Announcing Winners in the 2023 New England Legal Awards

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