Bar Admission:
New Jersey and the United States District Court for New Jersey, 1996
New York and the United States District Court for New York, 2018
Southern District of New York, 2020
United States Supreme Court, 2020
Biographical Information:
Ms. Jackson is the managing lawyer of Desha Jackson Law Group. Prior to opening her firm Ms. Jackson was of Counsel to the Law Office of Evelyn Padin for two years. Prior to working with Ms. Padin's office, Ms. Jackson was an associate with the firm of Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer where she was assigned to the Employment Law Team. Prior to working at Wilentz, Ms. Jackson was the Assistant Director of the Equal Employment Division of the New Jersey Department of Corrections. There she assisted in investigations of corrections officers and staff discrimination complaints, provided advice with regard to equal employment issues, as well as provided training to employees about the anti-discrimination policy and procedures. Ms. Jackson completed courses at the Rutgers University Center of Management Development and obtained an Equal Employment Certificate. Ms. Jackson returned to the Department of Corrections in 2009 until 2016. She was an Assistant Director and served as the ADA Coordinator for the department during her entire tenure, as well as the manager of the construction and legal affair's units at various times during her tenure. Ms. Jackson created and provided training regarding the ADA, advised the Commissioner and other officials and managers regarding various legal issues and supervised employees. In 2016 Ms. Jackson became a legal consultant for the City of Newark's Public Safety Department. She was the lead hearing officer for all disciplinary matters and assisted with implementing their consent decree. She provided trainng and advise regarding discipline, various legal issues and the consent decree during her tenure.
Ms. Jackson also worked at the Department of Law and Public Safety Office of the Attorney General as a Deputy Attorney General (DAG) assigned to the Office of State Police Affairs from 2002-2007. This office was created by the 1999 consent decree between the State New Jersey and the United States Department of Justice which addressed the issues of racial profiling. As a DAG she primarily served as the prosecutor in disciplinary proceedings against New Jersey State Troopers. In 2004, Ms. Jackson was promoted to Deputy Director of this unit and served as Acting Director from October 2006 to March of 2007. Ms. Jackson was also in charge of the Consent Decree unit for the City of Newark's Police in 2016.
In 1996 she was a judicial law clerk at the Monmouth Vicinage in Freehold, New Jersey in the criminal division for the Honorable Theodore J. Labrecque, Vincent Hull and Michael D. Farren, J.S.C. She also worked as a legal assistant at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in 1997 before becoming the first African-American female Assistant Prosecutor to be hired at the Ocean County prosecutor’s Office in its 150-year history. Ms. Jackson left the Prosecutors Office in May of 2000 and became an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Newark assigned to their Labor and Employment Section. During her tenure at the City of Newark, she represented the City in all labor and employment matters including disciplinary hearings, grievance arbitrations, mediations, appeals in the Office of Administrative Law, matters in Superior and Federal Court, as well as matters before the Public Employment Relations Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also provided advice regarding labor and employment issues to managers in multiple City departments.
Ms. Jackson attended Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida. While attending Stetson the faulty selected her to be in Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges due to her involvement and academic achievement.
Ms. Jackson is very involved in professional bar related activities and was named Young Lawyer of the Year in 2002 by the New Jersey State Bar Association (hereinafter "NJSBA") Young Lawyers Division. She is a member of several NJSBA and American Bar Association (hereinafter “ABA”) committees and sections including the NJSBA Entertainment, Sports and Arts Section and the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Ms. Jackson is a past NJSBA Board of Trustee member, former Chair of the NJSBA Diversity Committee and past member and Vice Chair South Jersey of the NJSBA Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee. Ms. Jackson is also a past president of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association and the first women of color to lead the organization. She is also a past president of the the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey.
Ms. Jackson has also received many awards and honors throughout her career for professional and community involvement. She received a Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scout Council of Greater Essex and Hudson Counties in 2005 and a Special Achievement Award from Lakewood NAACP in 2004. She is listed in the Congressional Record by the Honorable Donald M. Payne on February 5, 1998 for professional achievement and in 1998 received the Young Alumnae Achievement Award from Drew University. She has been selected for inclusion in the New Jersey Super Lawyers-Rising Stars Editions since 2006 until 2009. In 2007, Ms. Jackson also received a Professionalism Lawyer of the Year award from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism and the New Jersey Women Lawyer Association and the Glenn Cunningham Community Service Award from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Ms. Jackson is also an alumna of New Jersey Girls State, Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation, Presidential Classrooms and the Leadership Training Conference. Recently, Ms. Jackson is featured in The 100 Top Lawyers Magazine for 2020. She was also appointed to the Drew University College Alumni Association Board in 2020.
Ms Jackson has advised various clients regarding contracts and business issues in the entertainment and sports industry. These clients have included athletes, dancers, singers, live stage performers, musicians, television personalities, disc jockeys, fashion designers as well as actors. She also has participated in numerous employment matters involving employees and employers including discrimination, severance agreements and policy matters. She has served as a hearing officer for numerous disciplinary matters. She serves as an investigator for various employment cases including discrimination, ethical matters and discipline. She has also counseled clients regarding matters before the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association as well as other issues surrounding athletics. Ms. Jackson is also General Counsel for the Central Jersey Chapter of NOBLE.
