Gibbons P.C. was founded in 1926 by Andrew B. Crummy in Newark, New Jersey, where the firm proudly remains headquartered. He attended Harvard Law School, and upon graduation returned to his roots in Newark to practice law, focusing in the areas of taxation, corporate governance and corporate reorganizations.
In 1950, John J. Gibbons joined the firm as an attorney after earning his J.D. from Harvard Law School. After several years with the firm, he became a partner, and his name was added to the firm's name.
The firm grew in the coming years with the addition of attorneys who would help define its future as name partners and begin its transformation into the Gibbons we know today. In 1960, John T. (Chuck) Dolan joined the firm, following his separation from the Marine Corps and the completion of his LL.B. from Fordham University. The following year, Ralph N. Del Deo came on, having earned his LL.B. from the Rutgers University School of Law and been active as a private practice trial attorney. Michael R. Griffinger and Frank J. Vecchione joined the firm as associates in 1965. Mr. Griffinger had earned his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law and his M.B.A. from the Columbia School of Business. Mr. Vecchione had earned his J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law.
When Mr. Gibbons was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1970, the firm became known as Crummy, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione. In 1981, Andrew Crummy passed away; however, his legacy was strong, and the firm he founded continued to grow and provide quality legal services to a variety of clients.
Mr. Gibbons rejoined the firm in 1990, after concluding 20 years of service on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where he served as the Chief Judge and authored more than 800 published opinions. Soon afterwards, the firm changed its name to Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, in tribute to his contribution to the legal field and the firm. Part of the reason for Mr. Gibbons's return was the creation of the John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest & Constitutional Law, which formalized the firm's ongoing commitment to pro bono causes. The Gibbons Fellows, supported by the full resources of the firm, undertake public interest and constitutional law projects and litigation, and the Fellowship has been and remains involved in the most significant and controversial issues that confront the federal and state courts.
The award-winning Gibbons Women's Initiative (GWI) is a critical component of the firm's efforts to create a more diverse attorney workforce and leadership team, by implementing innovative and proven programs that promote diversity awareness both internally and throughout the legal community. GWI brings together new and seasoned women attorneys within the firm, as well as clients and high-level professionals in business and academia, with events and programming designed to improve knowledge, foster teamwork, and promote the role of women in business. By 2009, Gibbons became only the third law firm to receive the international Catalyst Award, a preeminent corporate honor for the advancement of women in the workplace.
The firm opened its New York office in 1997, providing clients with a full range of legal services in a second location in the region. In the following years, the office grew to more than 40 lawyers through the acquisition of experienced New York attorneys.
The firm opened its Trenton office and introduced its Government & Regulatory Affairs Group in 2002. The firm's lawyer-lobbyists provide substantial legal, policy, and government affairs assistance for clients in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. As of 2023, Gibbons has generated the highest annual revenue among the state's lawyer-lobbying practices for 15 straight years.
By the start of 2004, the firm had moved to a corporate management model and had passed the torch of leadership to the next generation. Patrick C. Dunican Jr. began as Managing Director of the firm at the age of 37. Among numerous other accomplishments achieved throughout his 18-year tenure, the firm expanded its geographic footprint down the East Coast, established itself as the premier government affairs firm in New Jersey, maintained its status among the finest litigation firms in the United States, and grew its corporate practice to make Gibbons a "go to" firm in New Jersey for complex corporate transactions.
In May 2005, the firm opened its Philadelphia office, bringing the number of firm offices to four and enhancing the firm's ability to serve clients throughout the region.
In 2007, Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione shortened its name to Gibbons P.C. and launched a new logo to coincide with the firm's move to new, state-of-the-art headquarters to One Gateway Center in Newark. The firm also changed the skyline of Newark with the addition of its logo atop its new headquarters building.
Located in the city widely regarded as the corporate capital of the world, the Gibbons Delaware office provides a varied portfolio of services to businesses, including business and commercial litigation matters in the Delaware state and federal courts, bankruptcy matters in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and corporate litigation matters in Delaware's Court of Chancery. Gibbons also serves as local or special counsel for out-of-state law firms in Delaware matters.
