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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
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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