Left to right: George Jepsen and Perry Zinn Rowthorn, new Shipman & Goodwin partners. Courtesy photos

Former Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and his chief deputy, Perry Zinn Rowthorn, have accepted positions with the Hartford offices of Shipman & Goodwin, where they will help launch the firm's State Attorneys General Practice Group.

Jepsen, who stepped aside as attorney general last month after eight years in the job, said one of the conditions of accepting the position with Shipman was that Rowthorn join him.

Both will be partners at the firm.

“We wanted to go together as a package from the get-go,” Jepsen said Monday. “We see, with Shipman, that they are truly committed to providing the kind of support we need to build a strong practice.”

Jepsen, 64, and Rowthorn, 51, will officially join the firm Wednesday. For Jepsen, a former state Senate majority leader, it will be his second stint at the firm, having worked there from 1996-2001. Rowthorn was in private practice for one year until he joined the Office of the Attorney General, where he worked for 19 years, including the last five years as Jepsen's chief deputy.

The new practice will represent corporate clients in the full range of investigations and enforcement actions brought by state attorneys general throughout the country, including government inquiries, investigations, litigation and settlement monitoring.

“There is a need to have someone who has knowledge of privacy issues, who can interact with different attorneys general offices,” Jepsen said.

The practice could represent corporations who are the victims of attacks, as well as those under investigation.

“I've been a lawyer in practice at different times in my career,” Jepsen said. “I know the job of a lawyer is to represent your client.”

Jepsen and Rowthorn interviewed with two national law firms and four Connecticut and regional firms, which they declined to name, before deciding on Shipman. Rowthorn said he and Jepsen are eager to get to work.

“Under George's leadership, we were very active nationally working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address and solve problems facing consumers in multiple sectors,” Rowthorn said Monday. “Shipman has demonstrated to us that they have the experience, resources and expertise to support such a practice at the highest level.”

For now, Jepsen said he and Rowthorn would be the only two members of the practice group. They'll get support from other Shipman attorneys and look to grow the practice.

Jepsen and Rowthorn are both West Hartford residents. Jepsen got his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1982, while Rowthorn received his from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1997.

The hiring announcement by Shipman follows news that another prominent state official, Joette Katz, had joined the firm.

Katz, a former commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families and a former Connecticut Supreme Court justice, joined in January. She is also the chairwoman of the Connecticut Law Tribune's editorial board.

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