Local attorney wins prestigious award

SPARTA — The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) has selected NJSBA Immediate Past President Thomas H. Prol, a partner at Laddey, Clark & Ryan, LLP, to receive the prestigious 2018 Mel Narol Award.
The honor was presented at the NJSBA Annual Meeting and Convention at the Borgata Hotel and Spa in Atlantic City on May 16.
Commemorating Mel Narol’s commitment to the work and support of the Task Force on Diversity and expanding access to justice for all, the Award is bestowed on an attorney who has stood out in his or her leadership and advocacy by spearheading inclusion and making strides for women and minority lawyers.
Also during the NJSBA Meeting and Convention, Prol received an Amicus Curiae Award from the Bar Association in recognition of his efforts in assisting with the Bar’s amicus curiae participation in the matter of In the Matter of a Complaint Filed by the New Jersey Association of Counties Challenging Provisions of the Criminal Justice Reform Act as an Unfunded Mandate.
Prol, the first openly gay president of the NJSBA and a member of the governing body of the American Bar Association, is highly regarded for his visible efforts and activism in emphasizing access to justice and opportunities, as well as diversity and inclusion, during his tenure as state bar president. Prol advanced an ambitious agenda to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, a proposal that languished for several decades since almost passing in the 1970’s.
The ERA was originally drafted by Alice Paul in the 1920’s, but Ms. Paul passed away before seeing her dream of Constitutional equality between the sexes realized. Inspired by her work and activism, Prol assembled a groundbreaking retrospective of Paul’s life and work at her home, Paulsdale, to reflect on her life’s work and inspire others to take up her mantel and get the ERA passed. Prol concentrated his leadership and advocacy at the helm of the state bar on issues of access to justice, women’s and minority equality as well as LGBT rights.
Prol makes his professional home at Laddey, Clark & Ryan, where he practices environmental and real property law, civil rights, business and estate litigation and public entity representation.