Meet the New Jersey Law Journal’s Young Lawyers Advisory Board

For the past three years, some of the most thought-provoking articles published by the Law Journal have come from our Young Lawyers Advisory Board. This 11-member team shares insights on a wide range of topics, giving our readers a sense of where the legal profession is headed. We have members from big law, boutiques, in-house counsel, the government, and other organizations. Some of them have been out of law school for only a couple of years, while others are young partners in their firms. Their backgrounds and paths to the legal profession are diverse, and their experiences since law school are even more varied. What they all have in common, however, is a desire to give a voice to the next generation of bar leaders. Once a month, they share personal and specific insights on what it means to be a young attorney in New Jersey today. The members add hours to their workdays to write articles, read drafts, send comments, and interact with one another and the public via their twitter account, @YoungLawyersNJL. A few new members have joined the board in recent months, so we wanted to re-introduce the team. We would also be interested in adding a few more members if you know (or if you are) a young lawyer who would be a good fit. [caption id="attachment_11190" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Eliana Baer[/caption] Eliana Baer is a partner in Fox Rothschild’s Princeton office. Her statewide practice focuses on all areas of matrimonial law, including divorce, custody, post-judgment support issues, and appellate practice. Serves on the board of the American Association of Jewish Attorneys. She has been named a Trailblazer in Divorce Law by the National Law Journal, a Rising Star by the Super Lawyers publication from 2014 to 2018, and was most recently named to the New Leaders of the Bar by the New Jersey Law Journal, and to Ten Leaders in the area of divorce law. [caption id="attachment_11191" align="alignright" width="150"]

Megan Knowlton Balne[/caption] Megan Knowlton Balne is an associate with Hyland Levin in Marlton. She concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial litigation and employment matters. Prior to joining Hyland Levin, she clerked for Hon. Jerome B. Simandle, Chief U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey, and for Hon. Ronald E. Bookbinder, Assignment Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court for Burlington County. Megan received her law degree from Rutgers School of Law-Camden, where she was editor-in-chief of the Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, served as a legal research and writing teaching assistant, and was an Academic Success Fellow. [caption id="attachment_11192" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Michael L. Collins[/caption] Michael L. Collins is an associate in Archer & Greiner’s Red Bank office, practicing in the firm's State and Local Law and Government Relations practice group. Prior to joining the firm, Michael was Assistant Counsel to Governor Chris Christie, representing the administration before New Jersey’s independent state and bi-state authorities, boards, and commissions. Before serving in Trenton, Michael clerked in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division for Hon. Carmen Messano, P.J.A.D. Michael was appointed last year by Gov. Christie as a member of the New Jersey School Ethics Commission, for a term expiring in 2020. Christopher S. Del Bove is an associate with Callahan & Fusco in Roseland. His practice is focused primarily on insurance defense litigation in the areas of personal injury, premises liability, casualty litigation, transportation, commercial, and other general liability issues. He also handles guardianships of alleged incapacitated persons. Prior to joining Callahan & Fosco, Chris was an associate with a northeast regional law firm where he litigated and investigated health care and insurance fraud matters. [caption id="attachment_11193" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Christina Vassiliou Harvey[/caption] Christina Vassiliou Harvey is a partner with Lomurro, Munson, Comer, Brown & Schottland in Freehold. She handles plaintiff’s personal injury, disability, and attorney ethics matters. Christina practices in the federal and state courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as before administrative agencies. She is the past chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, and, among other honors, she was named a New Leader of the Bar by the New Jersey Law Journal in 2015. [caption id="attachment_11199" align="alignright" width="150"]

Emily Kelchen[/caption] Emily Kelchen is a government affairs professional, who has experience working in and with all three branches of government. She is also a freelance marketing consultant and ghost blogger. Emily is active in both the New Jersey and Wisconsin state bar associations. This past year she served as the co-chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s In-House Counsel Special Committee and editor of the New Jersey Young Lawyer Division’s newsletter. She is also on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s communications committee and was elected to the board of its Nonresident Lawyers Division. [caption id="attachment_11228" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Meghan T. Meade[/caption] Meghan T. Meade is an associate in the Newark office of K&L Gates. She represents management in employment-related litigation, including defense against federal and state law claims of employment discrimination, retaliation and whistleblowing, wage and hour disputes, employment contracts, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and non-competition and nondisclosure agreements. She practices before state and federal courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other administrative agencies. [caption id="attachment_11202" align="alignright" width="150"]

Kevin R. Miller[/caption] Kevin R. Miller, is an associate at Jackson Lewis, where his practice is focused on representing management in employment-related litigation. Specifically, he defends companies and supervisors in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, tort and contract, and wage-and-hour cases before state and federal courts, arbitral tribunals, and administrative agencies. He also counsels clients on unfair competition issues, including the use and enforceability of non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements. He earned his J.D. from Rutgers Law School in 2014 and his B.A. from Rutgers University in 2010. [caption id="attachment_11205" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Andrew L. Van Houter[/caption] Andrew L. Van Houter is an associate in the Florham Park office of Drinker Biddle & Reath. Andrew has a nationwide complex commercial litigation and consumer class action practice. Andrew’s clients include Fortune 100 companies, hedge funds and family-owned businesses in a range of matters from regulatory investigations to shareholder disputes and valuations, as well as class actions and FINRA arbitrations. Prior to joining Drinker, Andrew was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell. Andrew also serves on the Advisory Board of the American Association of Jewish Attorneys and was recently named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. [caption id="attachment_11207" align="alignright" width="150"]

Maureen Wagner[/caption] Maureen Wagner is a public policy professional with experience working at a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., as a legal specialist at a state regulatory agency, and most recently as deputy chief of staff to the New Jersey’s First Lieutenant Governor. Passionately conservative, Maureen’s career has focused on promoting a limited government and free market. A Middlesex County native, Maureen completed her B.S. in marine biology and ecology and natural resources (double major) at Rutgers, where she was a four-year member of the varsity women’s crew team. [caption id="attachment_11208" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Brett Yore[/caption] Brett Yore is an assistant prosecutor in the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. He is assigned to a trial unit and has handled a range of crimes from theft to murder. He has argued successfully in front of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Brett is a trustee for both the Cape May and Atlantic County Bar Associations. He is a fellow of the NJ State Bar Association’s Leadership Academy, and has been coordinating the NJ State Bar Foundation’s Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition in Cape May County for the last six years. The NJLJ Young Lawyers Advisory Board is a diverse group of young attorneys from around the state. Follow them on Twitter, @YoungLawyersNJL.