Education
B.A. 1998, Richard Stockton College
J.D. 2001, Seton Hall University School of Law2019 bio Jess1 Jessica Ramirez
Experience
Jessica Ramirez is a partner with the firm and a trial attorney specializing in serious personal injury, sexual abuse, medical device and product liability litigation. Jessica earned her Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law and has a Bachelor of Arts from Stockton University, with a Major in Political Science and a Minor in Latin American History. She has served on the New Jersey Ethics Committee and served as an Eminent Domain Commissioner for the State of N.J., presiding over cases dealing with condemnation and eminent domain.
Jessica was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New Jersey when she was eight years old. She was in E.S.L. Classes (English as a Second Language) for four years, and still remembers the day she was told that ELS classes were no longer necessary for her to attend. Jessica’s parents worked very hard to provide her with opportunities that they were not so fortunate to have had. Her family emphasized the importance of education, and through their support and her dedication, Jessica was able to excel in school. Prior to attending college, Jessica had never even met a lawyer. College changed this, as her favorite professors were lawyers, inspiring her to chase her own dream of a career in the law. Jessica understands she is not only a member of a class who is underrepresented within her community, but also in her profession. Hispanics, who are 18 percent of the U.S. population, comprise only about 4 percent of U.S. lawyers. For Latina women, these numbers are even smaller, with Latinas accounting for less than 2 percent of American lawyers - as a result, being a Latina attorney in the U.S. is a rarity and something which Jessica is proud to have achieved.
Jessica’s legal career has allowed her to serve her community and the underrepresented. Her work as a contract attorney for the Public Defender’s Office of New Jersey allowed her to represent indigent clients and juveniles. During her time as managing attorney of the Immigration Program of Catholic Charities, she served the undocumented population, defending individuals’ rights to seek asylum and providing legal counsel to families who have been separated and fighting against policies that separate families. It was during this time that she saw a dire need for competent Spanish-speaking attorneys. The stories had similar themes, undocumented persons having no knowledge of their rights. She met numerous undocumented workers with permanent injuries, who never sought medical treatment or compensation, because they were afraid. She met women who were victims of sex assault but afraid to call the police for fear of deportation, or allowed the statute of limitations to expire due to a lack of knowledge of their rights. This exposure to true injustice ignited her interest to become a civil trial attorney and utilize her legal skills to help those in need.
As a civil attorney, Jessica represents individuals who suffer physical and psychological injuries through various acts of negligence and intentional conduct, such as: sexual assault/abuse; product and medical device liability; significant motor vehicle crashes; construction, first-responder and other workplace accidents. Her main focus when advocating for workers’ rights is to educate workers about their right to safe and healthful working conditions, and their right to speak up without fear of retaliation. Jessica often gives talks to undocumented workers where she informs workers that it is the duty of their employers to provide a workplace free of known dangers and safety hazards regardless of their immigration status.
Jessica’s main passion is advocating for clients who have suffered sexual assault. She has extensive settlement and litigation experience in this area and knows exactly what it takes to deliver results. Jessica works to seek justice and hold offenders accountable when schools, churches, hotels, jails and other organizations fail to protect children and vulnerable adults. She is persistent in holding abusers accountable for the harm they have caused victims when an organization has failed to take reasonable steps to protect the victim, or worse when these organizations know about the abuse but do nothing to prevent it.
Jessica’s newest venture is helping individuals fight back against abusive business practices, by holding sellers of goods accountable when they seek to profit by taking advantage of a consumer. She protects consumers’ rights whey they are injured due to fraud, false or misleading advertising, and defective products. Unfortunately, she meets consumers that have suffered permanent injuries with the use of fraudulent and harmful products. Jessica now confronts corporate wrongdoing and obtains answers for her clients that have suffered the impact of such negligent and intentional conduct.
Jessica also has been featured as a speaker and contributed to various panels, including “Media and the Law,” where she served as one of four panelists for the 2019 New Jersey State Bar Association's mid-year meeting in Puerto Rico. She also co-chaired and served as a panelist for a seminar given at the New Jersey Association for Justice's Meadowland Convention in 2019 entitled “Media, Technology and the Law,” as well as a seminar entitled “Media and Advertising: Ethical Rules to Follow,” presented at the New Jersey Association for Justice's Virtual Convention in 2020. In 2021, Jessica was asked to speak at a seminar on the topic of “Practicing Law Post Covid,” at the Women in Mass Torts Convention in Aspen, Colorado.
Jessica is a member of the American Association for Justice’s (AAJ), where she was selected as one of only eighteen attorneys nationwide to participate in the AAJ Leadership Academy. She is also a member of the New Jersey Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association where she served as Press Secretary, the New Jersey American Association for Justice where she serves in the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Women in Mass Torts.
Jessica was selected as host of Images/Imagenes TV Show, a four-time Emmy Award-winning show highlighting the Hispanic population in New Jersey. The show was featured on NJTV. Jessica was featured on the Fox News Show "Beyond a Dream," which highlighted her life and career, focusing on overcoming obstacles to achieve the "American Dream." Jessica contributed to a bestselling book written by Bill Stanton, "Prepared, Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World," providing her thoughts to the chapter on staying safe in the workplace from sexual harassment. Jessica also regularly appears on national networks, such as Fox News, The Oxygen Network, HNL, Law & Crime Network, and Univision to discuss various legal issues.
Jessica has achieved her dream of becoming a professional where she can help people on a daily basis. Her passion to fight for justice is as strong today as the very first day she became a lawyer. She remains steadfast in her dedication and determination to achieve favorable results on behalf of each and every client. She also will never forget where she comes from or her journey to become the woman and professional she is today – in fact, it is recognition of this journey that serves to motivate her to stay involved and give back in any way she can to her community, a community that means so very much to her.
