Gibbons Mourns the Loss of John T. Dolan

John T. Dolan
(1930 – 2017)

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John (Chuck) Dolan, a resident of John’s Island Club, Vero Beach, FL and Spring Lake, NJ, formerly of Far Hills and Bernardsville, NJ, died on May 24, 2017. He was 86.

Mr. Dolan helped build the law firm currently known as Gibbons P.C. in Newark — previously known as Crummy, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione – into the prominent regional firm it is today, with more than 200 attorneys across five Mid-Atlantic offices. He spent 44 years practicing law at the firm, focusing in the areas of antitrust, contracts, corporate, products liability, torts, and commercial litigation, and successfully litigating a variety of complex, high-profile cases.

In his time at Gibbons, he was known as the heart and soul of the firm – so much so that, in 2013, the firm created the John T. Dolan St. Patrick’s Day Award, which is given annually to two long-term employees who have demonstrated a love of Gibbons and its extended family, a positive attitude toward the workplace, compassion, and diligent effort on behalf of clients.

Throughout his legal career, Mr. Dolan was recognized as a leading business litigator by such publications as Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers and Woodward/White Best Lawyers®. He was a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an organization comprising less than one percent of the lawyers in the United States and Canada, who have demonstrated throughout their careers the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and collegiality.

Mr. Dolan served at various times as a Trustee, President, and Chairman of the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey and was a member the New Jersey State Bar Association, American Bar Association, International Society of Barristers, and numerous other legal industry organizations. He earned his LL.B. from the Fordham University School of Law in 1955, where he was the Associate Editor of the Fordham Law Review, and was a 1952 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. He was admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York, and numerous federal courts, up to the United States Supreme Court.

Before beginning his legal career, Mr. Dolan served in the United States Marine Corps from 1956 –1959.

Most important to Mr. Dolan throughout his life were faith, family, Ireland, the Marine Corps, and Holy Cross. He established the John T. Dolan Scholarship Fund at Holy Cross to benefit inner city students who had attended his alma mater, St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark. He served as a Knight of Malta for 30 years.

Mr. Dolan is survived by his wife of 59 years, Madeline McCann Dolan; seven children, Kathleen (Michael) Conte, John (Doren) Dolan, Marcy Dolan Haley, Cholly (Jill) Dolan, Meg (Andy) Laska, Maureen (Larry) Sherman, and Patrick (Aimee) Dolan; and 23 grandchildren, Megan Egan, Lauren Conte, Michael Conte, Kate Conte, Jack Dolan, Henry Dolan, Grace Dolan, Justin Haley, Charlie Haley, John Patrick Haley, Peter Haley, John Thomas Dolan, Matthew Dolan, Maggie Dolan, Andrew Laska, Molly Laska, Sean Laska, Emma Sherman, Annie Sherman, Bridget Sherman, Owen Dolan, Josie Dolan, and Eve Dolan.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 30 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gallaway & Crane Funeral Home, 101 South Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 31 at 10 a.m. at the Church of Saint James, 184 South Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the John T. Dolan Scholarship Fund, c/o the College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01610.