Gibbons appointed its first Chief Diversity Officer and expanded the Gibbons Diversity Initiative (GDI) in 2007. GDI focuses on policies and programming to cultivate a diverse workforce, launch pipeline programs to develop future generations in the legal profession, advance thought leadership in the DEI arena, encourage supplier diversity, and nurture diverse communities. Led by our second Chief Diversity Officer, Robert Johnson, since 2017, GDI has in recent years sharpened its focus on the support of diversity in the legal profession at the earliest stages - for example, launching its heralded Clerkship to Associate Pipeline (CAP) Program in 2018 to assist local law students of diverse backgrounds in attaining post-graduation employment - and on collaborations with the Gibbons Cares pro bono program that help women- and minority-owned small businesses throughout our local communities.
In recognition of its commitment to "Doing Good While Doing Well," Gibbons was honored for such programs as Gibbons Cares, its community outreach efforts through which the firm donates more than $1 million annually; the John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest and Constitutional Law, which delivers significant pro bono public interest legal services tackling major public interest issues; and the Gibbons Experience, the firm's generous benefits program.
The New Jersey Law Journal named Lawrence S. Lustberg, Director of the John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest & Constitutional Law, New Jersey's "Lawyer of the Year" for 2013, in recognition of his guidance of the Gibbons Fellowship in its cutting-edge work on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality, highlighted by his lead role in the successful constitutional challenge to the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage in New Jersey. Due in large part to his efforts, New Jersey achieved marriage equality in October 2013.
NJBIZ, the premier weekly newspaper covering business in New Jersey, named Gibbons one of the "Best Places to Work in New Jersey" for the tenth year in a row in 2015. Gibbons regularly ranks in the "large company" (250+ employees) category of this program, designed to identify, recognize, and honor companies that benefit the state's economy, workforce, and fellow businesses. Overall, the firm has earned a spot on this annual list for 18 consecutive years. Gibbons has been acknowledged as a great workplace by various other organizations and publications, in particular the Great Place to Work® organization and Fortune magazine.
Renowned litigator John J. Gibbons passed away in December 2018 at 94 years old. Mr. Gibbons committed his 65-year career to protecting the rule of law in this country, a commitment that took root in the 1960s - when, as President of the New Jersey State Bar Association, he enlisted attorneys during the Newark riots to help those unable to afford legal representation - and blossomed in the new century, with the historic Supreme Court of the United States decision in Rasul v. Bush among his most famous and impactful achievements. As Patrick C. Dunican Jr., then the firm's Chairman and Managing Director, noted at the time, "The Judge played a lot of roles here at the firm that bears his name: role model, teacher, mentor, friend, and hero. He was a quiet, soft-spoken legal rock star who walked among the giants in our profession and, in the process, became one of the biggest."
In 2018 and 2019, Gibbons continued its mission of regional expansion to serve clients from easily accessible, transit connected offices in key locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and the East Coast more generally.
The firm's longstanding and wide-ranging relationships in Washington uniquely position the Gibbons practice in DC, enabling us to provide our clients with the interdisciplinary approach necessary to comprehensively address their business interests with on-the-ground guidance in our nation's capital. The West Palm Beach office, located in the main population corridor of Florida, extends south the ability of Gibbons to both service existing clients and introduce its practice to Florida-based businesses and individuals. Gibbons later expanded into Red Bank, a linchpin of Monmouth County, which boasts an economy and business base that are microcosms of the state's overall economy and business base, and which is home to numerous industries represented among the firm's most significant clients.
Peter J. Torcicollo, former Co-Chair of the firm's commercial and criminal litigation practice, assumed the position of Managing Director on February 1, 2022. As the firm's chief executive officer, he is responsible for the creation and implementation of a strategic business plan and mission statement, as well as the internal operations required to carry them out. Mr. Torcicollo joined Gibbons as an associate in 1993, was promoted to Director in 2000, and became an Executive Committee member in 2010. He also founded the firm's construction law practice.
In September 2023, Gibbons achieved Mansfield Certification status for its 2022-2023 efforts. This distinguished designation in the legal field, which acknowledges Gibbons's commitment to ensuring all firm attorneys and employees have a fair and equal opportunity to advance into leadership, comes after the firm completed a year-long, rigorous process involving data collection, the meeting of numerous reporting milestones, and other activities focused on the path to leadership at Gibbons. The firm is among 175 large-size law firms in the United States and Canada to become Mansfield-certified in 2023, and Gibbons will continue to strive for annual certification.
