Milagros De La C Camacho

Milagros Camacho is the managing partner of Camacho Gardner & Associates, L.L.P., a general practice law firm with offices in North Bergen, New Jersey.  She specializes in criminal defense and matrimonial matters.  A former state and federal prosecutor, since leaving public service she has handled a number of complex criminal matters as both a per diem and pool attorney for the Public Defender’s Office and while privately retained.  She has also taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Milagros started her legal career in 1993 when she accepted a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Severiano Lisboa, III, J.S.C. 

In 1994, Milagros started working for the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, one of only four (4) Hispanic attorneys in an office with sixty five (65) assistant prosecutors.  In 2002 after having prosecuted hundreds of criminal matters she was placed in charge of the Sexual Assault Victim Assistance Unit (S.A.V.A.).  S.A.V.A. handled all the sexual assault and child abuse cases in Hudson County.  She was also placed in charge of the Domestic Violence Unit and the Megan’s Law Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office.  During her tenure as supervising attorney, Milagros restructured those units to be more effective and better organized.  Through her efforts to develop a Sexual Assault Response Team (S.A.R.T.) protocol (a victim centered approach to the investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults), her work to create a Child Advocacy Center for Hudson County (a place where child protective services, medical services, and law enforcement come together to better serve the needs of abused children) and through a restructuring of the Hudson County Domestic Violence Working Group (refocusing it on training initiatives and relationship building), Milagros attempted to redefine the manner in which the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted sexual and physical abuse cases.  Working closely with a number of other disciplines through her leadership roles as the S.A.VA./D.V./ Megan’s Law supervising attorney, the Hudson County S.A.R.T. Coordinator, the Hudson County Multi-Disciplinary Team Coordinator, her participation in The Superior Court of New Jersey Family Court Children in Court Committee and the Domestic Violence Working Group for Hudson County, Milagros became a recognized spokesperson on victim and child advocacy issues.

         In September of 2003, through gubernatorial appointment, Milagros worked on the D.Y.F.S Restructuring Plan as a member of the Case Practice Working Group Committee.  While on this Committee Milagros was asked by then D.Y.F.S. Director Cotton to Co-Chair the Committee with him.  She was also asked to join a panel whose purpose was to educate the public about the D.Y.F.S. Restructuring Plan.

         In May of 2004 she joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey where she was assigned to the O.C.D.E.F.T. Unit.  In February of 2005 she was selected by then United States Attorney Christopher Christie to sit on an advisory council reviewing the policies and procedures in place at the United States Attorney’s Office.

           She serves as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Cameras in the Courtroom and has served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Ethics Committee, Hudson Vicinage (2009-2012), the New Jersey Supreme Court Criminal Practice Committee (2009-2011), and the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns.

         She is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and serves as a Trustee on the Association’s Board.  She is a member of the NJSBA’s Minorities in the Profession Section, where she served as Vice Chair and Chair, the Women in the Profession Section, Criminal Law Section, and Family Law Section.  She also serves as a Co-Chair of the NJSBA’s Diversity Committee.  She has served as a committee member of the NJSBA’s Pipeline Initiative since 2006 and also sits on the NJSBA’s Long Term Planning Committee.

          Milagros has served as the President of the Hispanic Bar Association of NJ (HBA-NJ) and various other positions within the HBA-NJ including President-Elect, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Membership Secretary, Scholarship Committee Member, and Holiday Toy Drive Chair, an event she developed during her tenure as a Board member.  She is a member of the National Hispanic Bar Association and the National Hispanic Prosecutors Association.  She is President of the Board of Directors El Colegio Nacional de Abogados Cubanos.

She is a member and legal advisor to the National Association of Cuban American Women and a member of The Women’s Club of Englewood.  She is a member of New Jersey’s Eagleton Institute, Center for American Women and Politics Ready to Run/Eleccion Latina Conference Steering Committee since 2003.

She serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Visiting Home Maker Service of Hudson County.  She has served as an executive member of the Hudson County Human Relations Commission, a Board Member of the Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center, a Board Member of the Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center Foundation, on the Board of Trustees of Women Rising, a member of the Hudson County Law Day Committee, and a Board Member and Board President of a 514 unit HOA in Bergen County.

She has received numerous awards for her work as an advocate for women and children from various civic, professional and educational organizations including the Rutgers School of Law, Alianza: Campeones de la Justicia (Champions of Justice) Award, the Save Latin America, Inc.: El Mes de la Mujer (Women’s Month) Award, the National Association of Cuban American Women: Elena Mederos Award and numerous recognitions and awards by the Division of Youth and Family Services, the Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Award (an award given for work done in the area of child abuse and the creation of a Child Advocacy Center in Hudson County) and has been a recognized speaker in the field of domestic violence and child abuse prosecution.

In 2016 she was named by the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys as one of the “10 Best” attorneys for New Jersey.  In 2015 she was selected by Rue Ratings Best Attorneys in America and the National Trial Lawyers top 100 criminal defense trial lawyers.  In 2011 she was recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a super lawyer in the field of criminal defense.  She has been certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a criminal trial attorney for over fifteen (15) years.