The Bergen County Bar Association is the professional association of the Bergen County Bar. Founded in December, 1898 we have been committed to professionalism in the Bergen County legal community for over a century.
The Bergen County Bar Association, now one of the country’s largest county bar Associations with over 2,000 members, was formed on December 28, 1898 in the offices of Demarest & DeBaum in Hackensack, New Jersey. Milton Demarest chaired the first meeting of the Association, which elected George R. Dutton its first President. From James M. Van Halen’s humble offices at the northwest corner of Church Street and Washington Place, the Association has grown to encompass offices at 61 Hudson Street, and soon its new headquarters at 15 Bergen Street in Hackensack, New Jersey. During this time, the Bergen County Courthouse also expanded from land donated by a prominent attorney, Robert Campbell, to its present (and extensively renovated over the years) facility completed at the end of 1912, which was joined by a new Bergen County Administration Building in the latter part of 2000.
Over its first 100 years, the Association was active in safeguarding the legal rights of the general public, and the interests of its members. In addition the Association was instrumental in the promotion and elevation of qualified members of the judiciary; to this day, a cooperative and mutually beneficial spirit exists between the bench and bar, epitomized by regular meeting with the Bergen County Assignment Judge, and the members of the various judicial departments, to address concerns and improve communications.