Alex J. Fajardo

Why was receiving the HBAPA-LEF Scholarship Important to you?

Receiving the HBAPA-LEF Scholarship was important to me because I had moved my entire family from Miami to Delaware for law school and our income was limited to my student loans.  My wife had difficulty finding employment to offset the costs of after-school childcare and from time to time our parents would help us.  Receiving the scholarship helped relieve a lot of pressure, which helped keep our relationship healthy and allowed me to better focus on my studies.  Additionally, it showed me that I was entering a very noble profession.  I was really taken aback by how helpful already-established lawyers were.  It helped me realize just how distorted the general public’s opinion of lawyers is.  

What year did you receive the scholarship?

2011, 2012, 2013

What law school did you attend?

Delaware Law School – Widener University

How did you use your scholarship money?

I mostly used it to pay bills and to buy professional attire.

Where has your career taken you and what are you up to now?

Since I graduated, I have worked in three plaintiff’s firms.  I began practicing law in New Jersey at Pellettieri Rabstien and Altman in Princeton, NJ.  From there I moved to Stark & Stark, P.C., also in the Princeton area and have been here since September 11, 2017.  Stark and Stark is made up of about 100 lawyers and has over thirty practice areas.  I am one of four attorneys in the Nursing Malpractice Litigation Group.  I help victims of nursing neglect and abuse in New Jersey.  I serve on Stark & Stark’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement.  I am the HBA-NJ’s Trustee to Mercer County and serve on the HBA-NJ’s JPAC Committee, Legislative & Public Policy Committee and E-Communications Committee. I also serve on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey. I am a member of the New Jersey Association for Justice and was a panelist at their Meadowlands Seminar.  I am also a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly American Trial Lawyers Association) and the Mercer County Bar Association.

Are you still involved with the HBAPA or LEF?

I am a member of the HBAPA.  I am actively involved with the HBA-NJ, so time is limited for significantly meaningful involvement.  However, I have attended the last two HBAPA LEF Scholarship Galas and several events in the past two years.  I attended the Scholarship Gala alone last year, but arranged for Stark & Stark to purchase a table the prior year, when Tom Warnock was the honored speaker.  I couldn’t have become a lawyer without Tom.  I let the managing partners know this and they were very happy to help support him, me and the HBAPA at that event.  I have also spoken at the Mentorship Program Co-Hosted by the HBA-NJ and HBAPA at Rutgers Law – Camden.