Volunteers from Pullman & Comley helped make the July 27 Frog Hollow SAFE Cleanup Competition a success. Courtesy photo.

Pullman & Comley Participates in Frog Hollow Cleanup

Attorneys and staff from Connecticut’s Pullman & Comley were among approximately 85 volunteers from organizations across the region who participated in a recent community cleanup event in Hartford.

In total, 130 bags of trash and recycling were collected during the Frog Hollow SAFE Cleanup Competition on July 27. The largest participating groups came from the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and the law firm, with about 20 volunteers each.

Pullman & Comley is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Connecticut this year by participating in a series of community events. The Frog Hollow cleanup was organized by the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, a partnership between Connecticut’s Children’s Medical Center, Hartford Hospital and Trinity College.

Shipman & Goodwin Commits to Diversity and Inclusion

Hartford’s Shipman & Goodwin marking its centennial year, is participating in Mansfield Rule 3.0 to support diversity and inclusion. The firm is one of 98 participating law firms across the country and one of 23 with fewer than 200 attorneys.

Mansfield Rule 3.0 requires law firms to affirmatively consider at least 30% women, minority, LGBTQ+ and disabled attorneys for significant governance roles, senior lateral openings, equity partner promotions and formal client pitches and RFP responses.

“Participation in Mansfield Rule 3.0 aligns with our core values, demonstrates our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion and ensures that the firm is being consistently and consciously inclusive,” said managing partner Alan Lieberman. “We are pleased to be taking part in this initiative.”

The Mansfield Rule was one of the winning ideas from the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab. It was inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule, a policy that requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach vacancies, and is named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman to be admitted to practice law in the United States.

Akin Gump Moves to Blue Back Square

International firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, which announced the addition of a financial restructuring and global debt finance team in Hartford last year, is moving its local office from 100 Pearl St. in downtown Hartford to West Hartford’s Blue Back Square.

Partners Thomas F. O’Connor, Renée M. Dailey, Christopher E. Lawrence and Chester “Chip” Fisher migrated from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius last October, with O’Connor occupying the firm’s London office, while Dailey, Fisher and Lawrence went to the Hartford office. The local group’s new office at 65 Memorial Rd., Suite C340, West Hartford, officially opens Aug. 12.

The West Hartford office will continue to represent insurance companies and other institutional investors in complex domestic and cross-border private placement financings, workouts and global financial restructurings.

“We are excited to move into our new, permanent office in West Hartford and its vibrant Blue Back Square area,” said Dailey, partner in charge, who called the location “a fantastic space in which to receive clients.”

Akin Gump has more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Day Pitney Moves New York City Office

Day Pitney, a 300-plus-strong firm with a major presence in Connecticut, recently moved its New York City office from Times Square to 605 Third Ave., between 39th & 40th streets, in Manhattan. The firm has signed a 10-year lease for the space, located on the 31st floor, following major renovations of the Midtown East office tower.

“Our new location is easily accessible and provides our clients and employees with additional amenities,” said Ellen Knarr, managing partner in the New York office. “After 15 years in Times Square, we welcome our clients to this new space and look forward to continuing to serve their legal needs in one of the world’s leading centers for business.”

The new office is located near Grand Central Terminal and is central to the midtown and midtown-south business districts, with an on-site parking garage, wellness services, retail outlets, meeting and conference spaces, food services, and a tenant lounge with an outdoor terrace.

The New York office serves as a global hub for Day Pitney’s international client base.

Verrill Dana Ranked a Top Law Firm for Women

For a third straight year, Verrill Dana in Westport has been recognized as one of the top law firms in the country for gender equality by the Connecticut Law Tribune’s sister publication, the National Law Journal, in the publication’s 2019 NLJ 500 Women’s Scorecard.

Nearly 39% of attorneys and an equal percentage of partners at Verrill Dana are women, exceeding national statistics by approximately 2.5 percentage points and 15.5 percentage points, respectively.