President’s Message, Winter 2025

Welcome to the Winter 2025 WLIB newsletter. Thank you to all who have contributed to this edition and, as always, thank you to Linda Spiegel our editor in chief.

WLIB has been very busy. We had lunch with the new law clerks and the Bergen County judges, we held a resume seminar for the law clerks, we had a CLE specifically addressing women’s financial concerns, and we started the process of making our own WLIB wine.

The piece de resistance of our Fall season lineup up, however, was our Breast Cancer Rally in conjunction with the Susan Lucianna Breast Cancer Fund. This was our second rally and it was a HUGE success. The rally is the brainchild of Past WLIB President Diane Lucianna who is the Director of the Susan Lucianna Breast Cancer Fund. The Fund has been operational for 15 years and is named for Susan, Diane and Nancy Lucianna’s sister. Susan was a paralegal at the Lucianna Law Firm and was diagnosed at 38. She went through chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. She did well for 6 years but the cancer returned. Susan went through more chemotherapy and radiation, but ultimately succumbed to the disease at 48. Susan’s family remembers her as brave, optimistic, and selfless.

Donations to the Susan Lucianna Breast Cancer Fund are 100% applied to serving the community of breast cancer patients who have quality of life needs and need financial support. Over 100 women have benefitted from this generous organization, and they have received over $150,000.

This year, WLIB and the Fund generated $23,000 in donations! We are so grateful to everyone who donated and everyone who made this event a success!

Special recognition goes to Diane Lucianna who had a vision for this event and followed through; Nancy Lucianna who ran the silent auction; our sponsors: Tavern 61, Danonna’s Pizzeria, Callahans Lawyers Service, Columbia Bank, Sunmed CBD Shop, Englewood Hospital, Morillo Eye Center, Daisy Events NJ, Primetime TShirts/Craig Weis Esq.; US Congressional Candidate and Ridgewood resident Mary Jo Guinchard; NJ Assemblywoman Lisa Swain; County Commissioners Zur, Amoroso and Ortiz; golf pro and motivational speaker Debra O’Connell; Englewood Hospital’s Nurse Navigator; survivor Lynne Feldman, Esq., and Kohar Boyadjian, Esq., who sold her Armenian cookbook with all profits going to the charity. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped with making this a successful event.

The great success of the Breast Cancer Rally should remind us all that taking care of our mental and physical health is so very important. We wear many hats as lawyers – men and women, alike. We are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, spouses, caregivers to the old and young, all while working in the stressful and fast-paced legal community. It is important – even IMPERATIVE – that you take time for yourself. You do not need to go to a spa or on vacation to give yourself some downtime (although that is always wonderful). You just need to unwind and unplug…even for a few brief minutes every day. If you are not well, then you cannot help others.

The digital age in which we live provides a plethora of resources to assist in resetting ourselves and giving ourselves a metaphorical or literal hug. A small investment in doing some breathing exercises at your desk, in the car, or before bed can provide you with huge benefits for body and soul. Even easier, get up from your desk and go for a walk! Get out there and get some fresh air! A small 5-10 minute investment in a walk around the block can help your mind and body reset for the rest of your day. Finally, I encourage you to stretch. We are sedentary beings in our fastpaced world of law. Get up and MOVE or find one of those apps and do some chair yoga to stretch your hips and back.

Our collective mental and physical health is more important than anything else. We do not get a second take at life. We are given our bodies and minds and we have to care for them as if they were the feather in Forrest Gump. It is fleeting. It is precious. Give yourself that gift of time so that you are your best self to continue being all those things to all those people.

I wish you all the best in the coming months. Happy Holidays to all. Be well. Until next time…namaste.

Tamra Katcher, Esq.
President