To Be Awarded Sept. 23 At 32nd Annual ‘Red Mass’ Honoring The Legal Profession, Judiciary At Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart; Reception Follows
Seton Hall Law School and the St. Thomas More Society have named Susan A. Feeney, tax partner at McCarter & English and former president of the state bar association, this year’s recipient of the St. Thomas More medal and will make the presentation Sept. 23 at a Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
A reception at the Archdiocesan Center – directly across the street from the Cathedral – will immediately follow the Mass, which begins at 4 p.m. The Mass, known as the Red Mass, honors the legal profession and the judiciary. This year’s Red Mass is the 32nd annual. It is free and open to the public.
The reception is also open to the public, with tickets priced at $35 for students and $90 for all others.
“I am honored to receive the St. Thomas More medal, particularly because those who have received it before me have represented the best in our profession, as lawyers and as members of their communities,” said Feeney, who has received numerous honors for her work in supporting women in the legal profession. “This is at the intersection of two areas of my life that are extremely important to me.”
A lawyer and the son of a lawyer, Thomas More was beatified in 1886 and canonized in 1935, and in the Catholic faith is the patron saint of attorneys, civil servants and court clerks.
Feeney is best known professionally for negotiating and litigating property tax appeals related to all kinds of commercial properties, and for helping developers secure tax abatements and incentives. She has extensive experience in the valuation of telecommunications properties, including cellular towers and solar projects. Religious, educational, healthcare and other not-for-profit entities retain her for assistance in securing property tax exemptions and defending challenges to such exemptions.
She sits on a number of committees and boards of state agencies, courts and educational institutions and holds leadership positions in professional associations and legal foundations.
Michael P. Kelly, chairman of McCarter & English, said: “We could not be prouder of Susan. I cannot imagine anyone more deserving of this high honor. Susan exemplifies all that is right with the legal profession. Her strong faith, integrity and commitment to justice would make St. Thomas More proud.”