Gibbons Director Thomas Cafferty Honored by New Jersey Law Journal with Lifetime Achievement Award

The firm and/or the attorney 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.  No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Thomas J. Cafferty, a Director in the Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department at Gibbons P.C. and Chair of the firm’s Media Law Team, has earned a 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Law Journal. Mr. Cafferty was honored at the Professional Excellence Awards Dinner on June 21 and was profiled in a New Jersey Law Journal supplement earlier this month. The other recipient this year is distinguished litigator Thomas Curtin.

“The New Jersey Law Journal joins many other organizations and publications – not to mention a multitude of satisfied clients – that have recognized Tom’s enormous contributions to the legal and media professions and the broader community,” said Patrick C. Dunican Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons P.C.

Through its Lifetime Achievement Awards, the New Jersey Law Journal celebrates individuals who have helped to shape the legal industry in New Jersey. Mr. Cafferty is the fifth Gibbons attorney to receive this honor. Past recipients include fellow Gibbons attorneys Christine A. Amalfe, Michael R. Griffinger, Lawrence S. Lustberg, and James R. Zazzali.

Mr. Cafferty has played a significant role in shaping New Jersey’s laws regarding government transparency, public access, electronic devices in the courtroom, and access to judicial and government records. He has handled some of the most complex, significant matters relating to First Amendment and media issues. He started the media law practice at Gibbons, which has since become well known and highly regarded. He also has served as General Counsel for the New Jersey Press Association (NJPA) for more than 40 years, working with some of the largest news organizations throughout the state.

Mr. Cafferty served two terms as Chair of the Media Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and chaired a sub-committee of the New Jersey Supreme Court Bench Bar Media Committee that issued a critical report, ultimately adopted by the full Committee, recommending major changes in the current Guidelines of the Supreme Court regulating the use of electronic devices in courtrooms. In addition, on behalf of his client, NJPA, he was the principal drafter of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) adopted in 2001.

Mr. Cafferty has earned extensive recognition for his accomplishments in addition to the Law Journal award. The NJSBA named him as its selection for a 2016 Professional Lawyer of the Year Award, presented jointly with the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism. He has also been selected to Thomson Reuters New Jersey Super Lawyers list in the Communications category, Woodward/White Best Lawyers® in the Litigation: First Amendment category – for which he was highlighted as 2014 Newark area “Lawyer of the Year” – and Benchmark Litigation, which has named him a “State Litigation Star.”

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/.