Gibbons Recognized As a Leading Firm by Chambers USA
Publication recognizes 14 lawyers and ten practice areas as leaders in their fields

June 14, 2010

The 2010 edition of the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has been released, and it features ten Gibbons practice areas and 14 individual attorneys ranked in the top tiers. The firm has appeared in the New Jersey section of the Chambers guide since the guide’s inception, but the 2010 version includes the highest total number of firm practices and attorneys to achieve the distinction of a Chambers ranking. In addition, our Corporate Department moved up one tier to be ranked for the first time in the top three tiers of New Jersey-based corporate and M&A practices.

“The fact that so many of our practices and our lawyers were so prominently featured by Chambers in 2010 is a testament to the firm’s steadfast dedication to exceptional client service, particularly through the economic climate of the past year,” says Patrick C. Dunican. Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons.

Chambers annually rates the nation’s leading business lawyers and law firms through comprehensive interviews with top companies, attorneys, and business executives, as well as extensive supplementary research. The Gibbons practice groups that earned places in Chambers’ top three tiers among law firms with significant New Jersey presence include the following, with Chambers and client testimonials excerpted from this year’s guide:

• Bankruptcy/Restructuring
  "A well respected mainstay of the New Jersey bankruptcy arena."
• Corporate/M&A
  Commentators acknowledge that this firm has made great strides in establishing itself as a force in the corporate arena. Sources say: "[a] substantively excellent team whose members are genuine experts, from top to bottom."
• Environmental
  Litigation forms the bulk of the practice, and the group is especially well known for cost recovery actions, particularly in property damage cases. Sources say: "[a] number of attorneys here have technical background in this area, which really adds value to their work."
• Healthcare
  [The firm’s] prominent presence in the healthcare sector is predominantly due to [its] strong track record in healthcare litigation…. The team is especially strong in the field of government investigations, and also in assisting healthcare clients with the implementation of effective compliance programs to ensure investigations are avoided.
• Intellectual Property
  One of the group's most distinctive features is its recruitment policy: a significant proportion of its attorneys are former chief patent counsel and vice presidents of the IP departments of major corporations. Sources say "[t]he firm has attorneys who have worked in our industry for years, who understand businesses like ours, and appreciate the pressures we operate under."
• Litigation: General Commercial
  Litigation: Products Liability
  Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
  This litigation group is admired for the breadth of its coverage, with its lawyers able to counsel clients from a wide array of business sectors across a wide range of disputes. Sources say: "[g]reat depth of both expertise and bench, as well as a universally high caliber of lawyer."
• Real Estate
  This practice's reputation is rooted in its real estate development and redevelopment expertise, although the current economic climate has seen the team increasingly involved in the acquisition of distressed assets.

Several of our attorneys made sterling showings in the guide’s individual rankings as well:

Christine A. Amalfe
Labor & Employment
Christine Amalfe chairs the labor and employment group. Her practice is predominantly focused on employment litigation, and she receives considerable praise for her approach, which is characterized as "smart and strategic - she combines hard work with flexibility and creativity.”

Russell B. Bershad
Real Estate
The talented Russell Bershad cochairs the firm's real property and environmental department. His busy practice emphasizes financing and leasing transactions.

Kim M. Catullo
Litigation: Products Liability
Kim Catullo heads up the products liability side of the practice, and draws praise from commentators for her fantastic decision-making skills.

David E. De Lorenzi
Intellectual Property
David De Lorenzi chairs the firm's IP practice group. He works with clients from the life sciences, telecoms and consumer products sectors on both transactional and litigation matters. Interviewees respect him as "a real heavyweight."

Irvin M. Freilich
Environmental
Irvin Freilich is an experienced environmental litigator…

Karen A. Giannelli
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Karen A. Giannelli chairs the department and is "a nationally regarded bankruptcy practitioner who brings a superlative level of skill to any case she works on."

John J. Gibbons
Litigation: General Commercial
John Gibbons is noted for his expertise in disputes concerning antitrust, IP and securities law.

Michael R. Griffinger
Litigation: General Commercial
Michael Griffinger "is, and has for a long time been, one of the market's best litigators." He is hugely experienced and remains hands-on within the group, predominantly in securities and antitrust-related cases.

John H. Klock
Environmental
John Klock is noted for his expertise in Superfund cases.

Bruce A. Levy
Healthcare
Bruce Levy is a white-collar crime specialist with a noted focus on healthcare-related fraud investigations.

Lawrence S. Lustberg
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
Lawrence Lustberg is the group's leading white-collar defense specialist. Lustberg has cultivated a phenomenal reputation in the sector, with sources acknowledging that "he is an incredibly strong litigator - on another level from many of his peers."

Michael R. McDonald
Litigation: General Commercial
Michael McDonald has developed a stellar reputation for complex commercial cases in the pharmaceutical sector.

Edward F. McTiernan
Environmental
Edward McTiernan leads the group, and is valued by clients for his "responsiveness, clear thinking and business-savvy approach."

Frank J. Vecchione
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Frank Vecchione is a Chapter 11 specialist who is regarded as "the dean of the bankruptcy Bar here in New Jersey."