Gimbel earns MBA’s Lifetime Achievement Award

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Frank Gimbel, founding partner of Milwaukee-based trial and litigation law firm Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Milwaukee Bar Association.

The award was presented at the MBA’s 160th annual meeting on August 23 at the new Fiserv Forum. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to the lawyer whose career achievements in both the practice of law and community service demonstrate a consistent level of excellence.

Gimbel started practicing law in 1960 after graduating from Marquette University Law School and soon became one of four assistant U.S. attorneys in Milwaukee. He prosecuted the local head of the Mafia for tax evasion and won a conviction.

Gimbel established GRGB in 1968 and has tried 200 jury cases over his legal career. He has had multiple homicide cases with acquittals in several. In 1988, he argued a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, winning a reversal and establishing a new rule of law for asserting entrapment as a defense in a criminal case.

Gimbel also served as the lawyer for the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriff’s Association for 31 years and negotiated many contracts on its behalf. In addition to his law practice, he has served on the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission and as chairman of the Wisconsin Center District Board that oversaw the construction of Milwaukee’s first Convention Center. He has also served as president of both the Milwaukee Bar Association and the State Bar of Wisconsin, as well as the local Milwaukee Rotary Club.