In 1994, after having been a partner in a small law firm for seven years, I decided it was time to go out on my own. I started my own firm with a vision. A peek into my legal background reveals how I developed this philosophy.
I was only in my first year at Delaware Law School in 1980. A call by my Dad, local South Jersey lawyer Harold P. Gleaner, to his friend Frank M. Lario, Jr., initiated what turned out to be a long and close relationship. As it turned out, Frank's office, the Haddonfield law firm of Lario and Nardi, was in need of a law clerk. I was in need of experience. It was a match from that first phone call. I met with Frank, and shortly thereafter, with his partner, Joseph M. Nardi, Jr. I began to clerk with Frank and Joe, doing research, working on litigation, meeting with clients and doing other important support tasks for the firm.
As time went on, I became an associate with Lario and Nardi, and eventually became a partner in the firm in 1987. Obviously, the legal experience was invaluable. However, the more important lesson was the way that Frank and Joe worked with their clients. No one was ever turned away. Fees were paid in accordance with the individual's ability to do so. Frank loved to tell stories about how his father, Frank M. Lario, Sr., also a prominent lawyer, was sometimes paid by way of vegetables or bartered services. The point of the story was that one should never let a fee come between the lawyer and his client. This was the Lario and Nardi creed and it was well learned.
By 1988, Joe's abilities were recognized by the Governor of New Jersey when he was named to the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Frank quickly followed him to the Superior Court bench in 1991. The firm continued until July of 1994, when the remaining partners dissolved the firm, each wanting to go in their own directions. I joined my Dad who by that time was in semi-retirement, but still practicing law part time in an office that he had occupied in Audubon, New Jersey since the early 1960's.
I am a proud graduate of Rutgers (B.S., 1978) and Delaware Law School (J.D., 1981) and am a member of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Bar and the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. As a Municipal Court Judge, I see legal issues from both sides of the bench, which I believe is an advantage for all of my clients. My Dad continues to serve "of counsel" to the firm and has over 50 years of legal experience, including over 22 years as a Municipal Court Judge in several Camden County communities.
I am proud of the fact that my firm, Robert A. Gleaner, P.C., continues to operate today with the same creed that was so successful for Lario and Nardi - Offer quality legal services at reasonable rates and always work with clients in accordance with their financial abilities. No situation is too large or too small.