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Gagliardi Rises to Managing Principal at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C.

On Mar 1, 2017

Effective March 1, 2017, the principals of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C. – a New Jersey top 20 law firm – have voted unanimously to elect Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr. as Managing Principal. In addition, Mr. Gagliardi will serve as President and CEO of the firm’s subsidiaries, Porzio Governmental Affairs and Porzio Compliance Services. A five-person Management Committee will support Mr. Gagliardi.

“For more than five decades, Porzio, Bromberg & Newman has been New Jersey’s go-to law firm for litigation and trial skills, business counseling in numerous specialty areas, and compliance. We have a reputation for a dynamic and collaborative approach to problem-solving and for passionate advocacy,” said Mr. Gagliardi. “Building off Porzio’s past successes, we look forward to continuing to expand the firm by bringing on experienced attorneys who are at the cutting edge of law, business, and regulatory affairs. Porzio has a proud reputation for innovative service, and I am honored to be at its helm as it moves into the future.”

Mr. Gagliardi has a long and distinguished career in New Jersey. He serves as the co-chair of Porzio’s Litigation Practice Group and the firm’s Education and Employment Team. Mr. Gagliardi represents school districts in numerous matters and handles an extraordinary variety of employment law matters for the firm’s public and private sector clients before arbitrators, administrative bodies, and state and federal courts. Mr. Gagliardi will continue his legal practice while serving as Managing Principal.
Highlights of Mr. Gagliardi’s legal career include:

  • Overseeing the only three regional school district dissolutions in New Jersey history, resolving hundreds of employment issues raised under the law, statutes, regulations, and collective bargaining agreements;
  • Prevailing in one of the first published opinions involving the civil use of the state RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute;
  • Representing then Mayor-elect Cory Booker in litigation enjoining his predecessor from non-bid sales of city property;
  • Conducting various employment litigations for Fortune 500 companies and public bodies; and,
  • Defeating an effort by an independent contractor to bring an employment case against one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies, resulting in a published opinion.

Mr. Gagliardi serves as the Chairman of the New Jersey Law Revision Commission, which is tasked with identifying areas of the law that require revision for clarification and simplification and on the Government Affairs Committee of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. He has been certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey Board on Trial Certification as a Civil Trial and is a member of the Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey. Mr. Gagliardi is a Martindale-Hubbard AV-rated lawyer who has been recognized on the New Jersey Super Lawyers List for employment law every year since its inception in 2005 and in Best Lawyers in America. He is a recent recipient of the Chief George C. Tenney Service Award by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.

Mr. Gagliardi clerked for Judge (later Justice) Virginia Long in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey. He earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Washington & Lee University School of Law and holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Mr. Gagliardi succeeds D. Jeffrey Campbell, who has overseen the firm’s operations since 1997. Mr. Campbell had been a catalyst for change, including introducing rigorous strategic planning, developing a nationally touted paralegal utilization program and launching Porzio’s subsidiaries. Mr. Campbell will stay on as Of Counsel at Porzio and President and CEO of Porzio Life Sciences, LLC.

“Jeff has served Porzio, Bromberg & Newman with distinction for the past 20 years as the firm’s Managing Principal. He leaves me with big shoes to fill,” said Mr. Gagliardi. “He grew the firm from one that primarily focused on litigation to one that operates in over a dozen practice areas. Under Jeff’s leadership, Porzio broke into the complicated and ever-evolving regulatory affairs sector and made Porzio Life Sciences a leader in life sciences and health care regulations. Jeff’s counsel and guidance helped Porzio to achieve its stellar reputation.”

“It has been a great honor to serve as Managing Principal of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman for the last two decades. I am proud of what we have accomplished for our clients and the best-in-the-business attorneys and professionals who have built Porzio’s legacy,” said Mr. Campbell. “Vito has the vision and foresight to lead this firm into the future, to welcome a new generation of lawyers to this company and to ensure the long-term success of Porzio. I look forward to seeing all that Porzio, Bromberg & Newman achieves under Vito’s management.”

To support Mr. Gagliardi’s continued litigation, education and employment law practice, a Management Committee has been created to assist Mr. Gagliardi in his management duties. The Management Committee, led by Mr. Gagliardi, is comprised of the following Porzio principals: Diane Fleming Averell (Morristown), Michelle D. Axelrod (New England), Kevin M. Bell (Washington, D.C.), Brett S. Moore (New York), and Philip J. Siana (Morristown). Mr. Siana will also serve as the firm’s Vice President.