Area attorney presents for Bar Association

Thomas H. Prol, past president of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and a partner at Laddey, Clark & Ryan who specializes in environmental and real property law, presented several programs in May.
He presented at a legal education program entitled “A Renewed Focus on Environmental Justice in New Jersey: A Look at Environmental Justice, NJDEP Priorities & the Constitution.”
Prol joined New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Deputy Commissioner Deborah Mans, and NJDEP Chief of Staff Shawn LaTourette in exploring the public’s environmental rights, including discussion of lessons learned from the experiences locally and in other states, as well as the intersection of these with Environmental Justice concerns.
Prol presented at the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Annual Meeting as part of a program on “The Law, Cultural Competency, and the LGBTQ Community.”
Prol opened the program with a keynote analysis of the past treatment of LGBTQ people before the New Jersey courts in commemoration of the June 28th 50th anniversary of the New York City Stonewall riots, the birth of the modern LGBTQ equality movement.
Prol, the first openly gay president of the NJSBA and a member of the governing body of the American Bar Association, engages a visible portfolio of activism to advance access to justice, diversity and inclusion, and equal rights. He is a founding and current executive board member of Garden State Equality, the leading LGBTQ rights organization in New Jersey.
During his tenure as New Jersey State Bar Association President, he spearheaded efforts to ratify the long-delayed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. For almost two decades, Prol has been a vocal advocate on civil rights issues, and was a prominent voice pushing for marriage equality in New Jersey, as well as the state’s anti-bullying legislation.
The programs were held during the NJSBA Annual Meeting on May 15-17, 2019 at the Borgata Hotel & Spa in Atlantic City. The NJSBA Annual Meeting is the premiere legal education forum for New Jersey lawyers and is expected to attract over 3,200 attendees.
On June 23, Mr. Prol will also speak as part of a panel, “Ethics: Environmental Justice, Conflicts of Interest,” at the 2019 NJSBA New Jersey Environmental Law Forum being held June 21-23, 2019 at the Le Mer Hotel Resort in Cape May.