Ms. Jackson is also the creator of the Run Sister Run program at the Center for American Women in Politics. This program is designed to encourage African American Women to participate in the political arena and is planned in conjunction with the Ready to Run Program which provides training for women who are running for office.
Ms. Jackson is also the program manager of her own not for profit organization DLJ Give to Live Community Foundation (hereinafter "Give to Live"). Give to Live's mission is to raise funds and awareness as well as to support charitable causes, events and needs of people in some of the following areas: sports,athletics,education, religion, poverty, homelessness, socio-econimically depressed areas, law enforcement, the arts, sick and disabled people, children, young adults, students, women and the elderly through fashion, sports and entertainment events.(https://dljgivetolive.com/ ). In 2012, through her non-profit she founded Jersey City Fashion Week (hereinafter "JCFW"). JCFW celebrates fashion and entertainment, while creating an opportunity to give back to worthy causes in the community. Part of the proceeds of JCFW are donated to community causes. (www.jerseycityfashionweek.com
Ms. Jackson was ordained to be a Pastor at her church in 2022.
In 2023, Ms. Jackson is on the cover of CIO TIMES and featured in an article entitled "Five Rising Women Leaders Everyone Should Know" . See link for the article. https://bit.ly/3CNZMVW
Ms. Jackson was recently named by the International Association of Top Professionals Top Lawyer of the Year for 2023. www.iaotp.com
Desha Jackson Law Group LLC has been named one of the 20 Best Companies to Watch in 2023 by Global Radiance Review. See links for article and listing. https://bit.ly/41a9KtW, https://bit.ly/3papWOK
Ms. Jackson was also awarded for her give back to the community through her charity Dlj Give to Live Community Foundation's Jersey City Fashion Week program. PD Production’s owned by Patricia Dingle and Sultry Sisters for recognizing her with a Making a Difference Award. The Angelic Halo Foundation honored her for dedication to serving and inspiring the community.
In 2023, Ms. Jackson was named an Honored Listee in Marquis Who's Who.
Professional Affiliations:
New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (Past President); Association of Black Women Lawyers (Past President); New Jersey State Bar Association(member, Past At Large Trustee, Legislative Committee, Vice-Chair 2008; Election Committee, Vice Chair 2008; Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee, Sub-Committee to review compact, Chair of Sub-Committee to Draft Guidelines for Prosecutorial Appointments, Vice Chair South Jersey 2007; Nominating Committee; Long Range Planning Committee Sponsorship Committee; Public Sector and Government Lawyers Section; Labor and Employment Section, Executive Committee; Women in the Profession Section; Minorities in the Profession Section; Past member Young Lawyers Division Executive Board(YLD), Secretary, Chair of YLD Diversity in the Profession Committee; Centennial Committee; General Council Executive Committee Parliamentarian; Diversity Committee, Past Chair; Pipeline Diversity Task Force, Co-Chair) member Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section; New Jersey State Bar Foundation (member of Board of Trustees 2004-2005, Tolerance Subcommittee, Public Relations Committee, Respect Newsletter Editorial Advisory Board, Co-Sponsorship Oversight Committee); Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns; American Bar Association (member, Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, Labor and Employment Law Section, Litigation Section, State and Local Government Law Section, Past Young Lawyer Division Delegate); Middlesex County Bar Association, Ocean County Bar Association.
Reported Cases:
Ronald Robert, Jr. vs. State of New Jersey, Division of State Police, 191 N.J. 516 (2007)
Seminars:
Speaker, Hot Tips In Labor and Employment Law, "Progressive Discipline in Civil Service Cases", sponsored by the NJ ICLE and the NJSBA Labor and Employment Section. Materials submitted for seminar, "What's New in Progressive Discipline In Civil Service Cases", written and presented by Desha Jackson.
Speaker, Implict Bias in Real Estate. 2022
Speaker, Halloween Legalities--What Horror Movies (and TV Shows) Can Teach Lawyers. 2022
Articles:
Assisted in preparing, "Minding Your Business:Is Your Life After Work Really Private?" by Maureen Binetti, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, April 2008.
Super Lawyers
Attorney At Law Magazine New Jersey 2013, pg. 29. http://bit.ly/16bl5Yi
Football: Its Not Just for Men: The Business Case for Diversity in Sports by Desha Jackson, NJSBA Diversity Committee Newsletter, Vol 1, No 2, September 2015 pg. 13.
http://bit.ly/1ZSpZbD
Preparing for Transition Through Volunteerism, by Sandra Kroll, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, February 2015 No. 292, pg. 81. http://bit.ly/1N3Agwl
This article was originally published in the February 2015 issue of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, a publication of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and is reprinted here with permission.
It's All About the Benjamin's
College Athletes Getting Paid for their Name, Image and Likeness.
Article published in the NJSBA’s February 2021 issue of New Jersey Lawyer by Desha Jackson and Victoria Nguyen.
Desha Jackson is featured in The 100 Top Lawyers Magazine in 2020!
Hit the link below for the article:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fp839224yqutycl/Top%20100%20Attorneys-2020-Feat%20C.%20Medici.pdf?dl=0
Desha Jackson was selected to the Superlawyers Rising Star list's (2006 -2009). The Super Lawyers/Rising Stars lists are issued by Thomson Reuters.
A description of the selection methodology can be found at www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process_detail.html.
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Results in Cases
$150,000 structured settlement in a personal injury matter.
$80,000 settlement in an employment matter.