Thomas “Tom” H. Prol is a member at Sills Cummis & Gross, where his practice is concentrated in business and litigation strategy with a focus on environmental, land use, and redevelopment law. He previously served as the New Jersey State Bar Association’s first openly gay leader from 2016-2017, as vice chair of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (now the National LGBT Bar Association), and as director of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York in 1999-2000. On June 14, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy appointed him as Chair of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), the state’s “fiscal watchdog” agency that oversees election financing integrity in the Garden State.
Q: What does being an ABF Fellow mean to you?
I support ABF because I believe in their important mission and work advancing the profession and their work seeking to make the world better and more just.
Q: Where do you consider your hometown and what is your favorite thing about it?
Franklin, N.J., where I grew up and opened my first law practice. It’s a small town of less than 5,000 residents with a rich history, including the unique designation of being the “fluorescent mineral capital of the world.”
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in law?
I was in the Peace Corps in Nepal and was pursuing a career in Public Health when I saw the intense opposition to LGBT rights occurring back home in the US in 1994-96. I was so upset by that and decided I was going to go back and fight for my community. I stopped in Bangkok on my way home after my service concluded and took the LSAT, starting in law school the following fall.
Q: Who is your professional hero?
Larry Lustberg, a partner at Gibbon, P.C. law firm, the legal warrior who led New Jersey’s marriage equality fight.
Q: If you hadn’t pursued a career in law, what would you have done?
I have a master’s degree in public health and was pursuing a career focused on preventive health services before I was called to the law.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
I work with an LGBT rights organization, Garden State Equality, that I helped start in 2004. I also chill at home in Asbury Park, New Jersey, with my Jack Russel terrier, Sparky (dog beach is 4 blocks from my home).
Q: Anything else you’d like to share with us?
My gratitude for all those folks who, despite having no direct connection to the rights of LGBT people, stand up and speak out as allies and supporters because it is the right thing to do. I also appreciate all the support and assistance my law firm, Sills Cummis & Gross provides me in helping me in my work advancing LGBT civil rights.