Sills Cummis Brings Back Corporate Law Pro

Frederic Tudor rejoined Sills Cummis & Gross as a Member in the Corporate Department earlier this month. This Law360 article covers Tudor’s legal career, how his experience benefits clients as well as the Firm, and more.

As seen in the article:

“Sills Cummis & Gross PC has recently brought on a corporate law veteran who is rejoining the Newark, New Jersey-based firm after spending 12 years as a partner with Brown Moskowitz & Kallen PC.

“Fred M. Tudor began his legal career in 1987 when he joined Sills Cummis as an attorney, eventually becoming a partner before leaving in 2000 for an in-house role at an information technology consulting company.

“‘It feels very comfortable to be back at Sills Cummis — even though there are new faces since the last time I was here,’ he told Law360 Pulse on Tuesday. ‘The firm could not be more welcoming and is making every effort to make sure I can be successful here again the second time around.’

“His first day back at Sills Cummis was on Feb. 1, he said, adding that some of his colleagues from more than two decades ago played a role in inspiring him to rejoin as a member, or partner, in the firm’s corporate department.

“‘Lori Waldron, one of the corporate partners, was the first person to reach out to me,’ he explained. ‘She and I grew up together at the firm and have kept in touch. There were also a number of people who were my mentors when I was here the first time, such as Max Crane, who is now the managing partner.’

“When Tudor left Sills Cummis in 2000, he joined New York-based IT consulting company ThruPoint Inc. as its general counsel and vice president and worked there for nine years. The experience, he said, has given him a unique perspective on his corporate practice.

“‘I was part of the management team where I learned to provide practical and strategic advice to enable management and the board to make business decisions,’ he said. ‘I was also buying legal services from outside firms at that time, so I know what is helpful and what is not when it comes to that.’

“Crane said he is ‘overjoyed’ Tudor has rejoined Sills Cummis and believes his prior in-house experience will help bolster the firm’s offerings.

“‘He is uniquely positioned as one of the few top-notch corporate lawyers who understands both the pressures and requirements of private practice as well as the approaches of and demands upon in-house counsel,’ he told Law360 Pulse. ‘Fred is a corporate ‘man for all seasons.’ ‘With the uptick of corporate work over the past year, Fred’s practical approach to getting deals done and his ability to provide timely and superior service will greatly benefit our clients.’

“After his time at ThruPoint, Tudor joined Summit, New Jersey-based Brown Moskowitz. Through all of his career stops, he’s never stopped learning, he said.

“‘I have also been lucky to work on a wide variety of matters with a lot of top-notch lawyers over the last 33 years, which helps me spot issues and provide efficient turnaround,’ Tudor said. ‘While I have a general corporate practice background, one of my specializations is representing technology companies in all stages of development.’

“The representation of technology companies, he said, is something he is aiming to expand and develop back at Sills Cummis.

“He has worked with clients in such industries as software development and banking. The businesses he has dealt with have ranged in size from startups to NBA franchises.

“In recent years, Tudor noted, the mergers and acquisitions space has been ‘very busy,’ and he said he is glad to be back at Sills Cummis to be able to respond to the demand.

“‘Sills Cummis has the breadth of experienced attorneys to continue to handle the demand. It provides an alternative to the high-priced New York corporate law firms,’ he said. ‘Because Sills Cummis is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, it is able to provide highly trained attorneys — who either worked in-house at a corporation or at a New York or international law firm — at rates less expensive than the big New York and international law firms across the river.’”