Gloucester County Prosecutor's Attorneys Achieve State Certification

Two members of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office staff have joined elite company in the state, after being notified by the state Supreme Court that they've qualified for certification as Criminal Trial Attorneys.

First Assistant Prosecutor Michael S. Curwin and Trial Chief Mary K. Pyffer will join the ranks of a group of less than 2 percent of the 17,500 members of the New Jersey Bar who hold that certification, and will be the only two in Gloucester County, according to the court's website.

Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton lauded the pair's certification.

“This designation affirms the high standards and record of accomplishment that both Mike Curwin and Mary Pyffer have set for themselves,” said Dalton. “They are outstanding role models for our staff.”

Lawyers who want to achieve the designation, which comes from the Supreme Court’s Board on Attorney Certification, have to pass a rigorous set of standards, including passing a three-hour test and demonstrating “substantial involvement” in the preparation of litigated matters.

Curwin has been a member of the GCPO staff for more than 26 years. Dalton appointed him First Assistant June 1, 2010. He received his law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

Pyffer has been a member of the GCPO staff since 1997, and for the prior two years was a Salem County assistant prosecutor. She received her law degree from Rutgers University and her undergraduate degree from Penn State University.