Vito Gagliardi, Managing Principal, Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C.
In an interview with Invest:, Vito Gagliardi, managing principal of law firm Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C., discussed the firm’s strategic focus on talent and navigating a competitive legal market, emphasizing investment in people as a core strategy. “Navigating uncertainty as a business, and helping your clients navigate that uncertainty, will dominate what lawyers are thinking about and what lawyers are doing for the foreseeable future,” Gagliardi added.
What changes and milestones over the past year have most impacted Porzio, Bromberg & Newman and shaped your operations or growth trajectory?
Within New Jersey, the private practice of law has always existed in a way that is mindful of geography, being located between New York and Philadelphia. I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who described New Jersey as a keg tapped on both ends. Once upon a time, while those markets always were charging higher rates and paying higher salaries than New Jersey, people had to choose whether they wanted to commute to the city, deal with those hassles and attendant tax burdens and costs, or whether they wanted to practice law in New Jersey.
While we pay salaries that are competitive for New Jersey, there remains a gap with New York and Philadelphia. I say this knowing we have an office in Manhattan, by the way, a significant part of our operations. So for us, giving younger lawyers responsibilities and opportunities, mentoring them in a way that often exists on paper but is not necessarily effectuated in reality, and investing in the broadest way possible in the futures of the talented people you attract are among the ways that you help people recognize the benefits of working for a firm that is based in New Jersey with offices throughout the Northeast and in Puerto Rico. We have done that because we have continued to grow and attract remarkable talent. On my team alone, we have three former New Jersey Supreme Court law clerks. While this reality has always existed, if you are attuned to what has gone on in the past five years, you can continue to attract and retain the best talent and, therefore, have a competitive and well-established law firm despite those changes.
As a multiservice law firm, how does Porzio balance practice diversification with maintaining depth and quality in its high-impact sectors?
First of all, it comes down to people. Often when someone here is promoted and I congratulate them, I also tell them to make sure to congratulate their parents, and, hopefully, their parents are still alive to receive those congratulations because they come to you with a certain value system that was from their parents.
You mentioned the word diversity in the context of the practice areas we serve. Since we are focusing on people, the diversity of those people is also important. In the places where we practice, I would use the word diversity as broadly as possible, not in the way that has seemed to become polarized, where you are talking about ethnic or racial diversity, but even those individuals who are single parents or who wanted to be lawyers so badly they worked their way through law school. They bring different perspectives to the law firm that other people from more traditional paths may not. So it begins with the people.
The second thing is serving those diverse clients. If you are focusing on client service, you have an opportunity to introduce them to colleagues who may do something different. So if you are in a certain practice area and you hear your client has a problem that is not something that you do, if you have been doing a good job for that client, they trust you. When you say, “I have a colleague here who can help you with that. I am not a real estate lawyer. I am not a tax lawyer. I am not a bankruptcy lawyer. I am not an environmental lawyer. I am not a life sciences lawyer, but I have a partner who can help you with this particular issue,” the client says, “Thank you. Can you set up a telephone conference?” because they trust and respect you, the person who is working hard for them, who is focusing on what you can achieve as opposed to how much you can bill, who is there at night or on the weekends. You are their person. That allows you to grow the relationships.
As co-chair of the Education & Employment group, how is the legal work in the education area positioned to evolve amid budget and policy shifts?
The educational sector is particularly challenging at this time. Changes are occurring at both the federal and state levels. Our legal practice is not limited solely to public schools, as we also represent private schools, including more traditional independent private schools and private schools that serve students with disabilities. I believe we represent more schools serving students with disabilities than any other law firm in this state, and I sometimes wonder if we represent more of these schools than any law firm in the country, though I do not know that for certain. Our practice also extends to colleges and universities. The operations of all these institutions are impacted by federal law and state law. We are fortunate that, in serving these clients, we have been able to recruit some remarkable expertise.
Four of the lawyers on our team were formerly educators in some capacity. We have a former commissioner of education, a former assistant commissioner of education, and that former commissioner was also a college president. We also have a former assistant commissioner of human services who oversaw the division of developmental disabilities. This returns to the central importance of people. We have excellent people. What you need to be able to do for clients in these complicated times, and while I am saying this for education clients, I believe it is true for almost any client, is to navigate constant shifts in rules, regulations, case law, and the priorities of governmental agencies. A client will present a set of facts and ask the most important question: What do you think I should do? If you answer that question in a useful way, it is that answer that strengthens client relationships and earns you more clients. Part of that, with the atmosphere shifting so dramatically, is keeping an eye on what is happening so you can advise clients appropriately. Because of the size and scope of the education team here, we do that quite well. However, it is harder now than it has ever been.
What is your near-term outlook for the legal landscape in New Jersey and for Porzio, Bromberg & Newman in terms of client needs, staffing, or policy shifts?
The top business priority will certainly not change: attracting and retaining talent. I use talent as a broad umbrella term for all the qualities you would want in a colleague at a law firm. I am not just talking about legal ability. I am talking about a lawyer who is kind, courteous, and generous; who takes the time to mentor people; who is interested in working as hard as possible to advance, ethically and lawfully, the interests of their clients; and who knows how to share opportunities and credit. Not just monetary credit, but the sort of credit that allows people to feel good about a task where they have devoted time and energy.
If you can find that talented lawyer, the marketplace will recognize or will discover that lawyer’s talent, but you will also have someone in-house who you enjoy, who helps you attract other talented people, and who can mentor good younger lawyers. There is no doubt in my mind that Porzio will remain interested in recruiting and retaining a broad, diverse, and talented set of lawyers interested in hard work and the pursuit of their clients’ goals. As far as the legal landscape is concerned, uncertainty has never been more prevalent in many endeavors, and the practice of law is no different. Navigating uncertainty as a business and helping your clients navigate that uncertainty will dominate what lawyers are thinking about and what lawyers are doing for the foreseeable future.
