Gibbons P.C. Honored with Inaugural DEI Trailblazer Award

Gibbons P.C. has been recognized for its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with a DEI Trailblazer Award, bestowed for the first time by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce (NJCC) and African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ). Represented by its Chief Diversity Officer, Robert Johnson, the firm joined other first-ever DEI Trailblazer recipients at an awards reception held November 3 at the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

The DEI Trailblazer Awards pay tribute to “companies that are walking the walk – and demonstrating progress in critical areas of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” Award categories include Corporate Citizenship, Supplier Diversity, Board Diversity, Workforce, Access to Capital, and Emerging DEI Influencer. Gibbons was acknowledged for Corporate Citizenship for joint efforts between its Gibbons Cares pro bono program and Gibbons Diversity Initiative (GDI), which assist small, women- and minority-owned businesses throughout New Jersey that typically face hurdles in financing and sustaining their operations and have limited access to resources.

“Gibbons attorneys have donated hundreds of hours to a range of small-business owners, providing them with the vital legal services they need – and in many instances may not even know they need. We are playing an important role in helping them to succeed and prosper,” remarked Mr. Johnson, also a Director in the firm’s Corporate Group. “We are truly honored to receive this recognition of our pro bono work from the NJCC and AACCNJ.”

Among the many programs through which Gibbons is assisting small businesses are “Small Businesses Need Us” (SBNU), the AACCNJ Alliance, and the Equitable Small Business Initiative (ESBI). SBNU, an initiative of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership in which Gibbons is a partner, mobilizes professionals throughout the business community to help small women- and minority-owned businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19. The AACCNJ Alliance, a partnership between the AACCNJ and Gibbons, provides free legal counsel and advice to AACCNJ members to launch, sustain, calibrate, or advance their businesses. And the ESBI, a joint venture structured by Gibbons for the NJCC and AACCNNJ, two longtime firm clients, provides Black business enterprises, including those economically affected by the pandemic, access to wide-ranging business-related resources.

“Being able to effect positive change in the small-business community is an ongoing objective of Gibbons Cares and GDI,” noted Peter J. Torcicollo, the firm’s Managing Director. “Under Rob’s leadership, these programs continue to make great strides.”

“Receiving a DEI Trailblazer Award signifies that our community outreach achievements are indeed noteworthy and paving the way for even greater accomplishments to come,” added Executive Chairperson Patrick C. Dunican Jr.

About the NJCC

Created in 1911, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is a business advocacy organization based in Trenton that works for and is funded solely by its members. It represents its members on a wide range of business and educational issues at the State House and in Washington and helps them clear burdensome regulatory hurdles that stifle growth. The chamber’s membership is broad-based, ranging from solo proprietors and family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

 About the AACCNJ

The AACCNJ is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American businesses and communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activities within the state of New Jersey and via interaction with the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. It serves 800+ members and has 10,000+ contacts in its database. The AACCNJ joins the top 3 percent of all chambers nationwide that are accredited by the United States Chamber of Commerce. It is the only accredited chamber in New Jersey and the only African American chamber in the United States to hold this distinction.