How was this woodbridge firm managed 40 multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements? we ask the partners for their secrets to success

by Laura Kolnoski • Photos By Premier Digital Photography

What catapulted Raymond A. Gill to the Top Ten New Jersey Super Lawyers list six times in the past ten years? Consider the case of a Monmouth County man who died when his boat exploded, leaving behind a wife and children.

“We spent a great deal of time traveling up and down the East Coast to find his exact make and model of fishing boat,” related Gill, founder of the Woodbridge-based firm Gill & Chamas. Using a replica boat, a design flaw that caused water to damage the engines was discovered. (A mere flip of a switch by the man caused his craft to explode.) To illustrate the flaw in court, the back of the boat was sawed off and clear plexi-glass installed in its place. Water was then funneled onto the back deck and indeed dripped on the gas tanks, ultimately causing degradation and leakage.

“It was a visual way of making the defect come alive,” said Gill, a boater of more than 20 years who holds a captain’s license.

Leading his 15-lawyer firm, Gill has made the New Jersey Super lawyers Top 100 list four times in the past decade. That firm has won over 40 multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, including $18,850,000 for the estate of a Morris County man killed in a construction site accident (one of the largest monetary settlements for the death of an unmarried, childless man in the history of the state). A martial arts instructor who lost a leg due to defective punching bag design won $7,500,000, while $4,275,000 went to two motorcyclists injured in a collision caused by a horse that escaped from an unlocked paddock.

Gill & Chamas concentrates primarily on personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, and negligence cases. Frequently asked to share his expertise in these and other areas, Gill recently traveled to Paris for the New Jersey State Bar Association Mid-Year Meeting. There, he participated in a panel with a federal judge and a state Supreme Court Justice on jury issues. A trucking safety seminar with fellow Rider University graduate and attorney Norman Hobbie took him to Las Vegas prior to that. (Gill has handled several catastrophic cases involving tractor trailers and national hauling companies.) Hobbie (of the Eatontown law firm Hobbie, Corrigan & Bertucio) is one of a core group of long-time friends, dating back to college, who Gill regularly socializes, travels, and stays connected with.

A native of Woodbridge, Gill graduated magna cum laude from Rider University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He attended the University of Richmond, where he graduated at the top of his class and received a JD in 1977. Admitted to the Virginia bar prior to graduation from law school in 1977, he was admitted to the New Jersey bar later that year. Gill joined the firm of Dato, Kracht & Silverman in the late 1970s, which ultimately evolved into Dato & Gill. When partner Robert Dato gravitated toward more commercial work, Gill found that field “boring” and started his own firm in 1986. Recognized as an innovator in demonstrative evidence and trial tactics, he is a member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, the American Bar Association, Middlesex County Bar Association, and Middlesex County Trial Lawyers Association. A Sea Bright resident, Gill is licensed to practice in the United States District Court and Supreme Court of New Jersey, and received five of the state’s top 20 personal injury awards from September 2008 until September 2009 (with three of those listed in the Top 10). In those five cases alone, Gill accumulated nearly $50 million for clients.

Partner Peter Chamas also graduated from Rider (in 1986) with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. Before attending law school, he worked in the construction industry. He received a JD from Widener University School of Law in Delaware and is licensed to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Chamas is a member of the American Association for Justice and sits on the Board of Governors for the New Jersey Chapter of the American Association for Justice. Born and raised in Old Bridge, he now resides in Monmouth County, and has been on the New Jersey Super Lawyers list for ten consecutive years. Among his successful cases is a $7,400,000 verdict in a pier collapse that killed a Philadelphia woman, $4,700,000 for a commuter who suffered brain damage when a steel rod smashed a New Jersey Transit window, and $4,000,000 for the wrongful death of a boy who died in a skiing accident after being struck by a snow grooming machine.

“Our business is not rocket science; it’s hard work, and requires a large dose of passion and care for the people you agree to represent,” Gill said.

