New Jersey State Bar Association Honors Gibbons Director Michael Griffinger with Lifetime Pro Bono Achievement Award

The firm and/or the attorneys referenced have been selected for the recognitions mentioned herein, which have been conferred by the corresponding publications and/or organizations noted. An overview of the award selection methodologies for these recognitions can be found at https://www.gibbonslaw.com/awards. Links to certain specific methodologies are embedded in individual entries. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Michael R. Griffinger, a Director in the Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department at Gibbons P.C., has been honored with a Lifetime Pro Bono Achievement Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Pro Bono Committee. Honorees, including Mr. Griffinger, were celebrated during a virtual ceremony on October 27.

Mr. Griffinger was selected for this award on the basis of his expansive 55-year charitable and civic commitments. As a result of the Newark riots in the late 1960s, he began his decades-long work for several legal services organizations, starting with Essex-Newark Legal Services, where he served as Chairman of the Board. He later helped to found three programs with similar objectives – equal access to strong legal representation and fair treatment within the justice system, regardless of position or income: Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), the Legal Services Foundation, and the John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest & Constitutional Law. Mr. Griffinger has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center since 1995, and he founded the Fresh Air Fund Games.

“Since the beginning of his career, Mike has set the standard for community outreach and pro bono service, a value Gibbons has embraced wholeheartedly,” said Patrick C. Dunican Jr., the firm’s Chairman and Managing Director. “He has made an indelible impact, both at the firm and on the legal community at large, and we wholeheartedly congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.”

Mr. Griffinger has contributed to the health and growth of the New Jersey business community as an active business and commercial litigator for over 50 years, representing major United States and foreign corporations across numerous industries, including railroad, automobile, food, telecommunications, and several others that are particularly important to the state’s economy, such as manufacturing, finance, and pharmaceuticals. Among his many accomplishments, he was part of the committee that successfully created a special Business Track within the New Jersey court system to handle complex commercial disputes and build a body of written opinions that could serve to guide the business community in its commercial practices. He also litigated precedent-setting cases that led to the establishment or clarification of important commercial rules, such as the Business Judgment Rule.

Various organizations have recognized Mr. Griffinger for his professional and volunteer efforts, including NJBIZ (2017 Icon Award); New Jersey Law Journal (2016 Lifetime Achievement Award); Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (Champion of Change); New Jersey State Bar Foundation (Medal of Honor Award); Trial Attorneys of New Jersey (Trial Bar Award); and the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey (William J. Brennan, Jr. Award). He has been listed as one of the leading “Bet-the-Company” and business litigators in the state in such publications as Woodward/White Best Lawyers®, Thomson Reuters New Jersey Super Lawyers, and Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

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No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the selection process methodology for the awards referenced is available at gibbonslaw.com/awards.