The New Haven office of the nation's largest employment law firm has named a new managing shareholder. Attorney Lori Alexander will succeed George E. O'Brien Jr., who had headed the Connecticut office of Littler Mendelson since it opened in January 2007.

O'Brien will remain with the firm and focus on his legal practice. Alexander, meanwhile, is a founding member of the New Haven office of Littler Mendelson, a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law and a former president of the New Haven County Bar Association.

“As one of the founding attorneys of the office, Lori is a natural fit to take the helm,” Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, Littler Mendelson's co-managing directors, said in a prepared statement. “We appreciate George's leadership and many contributions, and look forward to Lori's leadership. She has a tremendous reputation in the local legal community and we are confident that she will continue to grow the firm's presence in New Haven and throughout Connecticut.”