Commentary

Commentary

A 'Loaves and Fishes' Approach Won't Help Underfunded Judiciary

Mark Dubois | August 20, 2018

The third branch of government always seems to be the poor stepchild when it comes to funding priorities.

Commentary

Law Firms Just Turned in Their Best Half Since the Recession

John Wilmouth and Gretta Rusanow | August 19, 2018

Revenue growth of 5.5 percent in the first half of 2018 was the highest since 2007, and the outlook going forward remains positive.

Commentary

Why Must Women Wear High Heels?

Vivia Chen | August 16, 2018

Maybe it's become a talking point among those in the women-empowerment racket, but I have a hard time understanding the notion that expensive, sky-high pumps boost a woman's confidence. Pain is not empowering.

Commentary

Saving Precious Water: The Tilcon Precedent

Margaret Miner | August 16, 2018

The public trust in water should not be for sale.

Commentary

Viewpoint: Judge Ellis Is a Bully in a Black Robe

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 16, 2018

He has described himself as “Caesar in my own Rome,” and his bizarre behavior, thus far directed almost exclusively at the federal prosecutors, suggests he truly believes that self-description.

Commentary

An Overly Broad Interpretation of the Rule of Confidentiality

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 10, 2018

Most lawyers believe that if they file a document in court or with a public agency the Rules of Professional Conduct (“the Rules”) do not prohibit…

Commentary

Women Think Sexual Harassment Is a Problem. Men: Not So Much

Vivia Chen | August 05, 2018

A survey by Working Mother magazine and the American Bar Association finds that while men agree harassment exists in the workplace, they don't fully appreciate the magnitude of the problem.

Commentary

Flip-Flopping at the State Supreme Court

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 03, 2018

Tie votes on motions should either always or never result in adding a tiebreaker. We could support either way, but the court should choose one way or the other now.

Commentary

Progressive Causes Suffer Under 'Weaponization' of First Amendment

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 03, 2018

Much has been, and will be, written about the Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.…

Commentary

The Law Firm Disrupted: ‘The Millennials’ Are Coming, and Big Law Isn’t Ready

Roy Strom | August 02, 2018

A Canadian law and MBA student sheds some light on a disconnect between law firm leaders and a younger generation.

Commentary

Breaches of State Leadership Upset Delicate Balance

Connecticut Editorial Board | July 25, 2018

For the second time in the last legislative session, Joseph Aresimowicz, the speaker of the House of Representatives, breached his fiduciary duty to the public.

Commentary

Comparing Expert Witnesses Here and Across the Pond

EDITORIAL BOARD | July 20, 2018

Sometimes other legal systems have good ideas. When it comes to experts, the English system certainly does.

Commentary

Trump Commits Presidential Assault on Family Integrity

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | July 13, 2018

This policy is brutal. It is barbaric. And it is disgusting.

Commentary

Connecticut Legislature Folds to Mob Justice

Connecticut Editorial Board | July 05, 2018

We look to our leaders to stand up for right and to show courage. The General Assembly let us down on this one. Up or down, they should have voted. The General Assembly ducked this issue. Democracy has taken a hit. And sadly so too has Emons.

Commentary

American 'Fake News' Dates Back to Myths of Our Founding Fathers

Sol Wachtler | July 03, 2018

Our country was built on myths—good myths—but myths nonetheless.

Commentary

Lawmakers Missed an Opportunity to Reform Sex-Offender Registry

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 28, 2018

Hopefully, the Sentencing Commission will resubmit its well-researched, broadly debated and carefully drafted proposal for reform to the registry again next year and it will be enacted by the Legislature.

Commentary

Remembering Lesser-Known Founding Father Luther Martin

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 21, 2018

Many Americans recall that, ironically, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 within hours of one another. Few recall that another noteworthy…

Commentary

Extorting the Tyranny of the Majority?

