was Frances Margolis, who is well known to many as a pioneer among women lawyers in NJ.
Fast forward to March, 1985 when the Camden Bankruptcy Judgeship held by Judge Lipkin became available. I was a senior associate at Gibbons (then known as CDDGV) and Judge Gambardella was working for UST Hugh Leonard as his first staff attorney. Unbeknownst to us, Judge Commisa was on a mission to encourage and assist his former first law clerk to seek and obtain the appointment as the first female bankruptcy judge in the District of NJ.
This is leading up to a point which is relevant about IWIRC, but I must pause to say that there are noteworthy male mentors that I have alluded to. They include former Judges Commisa, DeVito and Hill, and UST Hugh Leonard. Another for me was Frank Vecchione, my mentor of 37 years, to whom I was introduced by Judge DeVito, and who hired me at the conclusion of my clerkship. Without getting into some recent events that are a constant distraction, I would like to acknowledge the support of these strong men who were among the pioneers of male mentors who used their positions of power to promote and support women in our profession.
Back to March of 1985 when Judge Commisa was hard at work in assisting our first female bankruptcy judge to ascend to the bench. Shortly after a conversation I had with him, during which he encouraged me to start a female lawyers group, I learned that he had had the same conversation with several other female lawyers – and we were all given the same mission. Following an initial meeting, an organization known as New Jersey Women in Federal Practice was formed – and although I know this from memory, this is actually a quote from an internal memo I sent to women in my firm on March 29, 1985. It reads: “Our primary goal was to endorse Rosemary Gambardella for the position as Bankruptcy Judge and although our endorsement was untimely, Rosemary did get the appointment and we are all happy for that.” Actually, my recollection is that we collaborated on a wonderful letter of support that I signed as WFPNJ President and mailed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. But we soon learned of Judge Gambardella’s appointment and it therefore appears that the letter was likely received after the Court had made the wise selection.
By the way, in addition to me, the initial officers of WFPNJ included Dona Bass,