Joseph Makhandal Champagne, Jr.

Joseph Makhandal Champagne, Esq.

Attorney | Former Mayor | Human Rights Advocate

Joseph Makhandal Champagne, Jr., Esq. is an experienced New Jersey attorney with a strong background in immigration, criminal, and civil law. He is admitted to practice before the New Jersey Supreme Court, the United States District Court, and the Third and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He appears in both state and federal courts and is a member of the Ocean County Bar Association.

Mr. Champagne holds a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University and earned his J.D. from Vermont Law School. While in law school, he founded the Vermont Law Student Leadership Collective for Human Rights and studied European Union Law at the University of Trento in Italy as an exchange student. He also completed the Charles Hamilton Houston Pre-Law Institute program at Georgetown University, where he received the Best Respondent Advocate award.

He began his legal career as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Wendell E. Daniels, J.S.C., in the Superior Court of New Jersey (Ocean Vicinage). He also worked as an assistant to the Public Policy Counsel and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C.

Beyond his legal work, Mr. Champagne is a dedicated public servant and human rights advocate. He previously served as Mayor of South Toms River, New Jersey, and currently holds the title of Ambassador of Peace from the Universal Peace Federation. In 2015, he traveled to the Dominican Republic to support diplomatic efforts addressing the mass deportation crisis affecting Haitians.

He serves on various advisory committees, including those for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Law Day, and Minority Concerns. He is a board member of O.C.E.A.N., Inc., the Global Syndicate, and the Haitian-American Leadership Council. He also contributes to the UNESCO Center for Global Education and co-chairs the humanitarian organization “Why Do I Exist?”, which supports orphaned children.

Above all, Mr. Champagne is a devoted family man committed to justice, equity, and community empowerment.