Vanguard Series: Leaders in Law

Sills Cummis & Gross litigator Michael S. Carucci is profiled as one of the “Leaders in Law.”  According to NJBIZ’s Editor, “Our second installment of the Vanguard Series centers around the law, specifically local attorneys who stood out for their roles in important (sometimes landmark) cases or were instrumental in giving back to their profession by providing opportunities for other lawyers to get to the next level in their careers.”

NJBIZ had this to say about Carucci, “At North Arlington's Queen of Peace High School, Michael Carucci both found his calling as a lawyer and met his future wife.

“His experiences inspired him to give back to his alma mater, creating an alumni association to support QPHS by establishing scholarships for students and networking infrastructure for fellow alums.

“The school’s president dropped a major truth bomb during their first board meeting: The school was in serious financial trouble, and if the group didn't raise $1 million in the next six weeks it would have to close.

“Carucci, a member of the Litigation Practice Group at Sills Cummis & Gross PC, and about 20 fellow board members got to work. He created a campaign on gofundme.com; the team held a rally for the school and scheduled press inter-views, while each personally solicited major donors.

“They met their mark — $1 million within six weeks. Within a couple more months, they'd secured a total $1.7 million.

“The 2016-17 school year went off without a hitch, but in June, Carucci and the QPHS community were hit with some terrible news: In the wake of greater-than-expected financial challenges, the Archdiocese of Newark was closing the school.

“Carucci was devastated.

“‘[But] we don't regret for one minute what we did to save the school, because we believed in the mission of the school and the good that it did for us,’ he said. ‘We wanted other students in the future to benefit like we did.’

“His commitment to education — which he attributes to the dedication of his mother, a longtime schoolteacher — continues. He was appointed as a commissioner this year to the New Jersey School Ethics Commission, and he’s also involved in raising money to demolish and rebuild the playground at Sacred Heart School in Lyndhurst, where he at-tended elementary school.”