Gianfranco (Franco) A. Pietrafesa, a partner in Archer’s Hackensack office, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ), a leading advocacy group for business and free enterprise across New Jersey. He succeeds fellow Archer partner Thomas Herten, who had served on the CIANJ board for a number of years. Franco has also served as a member of CIANJ’s Manufacturing Forum and Family-Owned Business Forum since 2014 and 2017, respectively.
With respect to his new role, Franco stated, “I look forward to using my experience as a business lawyer, as well as working with the officers and directors of CIANJ, to advance CIANJ’s mission to make New Jersey a better and stronger place for business.”
Franco, a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law, is a member of the firm’s Business Counseling and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups. He advises clients on M&A transactions, corporate, LLC and employment matters, the protection of trade secrets and other confidential information, as well as the various other legal issues that businesses deal with on a daily basis.
He is also a frequent speaker for professional, business, industry and trade organizations on topics including mergers and acquisitions, buy-sell agreements, limited liability companies, contract drafting, and legal ethics. In 2020, Franco earned the prestigious Alfred C. Clapp Award for Excellence in Legal Education from the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
Since its founding in 1927, CIANJ has been a strong voice for expanding and improving the business climate across New Jersey. The group was a leading advocate for the opening of the George Washington Bridge in 1931 and has since grown into a statewide association representing every industry sector.
About Archer
Founded in 1928, Archer is a full-service law firm serving Fortune 100 clients, small to medium-sized businesses and individuals. The firm provides litigation and transactional services in nearly every area of law, including business counseling, labor & employment, real estate, health care, intellectual property, family and matrimonial, personal injury, public finance, tax, trusts and estates, bankruptcy, land use and environmental law. With 175 attorneys, Archer has nine offices, including Voorhees, Hackensack, Princeton and Red Bank, NJ; Philadelphia and Harrisburg, PA; Wilmington, DE; New York, NY; and Houston, TX.