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The first-ever New England Legal Awards began accepting nominations in May, expanding the field to include attorneys and firms from beyond Connecticut, including many in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and beyond. What we've ended up with is our biggest group of winners so far for our annual excellence awards, which will be celebrated at a gala in September.
Honorees will be recognized at an awards dinner on Sept. 21 at Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. For more information, please visit the New England Legal Awards event site. For tickets and sponsorships, please contact Andre Sutton at [email protected].
Many of the names below are familiar to all, but there will likely be some who are new to you from neighboring New England states. Connecticut's legal community remains proudly represented in this year's contest, which reaches out to a broader audience and will be showcased on a bigger stage.
Thanks to everyone who nominated candidates for this year's awards, and please join in celebrating the following winners:
Attorney of the Year Finalists
Andrew Garza, Connecticut Trial Firm
Joseph J. Mueller, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Chinh Pham, Greenberg Traurig
Litigation Departments of the Year, General — Finalists
Latham & Watkins
Ropes & Gray
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Wiggin and Dana
Litigation Departments of the Year — Specialty
Saxe Doernberger & Vita (tie, Insurance)
Pullman & Comley (Mediation and Arbitration)
Motley Rice (Products Liability/Mass Torts)
Latham & Watkins (Business)
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (IP Litigation)
Nixon Peabody (White Collar)
Wiggin and Dana (tie, Insurance)
In-House Legal Departments of the Year
SimpliSafe
Eisai Inc.
Distinguished Leaders
Dana R. Bucin, Murtha Cullina
William "BJ" Trach, Latham & Watkins
Suzanne Filippi, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Jonathan Orent, Motley Rice
Laurie Cerveny, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Miki Matrician, Wolfsdorf Rosenthal
Daniel Casagrande, Cramer & Anderson
Joshua T Reitzas, Berlandi Nussbaum & Reitzas
Patience Crozier, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
Best Mentors
Marcel J. Bernier, Murtha Cullina
Nikolaos Ligris, Ligris + Associates
Elizabeth Fraser, Greenberg Traurig
Daniel L. Daniels, Wiggin and Dana
Todd E. Brodeur, Fletcher Tilton
In-House Impact, Individual
Tracy Baran, Ocean State Job Lot
Innovators and Disrupters
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Ashley Picker Dubin, Day Pitney
Lifetime Achievement
Fred Misilo, Fletcher Tilton
Jonathan Albano, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Robert Sherman, Greenberg Traurig
Dennis Coleman, Ropes & Gray
Susan Murley, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Aaron Bayer, Wiggin and Dana
Bill Hogan, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
New Leaders in the Law
Nicholas R. Bamonte, Berchem Moses
Laura Mittelman, Burns & Levinson
Meredith McBride, Butler Tibbetts
Douglas Balko, Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey
Damian Gunningsmith, Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey
Makana Ellis, Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey
Kristin Campanelli, ConnectiCare
Alexa Mahony, Connecticut Trial Firm
Alexander Judd, Day Pitney
Thanos Matthai, DLA Piper
Cory Bell, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
Stan Michael Maslona, The Flood Law Firm
Sara Sharp, Hurwitz, Sagarin, Slossberg & Knuff
Amanda Border, Kirkland & Ellis
Kristen Grannis, Latham & Watkins
Deirdre Foley, Murtha Cullina
Julie Lavoie, Murtha Cullina
Aaron Nadich, Nixon Peabody
Kathryn Rattigan, Robinson & Cole
Anthony Vogel, Robinson & Cole
Lauren Sigg, Robinson & Cole
Christopher Sica, Rome Clifford Katz & Koerner
Devin Cohen, Ropes & Gray
Abigail Gregor, Ropes & Gray
Emily Oldshue, Ropes & Gray
Grace Hebbel, Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Timothy Klimpl, Shipman & Goodwin
Louisa Kiu, Sidley Austin
Kyle J. Zrenda, Suisman Shapiro
David Norman-Schiff, Wiggin and Dana
Tobias F. Bannon III, Wiggin and Dana
Dimitri Tournas, Wiggin and Dana
Caroline Dotolo, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Stephanie Lin, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Social Impact — Individual
Bridgette Baldwin, Western New England University
Kiara Vaughn, Latham & Watkins
John P. Regan, Law Office of John P. Regan
Joette Katz, Shipman & Goodwin
Mark Fleming, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Mark Knights, Nixon Peabody
Lisa Rivas, Cramer & Anderson
Mary Lou Wakimura, Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds
Vincent Greene, Motley Rice
Social Impact — Firm
Shipman & Goodwin
Wiggin and Dana
Ropes & Gray
Kirkland & Ellis/Roxbury Innovation Center
Unsung Heroes
David Jordan, Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Jennifer Collins, Cramer & Anderson
Kathryn Robb, Child USAdvocacy
Tricia Koss, Fletcher Tilton
Kate Lebeaux, Fletcher Tilton
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Law Firms Mentioned
- Latham & Watkins
- Suisman Shapiro
- Murtha Cullina
- Kindel & Anderson
- Burns Levinson
- Greenberg Traurig
- Robinson & Cole LLP
- Nixon Peabody
- DLA Piper
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
- Sidley Austin
- Day Pitney
- Carmody Torrance
- Shipman & Goodwin
- Cramer & Anderson LLP
- Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
- Motley Rice
- Pullman Comley
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Ropes & Gray
- Faruki Ireland & Cox P.L.L.
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Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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