Four Lawyers Join Board at VLJ
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice’s Board of Trustees has announced the addition of four accomplished lawyers who will help shape the direction of the organization, which marks its 15th anniversary this year.
The new trustees are Angela M. Coxe, Senior Patent Counsel, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Berkeley Heights; Donald J. Cussen, Senior Vice President/Financial Adviser, RBC Wealth Management, Florham Park; Matthew Lepore, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, BASF Corp., Florham Park; and Tricia B. O’Reilly, Partner, Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP, Newark.
“These new trustees bring deep expertise in their fields, a wealth of knowledge and a strong commitment to our mission: providing legal assistance to economically disadvantaged adults, children and families in civil cases across New Jersey,” said Karen Sacks, VLJ’s executive director.
“We are so fortunate have these new trustees help guide us toward our goal of securing secure fair and equal treatment in the legal system for so many low-income families in New Jersey with critical and unmet legal needs,” Sacks added.
“Our four new trustees are an extension of our partnerships with New Jersey’s legal and corporate community that make our goals reachable,” she said.
Coxe oversees diverse portfolios of patents associated with monetization opportunities and initiatives, manages patent sales and licensing projects, and crafts strategies for maintaining and/or prosecuting assets. She also oversees in-house and outside counsel in prosecution of patent applications. Previously, she was a patent attorney with Hoffmann & Baron, LLP, in Parsippany.
She earned her LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University Law School, her J.D. from Widener University School of Law (now Widener University Commonwealth Law School) and her A.B. from Lafayette College.
Cussen brings both a legal and financial background to the board. His financial areas of expertise include diversified portfolio management, which includes equities, fixed income, commodities and alternative investments. Previously, he was a financial consultant with Morgan Stanley, and before that an associate with the law of Lum Drasco and Positan in Roseland.
He graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law and Hobart College.
Lepore serves as the senior legal, compliance and government affairs officer for BASF in North America, and is a member of the company’s North American Executive Committee. Previously, he was Corporate Secretary & Chief Governance Counsel for Pfizer, Inc., and before that a partner with DLA Piper US LLP in Washington D.C., and a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Lepore received his J.D. from Mercer University and his B.S. from James Madison University.
O’Reilly is a founding partner and litigator with Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga, LLP. She focuses on commercial litigation, employment law and internal investigations. She also has a depth of experience in representing institutions of higher education across a broad range of issues, including investigating Title IX complaints and defending against Title IX claims. Previously she was a partner with Connell Foley in Newark.
She earned her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.