August 08, 2019
Sills Cummis & Gross is pleased to announce the addition
of Thomas H. Prol as its newest Member of the Firm. Mr. Prol concentrates his practice on environmental, land
use, and related litigation and administrative law matters.
Mr. Prol is a Past
President of the New Jersey State Bar Association and its first openly gay
President in the Association’s 118-year history. During his tenure as President,
Mr. Prol spearheaded efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the
federal Constitution, promoted diversity and inclusion in the legal profession
and justice system, and expand access to justice. He advocated for marriage
equality in New Jersey in public forums and the courts, and was a vigorous
advocate for, and successfully argued the defense of, the New Jersey Criminal
Justice Reform Act and the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Act. Mr. Prol is also a
founding member of and on the executive committee of Garden State Equality, the
leading New Jersey LGBT civil rights organization. He previously served as vice
chair of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (now known as the
National LGBT Bar Association) and on the board of the LGBT Bar Association of
Greater New York.
“We are pleased that Tom has joined us – he is a quality
lawyer and quality person,” stated Sills Cummis Managing Partner Max Crane. He
continued, “Since its founding, Sills Cummis has always been involved at the
intersection of law, business, and public policy. Tom’s arrival only
strengthens this aspect of the Firm.”
In addition to being active in the New Jersey State Bar
Association, Mr. Prol serves on the House of Delegates of the American Bar
Association and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
“I am pleased to join Sills Cummis – the lawyers are
top-notch across the board. Sills Cummis
also allows me a larger platform – more lawyers in a wider range of practice
areas. Because of the Firm’s historic and current association with the business
community and the world of public service, I know I will fit right in by
generating business and continuing to advocate for equal justice under the law,”
said Tom Prol.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Prol was an environmental
scientist and enforcement officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
and served two years as a volunteer in the U.S. Peace Corps in Nepal.
Over the course of his legal career, he has received
numerous awards, including the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Mel Narol Award in 2018 for leadership
and advocacy by spearheading inclusion and making strides for women and
minority lawyers, a Professional Lawyer
of the Year Award in 2018 (as selected by the New Jersey Commission of
Professionalism in the Law and the Sussex County Bar Association), and the Young Lawyer of the Year Award by the
New Jersey State Bar Association in 2004.
He was also a New Jersey Law
Journal “Attorney of the Year” Finalist in 2017.
Mr. Prol is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New
York. He received his J.D. from New York
Law School in 2001, his M.P.H. from Emory University in 1997 and his B.A. from
Emory University in 1991.