Gibbons Announces New Leaders for Commercial & Criminal Litigation Group
Gibbons P.C. is pleased to announce that firm Directors Frederick W. Alworth, Jennifer A. Hradil, and Thomas R. Valen have been named to new leadership positions in the Commercial & Criminal Litigation Group, the firm’s largest and most wide-ranging practice area. Effective February 1, 2022, Mr. Alworth will serve as Chair of the practice, with Ms. Hradil and Mr. Valen as Vice Chairs. In their new positions, these attorneys will oversee the work of the attorneys in their respective practice groups and manage group activities and workload. Their oversight responsibilities include fees and billings, matter management, case staffing, associate training and broader professional development, client relations, and business development. All have served, or are serving, in various other management capacities at the firm.
“These longtime firm Directors possess the deep institutional knowledge necessary to be effective leaders of their practice group, and they are exceptionally equipped to position the firm for even greater things,” said Patrick C. Dunican Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons. “But more importantly, they are dedicated to the great Gibbons law firm, its clients and employees, its communities, and its future.”
The firm’s incoming Managing Director, Peter J. Torcicollo, notes, “I’m excited to begin my tenure in February with this talented group of leaders, who are as committed to the success of this firm as I am.”
About the New Practice Group Leaders
Frederick W. Alworth has been with Gibbons for over 30 years, having joined the firm as an associate. He leads the firm’s General Equity practice and has extensive trial experience in all aspects of civil litigation, appearing regularly as trial counsel before state and federal courts and the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Alworth has served as lead trial counsel in business and real estate related litigations throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, Virginia, and Florida. Having served as President of the Essex County Bar Association, Chair of the Equity Jurisprudence Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and Vice Chair of New Jersey State Ethics Commission, he frequently lectures for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He is listed in Best Lawyers® for Commercial Litigation and as the current “Lawyer of the Year” for Real Estate Litigation in the Newark, New Jersey region. He is also listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers.
Jennifer A. Hradil leads the firm’s Appellate Team, directing a practice put on the national map by our firm’s standard-bearer, the late John J. Gibbons. Most notably, Ms. Hradil led the Gibbons appellate attorneys responsible for the U.S. Supreme Court decision making way for legal sports betting throughout the country, a decision with major economic ramifications for the state and region and the entire American sports and gaming industries. She has also argued appeals before the New Jersey Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits. In her broader practice, she represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial disputes, including business tort, professional malpractice, breach of contract, antitrust, securities, restrictive covenant, and unfair competition matters. Ms. Hradil is also Co-Chair of the firm’s E-Discovery Task Force. She has been named to the Profiles in Diversity Journal “Women Worth Watching,” NJBIZ “Best 50 Women in Business,” and New Jersey Super Lawyers lists.
Thomas R. Valen has spent his entire 25 years in private practice at Gibbons. He has an extraordinary range of experience, serving the needs of corporations and individuals in civil and criminal litigation, enabling him to efficiently handle his clients’ most significant matters involving either governmental or private claims, including commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and shareholder disputes. High-stakes and high-profile matters on which he works include the legalization of sports betting and the representation of the founder of an asset management firm regarding the wide range of legal issues surrounding the collapse of that company. He also regularly provides business and compliance counseling to an exceptional range of domestic and international clients. He is listed in Best Lawyers® for Commercial Litigation and New Jersey Super Lawyers for Business Litigation.
About Gibbons P.C.
With nearly 200 attorneys, Gibbons is a leading law firm in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, DC, and Florida, recognized nationally for its work – for example, as one of only 20 law firms on the National Law Journal’s inaugural “Midsize Hot List” – as well as regionally. The New Jersey Law Journal has awarded Gibbons a “Litigation Practice of the Year” designation four times in recent years, in the class actions, products liability, and commercial litigation categories and with the overall “General Litigation Practice of the Year” honor. Law360 has highlighted the firm’s multidisciplinary litigation strength, and its contributions to several high-profile corporate and real estate transactions in the public and private sectors, in its “Regional Powerhouse” series. For the past four years, Gibbons was selected one of the top three law firms and lobbying firms in New Jersey in the NJBIZ Reader Ranking Awards. The firm has been certified as a great workplace by the independent analysts at the Great Place to Work® organization. For more information about Gibbons, visit gibbonslaw.com.