Thomas H. Prol, a
Member of Sills Cummis & Gross, concentrates his practice on environmental,
land use, commercial property tax appeals, and related litigation and administrative law matters. He is admitted
to practice law in New Jersey and New York and before numerous federal courts.
Mr. Prol is a Past President of the New Jersey State Bar
Association (2016-2017) and was the first openly gay leader in the
Association’s history. He is a member of the American Bar Association House of
Delegates, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honor bestowed on
less than one percent of the attorneys in each jurisdiction.
Throughout his legal career, Mr. Prol has been a vocal
advocate on issues of equality and access to justice. He worked to advance
marriage equality and LGBT rights in New Jersey, and was an advocate for, and
successfully argued the defense of both the New Jersey Criminal Justice Reform
Act and the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Act. Mr. Prol is also a founding member and
serves in the executive leadership 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.
Mr. Prol has appeared and has
authored/co-authored numerous briefs over the past decade before the New Jersey
Supreme and Superior Courts, New Jersey Council on Local Mandates and the U.S.
Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a
frequent lecturer for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education
(“NJICLE”).
Mr. Prol is an adjunct professor at
Seton Hall University School of Law, and previously taught legal writing and
appellate advocacy at New York Law School. He also served as Associate General Counsel and
Agency Chief Contracting Officer for New York City’s Department of Consumer
Affairs.
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.
Mr. Prol has also held externships
with the U.S. Attorney’s Office (EDNY), the New York City Commission on Human
Rights, CNN and The Carter Presidential Center.