United Nations Honors Family of Parker Ibrahim & Berg Partner Joe Lemkin

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SOMERSET, N.J., Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The family of Joseph H. Lemkin, partner at the New Jersey law firm of Parker Ibrahim & Berg, was honored last month at the United Nations during the commemoration of the 65^th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention that paid tribute to Raphael Lemkin, an international attorney who coined the word "genocide" and who has been recognized as being primarily responsible for the creation of the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

"What Raphael Lemkin did was incredible — to persevere until genocide was made into a palpable crime that can be prosecuted," said Joseph Lemkin, who is second cousin to Raphael. "For the family, it was deeply meaningful to witness this event led by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was represented by Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson."

Raphael Lemkin was born in Poland and escaped to the U.S. ahead of the Nazi occupation. His cousin Daniel, Joseph's father, was conscripted into the Russian army and survived World War II, but the rest of the Lemkin family in Poland perished in the Nazi concentration camps or died in the resistance movement.

"My father told me of Raphael's trips to Washington, D.C., having spent all of his money and being shunned by many," said Joseph. "But his legacy lives on, as one of the initial acts of the first-ever United Nations General Assembly was to adopt the convention that Raphael Lemkin had been promoting."

Joseph Lemkin currently serves as chairman of Parker Ibrahim & Berg's bankruptcy practice group. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Lemkin is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law, where he was awarded the Charles Falabella Labor Studies Award, and received his BA degree from Rutgers College.

Parker Ibrahim & Berg represents a wide array of corporate clients, including Fortune 500 companies, national banks, retailers, reinsurers, mortgage lenders and financial services companies. Its practice areas include mortgage banking, bankruptcy, commercial litigation, reinsurance/insurance, regulatory consulting, regulatory enforcement, consumer finance, fair lending, and corporate transactional matters.