By Bill Wichert

Law360 (July 8, 2020, 9:19 PM EDT) -- Gibbons PC, Archer & Greiner PC and Cole Schotz PC are among at least eight New Jersey firms that scored loans of $5 million to $10 million under a federal business assistance program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, representing the largest of more than 500 such loans to Garden State law practices.

Those firms were joined by Bressler Amery & Ross PC, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC, Connell Foley PC, McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP and Sills Cummis & Gross PC as being approved for that level of funding under the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, according to a Law360 review of data on loans exceeding $150,000 released by the SBA.

With the exception of Haddonfield, New Jersey-based Archer & Greiner, the firms hail from northern New Jersey.

The financial support comes as large and small firms across the state have sought to avoid layoffs and furloughs, as well as navigate a state court system that has largely operated remotely in recent months, with new jury trials prohibited due to health concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus.

Gibbons spokeswoman Angela Pandolfo Roy told Law360 on Wednesday that the firm "very much appreciated the opportunity to secure a PPP loan."

"Back in March, we were maxed out on our line of credit, as we are in the first quarter of every year after the prior year's disbursements, and we had no idea how the pandemic would impact not only our firm, but our clients' businesses. With 325 families to take care of, we were grateful for the help in avoiding layoffs and furloughs," Roy said in a statement.

Referring to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Roy added, "And, to paraphrase Governor Murphy, we are not spiking the ball — this crisis is not over, and we are committed to doing everything we possibly can to see our employees through it."

Monday's data drop from the SBA included 660,000 small businesses and nonprofit organizations that received at least $150,000 in funding. However, these made up only about 15% of the nearly 5 million entities that were approved for loans. The administration released the data in the face of transparency demands from lawmakers and at least one Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

The firms included among the data were approved by participating lenders, although the funding is still subject to approval and review by the SBA.

In the second-highest category of data released by the SBA — loans of between $2 million and $5 million — such payments have been approved for at least 30 New Jersey practices.

The firms approved for those loans include Genova Burns LLC, Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP, Hoagland Longo Moran Dunst & Doukas LLP, Scarinci Hollenbeck LLC, Norris McLaughlin PA, Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC, Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP and Saiber LLC.

"The sudden business closure as a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19 brought about an immediate and sudden recessionary environment. N.J. and N.Y. were hit very hard in March. Law firms cannot retool themselves quickly enough to shift from a boom economy into a recessionary economy that fast," Donald Scarinci, managing partner of Scarinci Hollenbeck, said in a statement.

"The PPP funds gave us the time we needed and allowed us to bring the employees we needed back to work in order to help us accomplish that," Scarinci added.

Angelo J. Genova, chairman and managing partner of Genova Burns, said in a statement, "As a firm, we embraced the objectives of the PPP program, applying the proceeds to job retention, benefit protection and infrastructure stability in the interests of our team. This program, for us, represents a backstop against, and a bridge beyond, the ongoing uncertainty that the future holds as this public health crisis continues to unfold."

"In a nutshell, the use of these government funds, complemented with our own, have been about keeping our GB family together through tough times," Genova added.

At least another 36 New Jersey practices have been approved for loans of between $1 million and $2 million, including Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC, O'Toole Scrivo LLC and McCusker Anselmi Rosen & Carvelli PC.

The majority of the Garden State practices were approved for loans ranging from $150,000 to $1 million.

Bruce H. Nagel of Nagel Rice LLP — whose firm received approval for a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million — noted how the money assisted the firm amid the virus-related court restrictions.

"We were committed to pay all of our attorneys and staff full salary and benefits long before we qualified for the federal money," Nagel said in an email. "It was certainly helpful to get through this period when the courts were shut since we are a litigation firm which depends on trials to resolve cases."

PPP funding also provided a significant boost to the 10-person operation at Smith Mullin PC, which was approved for a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000. Partner Nancy Erika Smith noted in an email that "the PPP helped our small firm keep every one of our employees paid even though our firm closed on March 10th."

"For months Neil and I were the only ones in the office, but our staff continued to get paid, have health insurance, and we were able to continue to contribute to our profit sharing and 401K plan for everyone," said Smith, referring to fellow partner Neil Mullin. "I really don't know if we could have done that without the PPP."

--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto and Xiumei Dong. Editing by Emily Kokoll.

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