Annual Rutgers Law Camden Gala Celebrates Distinguished Alumni
Dozens of alumni, faculty, staff, students, and guests gathered to honor three outstanding Rutgers Law Camden alumni at the 2024 Governor James J. Florio Scholarship Benefit and Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony. More than a dozen law students also attended the gala, widely known as the “DAAC,” on November 7 at The Merion in Cinnaminson. The gala was renamed last year in honor of the late former governor of New Jersey and alumnus of Rutgers Law who passed away in 2022.
The Rutgers Law School - Camden Alumni Association hosted the event which also featured a cocktail reception, dinner, and dancing. With the help of 21 sponsors this year, proceeds from the gala will fund Alumni Association programs and scholarships for Rutgers Law students. Nearly a dozen students benefit from the fund every year since its launch in 1983.
Highlights include a wine tasting bar during the cocktail hour. Jim Hamilton ’74 brings selections from his personal wine collection. It’s a popular draw to the gala every year.
In addition, the association gifted alumnus and staunch law school supporter Charles Resnick ’77 with an engraved brick in his honor to be placed on the walkway in front of the Rutgers-Camden Alumni House. He celebrated his birthday at the gala.
About the Honorees
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Flora D. Darpino ’86 is the recipient of this year’s Arthur E. Armitage, Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award. She is a retired Army general officer and military lawyer who served as the 39th The Judge Advocate General (TJAG), U.S. Army. Lt. Gen. Darpino was appointed as TJAG on September 4, 2013, and served until July 14, 2017, where she was responsible for the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, an organization with approximately 10,000 personnel. She was also the senior military legal advisor to both the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army. She is the first woman appointed TJAG since the establishment of the Army in 1775. Prior to being selected as the 39th TJAG, Lt. Gen. Darpino served as the Commander, The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, VA, Commander, The United States Army Legal Services Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA, and Chief Judge, United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Her last field assignments included Staff Judge Advocate, V Corps, in Heidelberg, Germany, followed by her second deployment to Iraq where she served as the Staff Judge Advocate, United States Forces – Iraq, in Baghdad, Iraq. She was honored with a 2014 Sons of Italy Foundation Award, 2015 American Bar Association Margaret Brent Award, 2016 D.C. Women Bar Association Woman of the Year, and 2017 Ms. JD “Road Less Traveled” Award. Lt. Gen. Darpino is also a distinguished alumna of both Rutgers University and Gettysburg College. She frequently speaks on leadership, large organizational management and leading through change. Notably, with Veterans Day only a few days away, Lieutenant General Flora Darpino raised a toast to the veterans during her speech and recognized all the alumni present who served our country as well.
The Armitage Award was established in 1983 in memory of Armitage, who, with a group of interested citizens, founded both the South Jersey Law School in 1926 and its companion College of South Jersey in 1927.
Jay Blumberg ’83 received this year’s Honorable Joseph M. Nardi, Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award. He graduated from Washington and Lee University with honors in 1980. He received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion for community service at the time of his graduation. He attended Rutgers Law School in Camden and graduated in 1983. After graduation, he worked for the Camden County Prosecutors Office for 3 years. He then joined the law firm of George and Korin, representing healthcare professionals against claims of medical malpractice, and continued working as a criminal defense attorney. In 2000 he formed the law firm of Blumberg & Lindner. In 2014 he formed a partnership with Chris Wolk to form Blumberg & Wolk, LLC in Woodbury, NJ In 1994, he served on the District IV Ethics Committee and served as its chairman from 1997 through 1998. He also served on the District IV Fee Arbitration Committee from 2009 to 2013. In 1996, he began teaching, both pretrial advocacy and trial advocacy at Rutgers Camden School of Law. He continued to teach until 2020. Blumberg has been a frequent lecturer for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He is a member of American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and was elected as a fellow of the American College Trial Lawyers in 2009. In 2017, he was elected as a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. Blumberg has served on the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, Rutgers School of Law Camden Alumni Association as an executive committee member from 1984 to 1994. He served as chancellor of the Rutgers Camden Law Alumni Association from 1992 to 1994. He also served as a trustee of the Camden Regional Legal Services from 1992 to 1995. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Gloucester Cumberland and Salem County and was president of that organization from 2017 to 2019. Blumberg received the Professionalism Award from the Gloucester Bar Association in 2008. Blumberg has also been named as a “Super Lawyer” by New Jersey Monthly Magazine every year from 2006 to 2024. Blumberg presently serves on the Board of Directors of Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), which provides free healthcare to uninsured individuals and Chevra Kadisha which oversees the Alliance Cemetery in Pittsgrove, NJ the site of the first Jewish farming settlements in the country.
The Nardi Award recognizes alumni who have rendered outstanding voluntary service to the Rutgers Law community while exhibiting professional excellence and/or service to society.
Jonathan I. Amira ’14 received the 2024 Distinguished Recent Graduate Award. He is a Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor for Gloucester County, New Jersey, currently assigned to the Trial Team, where he practices in Recovery Court and represents State interests involving defendants charged with substance-abuse-related-offenses seeking treatment and rehabilitation-based alternatives to prison sentences. He also serves on the Prosecutor’s Office’s diversity council and is the internship coordinator for law students. Amira earned a BA in Psychology and Spanish cum laude from Drew University, and a JD from Rutgers Law School in Camden in 2014. He is a member of the Drew University Alumni Board, Rutgers Law Alumni Association, the Hispanic Bar Association of NJ, and the NJ State Bar Association serving on the Young Lawyers Division, the Legal Education, and Government, Public Sector, and Public Interest Lawyers Special Committees, and the New Jersey Lawyer Editorial Board. He is also Chair of the Gloucester County Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Rutgers Alumni for Diversity and Inclusion and Community-Building and Access in the Law (RADICAL). Amira regularly mentors law students and young attorneys and has served as a guest speaker on numerous professional panels. In 2022, Jonathan became an adjunct instructor at Rutgers Law School, coaching Camden’s team for the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 27th Annual Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition. The same year, he also received the NJSBA-YLD’s Service to the Community Award, acclaim by South Jersey Magazine “Best of the Best”, and Front Runner NJ “30 Under 35 Top Young Latino Leaders of South Jersey: Class of 2022.” Amira is admitted to practice in NJ, U.S. District Court of NJ, and Federal Immigration Court.
Established in 2011, the Distinguished Recent Graduate Award is presented to a recent graduate for achieving distinction in the legal community within 10 years of graduation. The criteria for the award includes demonstrated leadership capability, substantial commitment to service of others, demonstration of potential for long-term leadership, and substantial commitment to Rutgers Law School and Alumni Association.
The Rutgers School of Law-Camden Alumni Association was founded in the 1940s by Anthony J. Perotti ’43. It represents more than 9,000 alumni.
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