Mark Dubois | June 20, 2018

I was more than a little unsettled the other day to read about the successful recall petition involving California Judge Aaron Persky. Persky lost…

Commentary

Prospering in the 'New Normal'

J. Mark Santiago | June 15, 2018

Raising Costs and Declining Demand are Sapping Profits

The “New Normal” of today is one in which raising operating costs, associate salary increases, and reduced realization rates coupled with AFAs and demands from corporate counsel for reduced rates are sapping firm profits and there is no relief on the horizon. Law firm leaders, seeing current conditions, should be asking if there is a better way.

Commentary

Closing Argument: Time to Stop Ignoring the State's Eviction Crisis

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 14, 2018

Lawyers can do much to prevent or mitigate the poverty-causing effects of evictions, and we must do more to address this growing crisis.

Commentary

Alarming Increase in Suicide Rate Needs to Be Addressed Everywhere

Mark Dubois | June 13, 2018

Suicide in the United States has been on the rise, going up 25 percent since 1999.

Commentary

Golden State Killer Case Raises Legal, Ethical DNA Issues

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 08, 2018

We urge lawyers and bar associations to take the lead in giving guidance to practitioners and clients about the issues raised by this new forensic technology.

Commentary

Not Dead Yet: When Is It Time to Hang Up the Robe?

Mark L. Dubois | June 08, 2018

I’m glad I’m not a judge and can choose when to stop. For now, balancing the sacred and the profane, with a dose of public service on the side, seems to be working.

Commentary

Napping While Black: Policing Northern Color Lines in the Modern Day

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 08, 2018

Recent incidents have revealed ways white people—often specifically white women—are still using the law to maintain white dominance in the northern states.

Commentary

This is an Awesome Time to be a Big Law Associate—Not!

Vivia Chen | June 05, 2018

Too much upbeat news makes The Careerist skittish. And there's plenty out there right now for young lawyers.

Commentary

What Clients Really Want From Outside Counsel

Lean Adviser Legal | May 31, 2018

It doesn't take a magic formula or a lengthy pitch to impress clients, just master these five fundamentals.

Commentary

Excelsior: Fondly Remembering the Late Tom Ullmann

Connecticut Editorial Board | May 25, 2018

The members of the editorial board were shocked and deeply saddened to hear that a beloved member, Thomas J. Ullmann, died in a hiking accident on April 13, 2018, in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.

Commentary

State Legislature Finally Passes Revised Uniform Arbitration Act

Connecticut Editorial Board | May 15, 2018

With the increasing use of arbitration as a means of resolving disputes throughout the state and at the federal level, this is a positive step toward revising and modernizing arbitration procedures.

Commentary

For Kennedy Cousin Skakel, a Gold-Plated Standard for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Jenna Greene | May 07, 2018

As the saying goes, if your lawyer has a pulse, it’s not ineffective assistance of counsel. Unless you’re Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, who just had his conviction for murdering Martha Moxley in 1975 overturned.

Commentary

Viewpoint: Connecticut's Gun Seizure Law Can Serve as National Model

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | April 27, 2018

Connecticut was the first state in the nation to pass a law to allow police to obtain a court order to seize guns from anyone who presents an imminent risk of harming himself or someone else.

Best Practices Commentary

As Medical Technologies Reduce Errors, Malpractice Attorneys Must Stay Informed

Shaun Patrick Willis | April 26, 2018

It is imperative that we not only understand the elements necessary to prosecute or defend a claim of medical malpractice, but that we are also able to identify and apply the specific facts of a case to those elements, proving that each one exists.

Commentary

State's Teen Criminal Cases Belong in Juvenile Court

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | April 20, 2018

At 14, children cannot drive, buy alcohol or cigarettes, cannot vote and cannot be employed by grocery stores. They certainly shouldn’t be exposed to lifelong adult felony convictions.

Commentary

After the Driverless Fatality, Insurance and Litigation Will Be Forever Changed

Randy Maniloff | April 10, 2018

Unlike an inconsequential glitch with your office computer, in the case of driverless cars it's control, alt and someone’s life is deleted.

Commentary

Salary Options Limited for Retired Teachers Returning to Work

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | April 06, 2018

Those who have retired from a public school position may only be re-employed in a public school at a salary of no more than 45 percent of the maximum salary level for the position.

