John Mairo, highly regarded for his work in commercial litigation, workouts, financial reorganizations and creditors’ rights has joined Gibbons as the chair of the firm’s Financial Restructuring & Creditors’ Rights group, it was announced Friday.
Mairo, who previously worked at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, succeeds Robert Malone, now FRCR chair emeritus, who had led the group since 2019.
In his new role, Mairo will work to continue the practice’s notable growth under Malone at the Newark-based firm.
Mairo said he is eager to get started.
“Gibbons is a great and well-established firm, and I am excited and honored to receive this wonderful opportunity to join its legal team and take its Bankruptcy practice to even greater heights,” he said. “I have worked with many Gibbons attorneys over the years and look forward to working more closely with them, particularly those in the firm’s Corporate, Real Property, and Litigation practices, which complement the FRCR Group.”
A respected and particularly well-rounded insolvency lawyer, Mairo has represented an extensive slate of clients that comprises debtors, secured lenders, creditors’ committees, landlords, administrative agents for syndicates of lenders, foreign representatives, and more.
Throughout his decades-long career, he has handled mid-size to multibillion-dollar bankruptcy matters on both national and international scales, securing favorable settlements, proposing beneficial recovery plans, and successfully litigating cases that have enabled his clients’ businesses to thrive and prosper. His significant experience has included complex restructuring cases and antitrust multidistrict litigation.
Mairo has been recognized by his clients and colleagues alike for his leadership qualities, legal acumen and strategic thinking, which over the course of his career have yielded impressive results and garnered him numerous recognitions. He is an INSOL International Fellow and committee member of the INSOL Insolvency Practitioners Group and is one of only three bankruptcy attorneys in the Third Circuit selected for induction this March as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.
He is listed in Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for Business/Bankruptcy/Restructuring; Thomson Reuters New Jersey Super Lawyers®; and The Best Lawyers in America® for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, and Commercial Litigation. In 2020, Best Lawyers® featured him as “Lawyer of the Year” for Litigation/Bankruptcy in the Newark area.
“We are thrilled to welcome John on board, and I am very pleased to pass the baton to him,” Malone said. “I have known John for many years, and he is a tremendous addition to our firm. I look forward to working with John, and I am confident he will excel as the group’s new leader in advancing the goals and objectives of the Bankruptcy practice for years to come.”
Gibbons Managing Director Peter Torcicollo applauded the announcement.
“We are happy to welcome John to the Gibbons family,” he said. “With his extensive experience and broad knowledge, he is highly qualified to steer the FRCR Group as it enters a new era of leadership.”
In addition to his previous roles with Porzio, Bromberg & Newman (where he served as chair of the Commercial Practice Group and co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Department), Mairo’s background includes associateships at several private practices, as well as a clerkship with the Hon. Rosemary Gambardella, bankruptcy judge for the District of New Jersey.
He is an appointed mediator for and a member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, which has recognized him for his pro bono service. Additionally, Mr. Mairo is certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification.
Mairo earned his J.D. from Seton Hall Law School, where he was managing editor of the Seton Hall Journal of Sport Law, and a B.A. with honors from Boston College. He is admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey and New York, as well as the United States Supreme Court and various New Jersey and New York district courts.
