Adelina Herrarte is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice in the Health Justice Clinic. As part of the Housing Justice Project, she supervises students working on housing cases that have a connection with health or disability. Professor Herrarte is a lifelong public interest advocate who came to CSJ after having worked at various legal services organizations. Her practice and research interests include poverty law, consumer law, health and disability law, and elder law. Professor Herrarte has represented individuals victimized by fraudulent, abusive, and predatory business practices and represented older adults who experienced elder abuse and financial exploitation. Professor Herrarte is a member of several bar associations. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, walking, and listening to audiobooks. Professor Herrarte received her Bachelor of Art’s degree from New York University and her Juris Doctor degree from The City University of New York School of Law. Professor Herrarte is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

Yongmoon “Elijah” Kim is the managing attorney of a small firm in New Jersey, litigating various consumer class actions throughout the country. He sometimes takes personal injury cases if what happened is particularly egregious. He currently serves as a member of the Consumer Protection Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, advocating on behalf of consumers on pending legislation in the State of New Jersey, and as a member of the Class Actions Committee of the NJSBA. He also serves as the chair of the Consumer Law Committee of the Bergen County Bar Association.

Mr. Kim also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Consumers League of New Jersey—a nonprofit, membership organization founded in 1900 which educates and advocates on behalf of consumers. He also represents the CLNJ on the Special Civil Part Practice Committee of the New Jersey Supreme Court, participating in the proposal and amendments of the New Jersey Court Rules governing the Special Civil Part. He has also been recognized for his pro bono contributions and has been awarded Equal Justice Medals from the Legal Services of New Jersey, as well as the Champions of Justice Award from the Northeast New Jersey Legal Services.

Mr. Kim can be reached at (201) 273-7117 and ykim@kimlf.com.

Mr. Stern focuses his practice on defending collection actions and pursuing debt collectors’ violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). His extensive trial and appellate experiences include the first decision in the country holding a collection attorney violates the FDCPA when the representations implied from him signing a collection complaint are false and the Appellate Division decision delineating the evidential record which a debt buyer must establish to meet its burden when moving for summary judgment. In addition to matters in NJ state courts, he has handled cases throughout the US including arguing appeals in the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 9th Circuits. He has taught appellate advocacy at Seton Hall Law School and is a frequent panelist and presenter at national, state, and local conferences on consumer law. In addition, he sits on the NJ State Bar Association’s Consumer Protection Law Committee and was a member of the Supreme Court’s Ad Hoc Committee addressing attorney-client agreements in fee-shifting cases.

Mr. Stern can be reached at (201) 273-7117 and pstern@kimlf.com.

Professional Biography John Ukegbu
John Ukegbu is a senior staff attorney at Northeast New Jersey Legal Services where he represents low-income consumers. He has served as a member of the District Ethics Committee, District VI (Hudson County), and as a Trustee for the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. He is currently a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Special Civil Part Practice and the Membership Secretary of the Hudson County Bar Association. Mr. Ukegbu is a facilitator for the Attorney General Alliance/Africa Alliance Partnership formerly known as the Conference of Western Attorney Generals/Africa Alliance Partnership. He is a graduate of Western New England University School of Law. In recognition of his service, Legal Services of New Jersey awarded Mr. Ukegbu the Ronald B. Atlas Attorney Award in 1996 and the J. Harris Award for Career Service to People in Poverty in 2011.