Commentary

MCLEs in Connecticut: Better Late Than Never

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 30, 2018

The Superior Court Rules Committee adopted MCLE in June 2016 to be effective Jan. 1, 2017, and its implementation in the intervening year has demonstrated unequivocally that the fear of—and opposition to—MCLE was completely unwarranted.

Commentary

Quinn Emanuel Partner Suffers From Depression and He Wants Everyone to Know

Joseph Milowic III | March 28, 2018

Struggling to find meaning in your work? Lacking motivation? Thinking about quitting? Please read this first.

Commentary

Symptoms of Depression

Colin Jamron | March 28, 2018

Depression is a mental condition that affects millions of Americans each year. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 16 million Americans have suffered at least one major depressive episode in 2016.

Commentary

Critical Mass: Remington Bankruptcy Could Delay Sandy Hook Suit. Plus, Ex-Students Take Shuttered Law School to Court

Amanda Bronstad | March 27, 2018

Remington Outdoor's Chapter 11 bankruptcy could hold up a case brought by 10 families of victims of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, even if the Connecticut Supreme Court rules in their favor.

Commentary

Knowledge of Safe Havens Act Crucial for Mothers in Desperation

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | March 23, 2018

Recently we read about another desperate young woman who was pregnant, abandoned by the male who impregnated her, who abandoned her baby after giving birth in secret and under dangerous circumstances.

Commentary

An Anachronism Is Lurking in Connecticut General Statutes

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | March 23, 2018

We call on the Judiciary Committee of the General Assembly to propose to the Legislature either the elimination of the statutes dealing with attorney admission and discipline or update the provisions so they mirror what is currently provided for in the Practice Book.

Commentary

Ted Olson to Donald Trump: Thanks, But No Thanks

Jenna Greene | March 21, 2018

No, Gibson Dunn's Ted Olson won't be representing POTUS. But what's really shocking is how hard it's become for Trump to attract any prominent, establishment attorney.

Commentary

Shocking Testimony About Aetna: Lessons for Health Care Counsel

Yussuf Aleem and Ryan Morris | March 20, 2018

Based on our experience and the country’s judicial record, many health insurers throughout the country do not appear to follow proper claims procedures when making decisions concerning medical services.

Commentary

Reversal of Bite-Mark Murder Conviction Mandates Hard Look at Forensic Evidence

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | March 16, 2018

Courts may not be able to foresee how science will change, but they can—and should—limit forensic experts from overstating the probative value of their opinions.

Commentary

Secret Settlements Can Conflict With Rules of Legal Ethics

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | March 09, 2018

What was the dam that’s been holding back this flood of long-hidden sexual misconduct? Often, it’s lawyer-drafted confidentiality agreements.

Commentary

Challenging Premise That McDonald Should Have Recused in ‘Santiago’

Wesley Horton | March 06, 2018

Andrew McDonald is a centrist justice with whom all legislators should be very comfortable.

Commentary

Examining Judiciary Committee's Examination of Justice Andrew McDonald

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 06, 2018

The nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald to become our state Supreme Court’s next chief justice has caused quite the legislative stir.

Commentary

Standing Up for Another Appropriate Supreme Court Appointment

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 06, 2018

An independent judiciary is paramount to a free society. We call on our legislators, once again, to approve the nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald because he is qualified to do the job as chief justice. That's really the only relevant question.

Commentary

Encouragement and Aspirations for the #LegalAidDefenders

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 02, 2018

Within the swirl of political activity of 2017 lay yet another attack on the Legal Services Corp., the federal agency that serves as the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans.

Commentary

In Support of Andrew McDonald

Robert Mitchell | February 28, 2018

Over the last few days Connecticut has been subjected to a disreputable effort by some Republicans and so-called conservatives to transplant the vicious, unreasoning politics of Washington, D.C., to Hartford.

Commentary

1 More Civil War Statue for Forgotten Hero

Connecticut Editorial Board | February 22, 2018

Mississippi should commission the creation of a new statue to recognize a real state hero, Hiram Robles Revels, to be placed in the National Statuary Hall as the first black U.S. senator to serve.