Two years ago, Gill handled the brain injury case of his former secretary who lost her house when she was no longer able to work. The attorney won a “very significant recovery” for her and her devastated family. Afterward, she sent him a letter of gratitude with a picture of her house to remind Gill that she wouldn’t still have it without him.

“What is particularly gratifying to me is when I can change the life of a person or a family that has been devastated by an injury, turn it around, and make a difference like that,” he explained.

The “mano a mano” competition and “mental fencing” before and during trials, along with striving to “take the air out of my adversary’s position well before the trial begins,” still provides thrills for the lawyer. A strong proponent of the impact of visuals on a jury, Gill uses demonstrative evidence in the form of animations, illustrations, or exemplar products. For one recent case, he spent over $30,000 for a custom animation of brain functioning and the effects of repetitive trauma on the human brain. The firm’s prowess in the courtroom is the product of a staff cultivated in the arts of painstaking work and attention to detail.

“We generally prefer to hire from within,” Gill said. “We hire three or four law clerks every summer from Seton Hall and/or Rutgers. The ones we like are brought back summer after summer.
I don’t believe that we have hired a lawyer in the last 15 years who did not come through our summer program. It has always been gratifying to watch kids who worked with us during their law school career go on to become accomplished, typically working for their father’s or their mother’s law firm.” The next lawyer expected to join Gill & Chamas is Gill’s oldest son Raymond III, graduating law school in December and scheduled to take the bar exam in February of next year.

“I am very excited to have my son in my firm and have the opportunity to teach him the tricks of the trade,” Gill said. His second son, Hayden, is a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh considering law school, while daughter Emma, 17, is a junior at Rumson/Fair Haven High School. A soccer standout, she has started on her high school team since freshman year.

Gill tries to attend Emily’s games—which is not always easy, as he is also in media demand. In addition to appearing on CBS, Fox, NBC, MSNBC, and PIX, he was recently asked to appear

“What is particularly gratifying to me is when I can change the life of a person or a family that has been devastated by an injury, turn it around, and make a difference,” Gill explained.

on Bryant Gumbel’s Real Sports and the Today Show regarding alleged football team sexual abuse at Sayreville High School.

“When I have news conferences, I script them so I can control the flow of the interview,” he explained, admitting not enjoying the limelight as much as some.

Both Gill and Chamas have a passion for philanthropy as well. The two, together with Norman Hobbie and attorney Christopher Placitella of Colts Neck, have created Holidays for the Homeless
& Underprivileged, Inc., a non-profit corporation established over 20 years ago that distributes food, toys, and clothing each holiday season.

“This is a ‘lawyers only’ charity,” Gill said. “We twist the arms of our colleagues to contribute and buy Christmas gifts for children in homeless shelters. It has grown consistently and I am particularly proud of that.” Over 20 other organizations benefit from Gill’s largesse, including Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the Salvation Army, Special Olympics, Sayre Woods South Little League, Surfer’s Environmental Alliance, Marine Corps League Avenel Detachment, and Howell High School. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving this year, he and Chamas personally gave over 200 turkeys to needy families. He also supports the St. James Catholic Church food bank throughout the year and particularly during the holidays.

When free time presents itself, Gill attacks it with exuberance. He attends numerous live music shows, particularly classic and ’80s rock, and was front-andcenter for a recent Steely Dan show at the Count Basie Theatre with one of his Rider fraternity brothers as his guest. An avid hockey fan, Gill is also a “strident supporter” of the New Jersey Devils. (Both of his sons played hockey in high school; one played in college.) A car fanatic, Gill also takes in Indy, NASCAR, and Formula
One Grand Prix races, has owned a number of sports cars and enjoys racing them on closed tracks.

The lawyer’s professional associations and memberships include the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, the Middlesex County Trial Lawyers Association, and New Jersey, Virginia and Middlesex County Bar Associations.