Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Gigio K. Ninan

Overview And Experience

Gigio has achieved prominence and distinction in the practice of law.  Shankar Ninan Law Firm, a highly successful boutique law firm which Gigio started at age 29 and grew to representing over 200 businesses, is a testament to Gigio’s unique and impressive acumen in both law and business development. His clients represent a broad and diverse range of companies from small mom-and-pop shops to large multinational entities. But Gigio is more than just an advocate. He is also known for his ability to bring people together and formulate fair and workable solutions in cases and disputes. For this reason, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey appointed Gigio as a Certified Mediator, making him one of the youngest, if not the youngest, Federal Mediator on its current panel.

Gigio has nearly 15 years of legal experience in the areas of business and employment counseling and litigation in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Additionally, Gigio serves as outside General Counsel to numerous businesses where he uses his talent for structuring legal operations to turn adversity into opportunity by fulfilling corporate objectives and resolving complex employment and labor law challenges. Few people can represent such a diverse group of businesses and specialty areas while gaining and growing the confidence of all who work with him.

Gigio advises executives on the full gamut of workplace policies, procedures, and practices. Among his specialties are preparing employment agreements, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, separation agreements, and advising on reductions in workforce. In the area of employment litigation, Gigio has handled cases in which he enforced restrictive covenants and defended wage and hour claims both in New York and New Jersey state and federal courts. He also stays on the forefront of these topics by researching and writing about proposed changes to local and national laws regarding non-compete agreements and other important legal issues. By way of example, Gigio authored an article which was published by the New Jersey Lawyer entitled “The Blue Eraser: New Jersey’s Proposed move against Restrictive Covenants.” Gigio was recently quoted by U.S. News in the article entitled, “What a Ban on Noncompete Agreements would mean for you.” Gigio was also cited by Medscape, the leading online global destination for physicians and healthcare professionals worldwide, in the article “8 Careless Errors Physicians Make With Employment Contracts.” Gigio’s adaptive nature allows him to represent clients in a wide variety of industries and sub-specialties, including but not limited to:

As a member of the Asian American Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) community, Gigio stands out as a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) as evidenced by his numerous diversity presentations at Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) programs. Most recently, Gigio taught a CLE on Lawline entitled, “The Business of Law and Succession Planning for Small Law Firms in New Jersey.” And last year, Gigio spoke at the New Jersey Association for Lawyers for Justice about “the Role of Diversity for New Lawyers and in Law Schools.” Further, Gigio was a guest speaker on Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s Dimensions of Diversity Podcast, where he presented “Race in America: Perspectives from South Asian Communities.

Gigio serves as an active member of several affinity bar associations. Indeed, he takes on leadership and volunteer roles in these organizations and works to expand their influence and impact.  For example, Gigio currently serves on the Board of Directors for Asian American Bar Association of New York in his second term and previously served as the inaugural Mentorship Director and as Executive Vice President for the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey. He also served two terms as Vice-President for the South Asian Bar Association of New York. Gigio is also a former Director for the Rutgers University Alumni Association where he served on the Philanthropy and Diversity Committees, participated as a member of the DEI Committee for the New Jersey State Bar Association, and was the Head of the Rutgers Law School Alumni Association. 

Gigio has also impacted the lives of students and continues to motivate them in their careers as future lawyers, leaders, and stewards of opportunity for all. Gigio’s commitment to helping future lawyers remains unwavering. For instance, Gigio is one of the youngest ever at Rutgers Law School and Rutgers University-Camden to endow a scholarship for students. In addition, Gigio served on the Dean’s Selection Committee for Rutgers Law School where he vetted and interviewed candidates from all over the country for this prestigious position at his alma mater. Gigio’s demonstrated track record of professional excellence and leadership and commitment to the future of the legal profession helped him in being selected to the New Jersey State Bar Association Leadership Academy and the Collaborate Bar Leadership Academy.

Representative Matters

Gigio’s varied and successful track record as a lawyer is demonstrated by his representative experience below:

Many lawyers have an impressive list of clients, but Gigio stands out because he is also on the cutting edge of legal representation. He adopted and drafted plain-language agreements for his clients, which several bar associations and organizations have been promoting for years for wider adoption. Gigio also drafts and reviews software service agreements for technology companies and negotiates agreements regularly with some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. These services call for a technologically savvy attorney to handle. As a leader and innovator, Gigio understands the needs of a rapidly changing business landscape and will continue to act as an experienced practitioner in new and complex technologies in the years to come.

Background

Gigio’s drive for personal success, inspired leadership skills, and his commitment to the community grew out of his personal experience as a first-generation South Asian and growing up in a multiracial community in the Bronx, New York.

In 1989, Gigio and his family immigrated to the United States from India.  Gigio’s late father worked two jobs for most of his life to support Gigio and his brother, Major Ajus Ninan, who has served in the United States Military since December 1999. Gigio’s mother worked initially as a nursing assistant before opening her own small business, a nail salon, in the Bronx.  These experiences led Gigio to pursue his career as a small business attorney, helping immigrants, new small business owners, traditionally disadvantaged minorities, first-generation business owners, and others who need help navigating the complexities of our legal system. Gigio began that journey at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx before attending Binghamton University, the State University of New York. At Binghamton, Gigio was a member of Sigma Beta Rho Fraternity where he severed as Chair of the Philanthropy Committee and served as a teaching assistant in both the English and Political Science Departments before graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Law.

After graduation, Gigio attended Rutgers Law School, where he served on the Journal of Law and Religion. In law school, Gigio was the only student on the Scholastic Standing Committee, which adjudicated appeals by students who were dismissed or placed on academic probation. He remained an active member of Asian Pacific American Law Student Association throughout his student tenure at Rutgers Law School until he graduated in 2011.  After graduation, Gigio accepted a clerkship for the Honorable Stephen M. Holden of the Superior Court of New Jersey where he gained valuable and practical insight on all aspects of real-world litigation. After completing his clerkship, he began his legal career by joining private practice and took on several associate roles. He first worked at a mid-size boutique firm in New York before moving on to a national law firm. These experiences provided him with the tools to start his own law practice in 2015.

Gigio and his wife struggled with infertility, ultimately turning to surrogacy as an option to build their family. In November 2023, he and his wife welcomed a beautiful baby boy. In March of 2024, Good Morning America ran a special featuring Gigio and his wife’s surrogacy journey.  Gigio and his wife have been very passionate about raising awareness about infertility, especially in the South Asian and Asian communities where these issues are often not discussed.

Education

Awards*

* No aspect of this or any advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or the New York State Court of Appeals.

Leadership

New Jersey Leadership Academy - NJSBA
Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy (CBLA)
Rutgers Law School Dean's Search Committee
New Jersey State Bar Association
Asian American Bar Association of New York
South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey
Rutgers University Alumni Association
Rutgers Law School – Camden Alumni Association
South Asian Bar Association of North America
South Asian Bar Association of New York

Publications

Speaking Engagements

Teaching Experience

Court Appointment

In The Media

Bar and Court Admissions

Professional Membership

Practice Areas

Outside General Counseling

Litigation

Businesses

Individuals

Mediation

Surrogacy

Our Awards

What Our Clients Say

We value our clients’ feedback. We use those reviews to continually improve the legal services we provide. We want every client to walk away from us feeling validated and secure.