6/16/2025

As Delaware Law School marks the 50th anniversary of graduating its first class, Widener is celebrating the achievements of some of the school’s most distinguished alumni.

By Ryan Francis ’28 communication studies

Lee A. Solomon isn’t afraid to take a chance. He was among the bright-eyed, idealistic and brave students who enrolled in some of the earliest days of Delaware Law School. It was 1975 and the fledgling school that had been operating out of a church basement had just been accredited by the American Bar Association – a requirement for graduates who planned to sit for a bar exam.

Enrolling was a good investment of his time, effort and resources. Delaware Law School launched him into a remarkable legal career that has included elected office and a seat on the highest court in New Jersey. He was, in fact, the first law school alumnus to reach a state Supreme Court bench.

“I found my niche as soon as I arrived there,” Solomon said, reflecting on his law school days. “It taught me the skills that you need to be a lawyer, the research, the writing.”

He also gives a great amount of credit to the drive and motivation he and his fellow classmates brought to the school. Solomon has the unique perspective of being able to see today’s Delaware Law School with eyes that know what it looked like in some of its earliest days, before its widespread recognition.

“We were incredibly motivated. A lot of people go to law school because it's the next logical step, or they’ve never considered anything else,” Solomon said. “We really just wanted to survive and thrive, so we were highly motivated. I think that contributed to the success of the class and success on the bar exam.”

The school was accredited in 1975, the year Solomon, a native of Philadelphia, graduated from Muhlenberg College and enrolled at Delaware Law. He earned his juris doctor three years later.

Solomon credits his early professional success to Widener. The rigorous education led to an opportunity to clerk with a small Philadelphia litigation firm after graduation. Clerking allowed him to see the ins and outs of working in a private practice. He went on to serve as a councilman in Haddon Heights borough, and eventually ran for – and won – a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly, serving as state assemblyman from 1991 to 1995. While there, he was vice chair of the assembly Judiciary Committee, vice chair of the Law and Public Safety Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice.

He went on to become Camden County prosecutor in 1996, a position he held for six years until former Gov. Chris Christie, who was then U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, appointed him as deputy U.S. attorney for the southern vicinages, leading the U.S. attorney’s office branches in Camden and Trenton, New Jersey.

From there, then-acting Gov. Richard J. Codey appointed him to the New Jersey Superior Court bench, where he served in the family and criminal divisions. He left the bench in 2010 when Christie, now governor, named him to a cabinet position – an appointment that added another executive branch position to Solomon’s resume. He now had experience in all three branches. Under Christie, Solomon served as head of the Board of Public Utilities and oversaw expansion of New Jersey’s solar program and the revision of the state’s energy master plan. He returned to the Superior Court two years later and served in the Civil Division, as presiding judge of the Criminal Division and as assignment judge.

Christie went on to nominate Solomon to the state Supreme Court in 2014 and he was the first Delaware Law School alumnus to be named to a court of that level. His service on the bench included a leadership position as chair of the Supreme Court Committee on Wellness in the Law. He became a public voice for prioritizing well-being and mental health within the legal profession.

Solomon retired from the bench last summer and announced earlier this year he had joined as counsel to Archer & Greiner serving in their Business Litigation Group, moving his career back to private practice after more than three decades of public service. In that span, he’s seen a bit of everything – all powered by the law degree he earned as an ambitious young adult with big dreams. Along the way he has been an active and engaged alumnus and enthusiastic supporter of the law school.

His advice for Delaware Law School students who are in that era of their lives?

“Learn all you can, and take as much in as possible,” Solomon said.