Cristal Lambert Builds Leaders, Lifts Communities

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Cristal Lambert never questioned whether she would practice law. Even as a child, she understood her path with unusual clarity and conviction.

“I’ve never had any doubt, frankly, that I was going to be an attorney,” she reflects. “That certainty guided my decisions, helped me build connections throughout my career and kept my vision clear for where I wanted to land.”

Lambert is a first-generation Dominican American and the daughter of parents who emigrated from the Dominican Republic in search of opportunity. Lambert wasn’t following in anyone’s footsteps. There were no lawyers in her family, and everything she learned about the profession came through self-driven exposure, mentors and curiosity.

Her first real window into the legal world came during a high school internship that introduced her to practitioners and legal networks.

“It was the first time I saw people who looked like me leading and doing incredible work for the Hispanic legal community,” she shares. “And it helped me believe that I could be part of that world too.”

That belief would eventually shape not only her career, but an entire community around her. Today, Lambert serves as assistant general counsel for Educational Testing Service, and as of November 1^st, 2025, president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, an organization she has dedicated fifteen years to serving. She calls it both a full-circle moment and a responsibility she has spent years preparing to honor.

Lambert’s relationship with the HBA-NJ began in college, when she received one of the organization’s scholarships—the program that first introduced her to the association’s mission of advancing Hispanic attorneys and expanding opportunities for diverse talent. She immediately became active in bar association programming, transitioning from scholarship recipient to student representative to committee leader.

“From that point, I was locked in,” Lambert says. “I always knew I wanted to lead, and mentors within the organization helped build my confidence. They were the first to tell me, ‘You’re going to be president one day.’ That support changed everything.”

Her leadership philosophy has evolved since those early days, shaped by the varied roles she has taken on across her legal career. Lambert describes her approach as a blend of servant and transformational leadership, grounded in empathy and driven by developing others.

“My goal is not just to lead an organization,” she explains. “I want to inspire others to lead. I want to fortify the pipeline so when my tenure ends, the organization is in strong hands.”

Professionally, Lambert’s journey toward senior leadership began at Bed Bath & Beyond, where she spent nearly eight years and rose to senior corporate counsel. Her role expanded dramatically during the company’s bankruptcy process, forcing her to adapt, pivot and grow under intense circumstances.

“Rather than seeing challenges as obstacles, I learned to view them as opportunities for growth,” she shares. “That environment required flexibility, crisis management, and a willingness to learn new skills quickly. It fundamentally shaped who I am as a leader.”

Her move to ETS represented a deliberate transition—both from retail to mission-driven nonprofit work and from litigation to a more transactional role that would round out her expertise.

“I wanted to expand my skills as a transactional leader and contribute to work that advances lifelong learners,” she explains.

At ETS, Lambert now leads complex transactions and plays a key role in shaping the organization’s legal strategy.

“Handling significant M&A activity and navigating high-impact deals has been tremendously rewarding,” she notes. “It’s the kind of growth I hoped for when I joined.”

But it is Lambert’s commitment to mentorship and the work she has done externally alongside her legal career that most defines her impact. She has led numerous mentorship initiatives through the HBA-NJ and the Hispanic National Bar Association, including the American Dream Pipeline program, the national Young Lawyers Division and statewide mentorship programs serving students from law school through early practice. She has also chaired the HBA-NJ Corporate Counsel Conference for a decade, curating continuing legal education panels and professional development opportunities featuring top general counsel, CLOs, and CCOs.

“These programs are designed to create access, build skill sets and show attorneys that there is no one path to leadership,” she explains. “Whether you come from an underserved community or a nontraditional background, you belong in these rooms. It’s not a matter of if you’ll succeed, but when.”

Lambert launched a quarterly immigration series to support practitioners managing urgent and rapidly evolving cases in November and plans to launch several new initiatives in 2026, including a special committee serving in-house counsel and a business development academy. She is also committed to strengthening legacy mentorship efforts, expanding scholarship support and championing Latina leadership through the organization’s annual Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Conference.

One of her core messages is the value of external leadership for legal professionals—particularly those in-house. Lambert argues that board governance, fundraising experience and community impact work sharpen the strategic thinking required of senior counsel.

“The skills you gain from leading a nonprofit are deeply transferable,” she says. “It makes you a more strategic business partner, a more compassionate advisor and a stronger leader.”

Ultimately, Lambert views her presidency as an extension of her purpose.

“I grew up with this organization,” she reflects. “It shaped who I am as an attorney and as a leader. Now my goal is to elevate others, create access, and build a future where more attorneys from diverse backgrounds have the opportunities they deserve. There is so much work to do—and so much impact we can make. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

---