A former associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court will deliver the keynote address at Camden County College's commencement on May 21. John E. Wallace Jr., who served on the state Supreme Court from 2003 until 2010, will address the Class of 2011 during the College's 43rd annual commencement exercises. More than 1,500 associate degrees and academic certificates are expected to be conferred at the ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. on the Blackwood Campus.
The South Jersey native earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Delaware in 1964 and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1967. He then served in the United States Army from 1968 until 1970, reaching the rank of captain.
Wallace began his law career as an associate of the firm Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhodes before moving to a position with the council for the trustees of the Penn Central Transportation Co. He then became a municipal court judge for Washington Township and was a partner in the firm of Atkinson, Myers, Archie & Wallace.
He was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court for Gloucester County in 1984 and was elevated to the Superior Court's Appellate Division in 1992. He served there until his appointment to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2003. He is now a counsel to the law firm of Brown & Connery, with offices in Westmont and Woodbury, where he serves as a mediator and an arbitrator.
Contributions made to the state legal community by Wallace also include serving as a member of various groups. These include the New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force for Minority Concerns, the New Jersey Ethics Commission, the Judiciary Advisory Committee on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Supreme Court Special Committee on Matrimonial Litigation, the Appellate Division Rules Committee and the Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions, the last of which he chaired.
Wallace has received many honors for his service. In 2010, he was lauded by the New Jersey State Bar Association for "dedication to the people of New Jersey and his years of distinguished service as a justice, judge, lawyer and citizen." Also in 2010, he received the John F. Gerry Award from the Camden County Bar Foundation, the William J. Brennan Jr. Citation for Justice from Legal Services of New Jersey and the Distinguished Contribution Award from Rider University's Law and Justice Program.
He is member of the board of Legal Services of New Jersey as well as a trustee of the University of Delaware. Wallace also coaches Babe Ruth baseball and high school football and is a member of several sports halls of fame, including those in Gloucester County and at Pitman High School and Washington Township High School.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.