The Honorable Zoila Cassanova Appointed Director of Seton Hall Law School's Legal Education Opportunity Program

July 20, 2022

We are pleased to welcome former L.E.O. student The Honorable Zoila Cassanova back to Seton Hall Law School as the Director of the Legal Education Opportunity Program. In this role, Judge Cassanova will be overseeing the administration of the Summer LEO Institute and all LEO programming and events during the school year. She will be serving on the LEO Advisement Committee in a leadership capacity and ensuring the achievement of the goals of the LEO program. Judge Cassanova will be an advisor to the LEO fellows and maintain connections and communication with LEO alums. She received her Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law. While a law student, she taught in the academic support program and served as a member of the Diversity Council. We are thrilled to have her here with us to share her wisdom, energy, and talents.

In addition to her duties at Seton Hall Law, Judge Cassanova is the Surrogate Judge of Passaic County, New Jersey. Prior to being elected in 2022, Surrogate Judge Cassanova was an Attorney for the New York State Unified Court System. She has worked in the areas of Medical Malpractice, Civil Litigation, Criminal Litigation, Election Law, Entertainment, and Labor law. Prior to her election, she worked on the court implementation of the New York State Raise the Age legislation, working with youths charged with violent felony offenses.

Judge Cassanova holds a Bachelor of Science in Labor Relations, a Master of Science in Education, and was a licensed provisional New York State Teacher. She was a New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association Scholarship recipient in law school, as well as an inductee of the Academic Honor Societies: Delta Kappa Phi and Kappa Delta Pi.

Judge Cassanova served for ten years as the Passaic County Trustee for the Executive Board of the New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association. For six years, she served as a member of the Board of Directors of YouthCollege, Inc. a non-profit urban youth outreach organization. Judge Cassanova believes that in order to truly succeed we need to mentor others and give back. She is a strong supporter of mentorship opportunities and has mentored for over twenty years. In addition to mentoring, Judge Cassanova has participated in programs such as NJ LEEP and the Passaic Valley High School pipeline program. She has also volunteered her legal skills by reviewing immigration documents for unaccompanied minors and undocumented adults, as well as participated in “Know your rights” outreach events. In her community, she also volunteers as a beef stew cook for Eva’s Village in Paterson, NJ, and has provided toys, as well as volunteers, for the 4CS Community Services, Inc in Paterson, NJ.

The Honorable Cassanova is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and the United States Supreme Court.