Bisola Taiwo Joins the Gibbons Real Property Group

Gibbons P.C. is pleased to announce that Bisola A. Taiwo has joined the firm as a Director in the Real Property Group, resident in the Newark office.

Ms. Taiwo most recently served as Assistant Director/Chief of Staff for the City of Newark, Department of Economic and Housing Development, having been promoted from the position of Legislative Director after only 18 months. As Assistant Director/Chief of Staff, she led more than 70 employees across five multidisciplinary divisions, managed a high volume of complex redevelopment projects from concept to completion, and oversaw day-to-day operations on key initiatives and municipal capital improvement projects. She also directed a team of outside counsel on negotiations with private developers in connection with routine to non-routine real estate transactions and large-scale development projects, and she structured and monitored the orderly disposition and development of the City’s real estate portfolio in accordance with its redevelopment plans. In the planning and execution of all these projects, Ms. Taiwo reported directly with the Mayor and Business Administrator on key economic development metrics.

Some of Ms. Taiwo’s high-profile achievements while working for the City include structuring the deal terms for billions of dollars of new redevelopment projects; managing the pre-development activities and day-to-day aspects of the Riverfront Park expansion project; planning and executing the end-to-end revitalization of 45 undeveloped or underdeveloped parcels in the West Ward, creating more than 200 affordable rental units and 24 three-family homes for sale; and designing the process allocating $20 million in gap financing to subsidize the construction of new, state-of-the-art affordable housing.

Prior to working for the City of Newark, Ms. Taiwo was an attorney in private practice in New Jersey. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Susan D. Wigenton of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the Honorable Paulette M. Sapp-Peterson of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, and the Honorable Lisa P. Thornton of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division.

Ms. Taiwo earned her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and her B.A. from Colgate University. She recently completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education – Leadership Decision Making Program. She is admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey and New York. In addition, Ms. Taiwo is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, Essex County Bar Association, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.