Publications
Best Lawyers 2022
Featured Firms
Firm
Ryan & Ryan, LLC
New Haven, Connecticut
2 Best Lawyers awards
Firm
Mollica Law Offices PC
Hartford, Connecticut
1 Best Lawyers award
Featured in Best Lawyers
B. Cort Delany is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Cort, a Greenwich native, has worked with families from Connecticut and around the country to protect family assets from unnecessary taxes and attacks from third parties. Cort's ultimate goal is to allow successive generations to benefit from family wealth without precluding each family member from maximizing his or her personal potential.
Caroline Demirs Calio is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. She practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, asset protection, estate settlement and trust administration. In addition, Caroline advises closely-held business owners on succession planning issues and various general corporate matters. She also has experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. Prior to joining Cummings & Lockwood, Caroline worked...
Daniel G. Johnson is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office where he has practiced since joining the Firm in 1997. He practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, family business succession planning, estate administration and trust administration. Dan frequently lectures on estate and tax planning topics before both lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
Daniel P. Fitzgerald is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and Principal-in-Charge of the Greenwich office. His practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration, taxation, partnerships, probate litigation and defending tax audits. Dan's extensive estate administration experience allows him to develop estate plans that address issues and concerns before they become problematic. He has worked with a broad range of finance, accounting, hedge fund and private...
David T. Martin is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Litigation Group and is based in the Stamford office. Dave's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. Dave is the author and general editor of the LexisNexis Practice Guide: Connecticut Contract Litigation. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation as well as in Connecticut and New England Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Business Litigation. He has represented b...
Douglas H. Olin is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office where he serves as Principal-in-Charge. Doug joined Cummings & Lockwood in 1999 and became a Principal in 2001. His practice focuses on estate planning, family business succession planning, and estate and trust administration. Doug speaks frequently on estate and tax planning topics before both lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
Edward F. Rodenbach is based in the Greenwich office. He has served as the Partner-in-Charge of the Greenwich office, a member of the Firm's Board of Directors and it's Vice Chairman, and co-Chair of the Firm's Private Clients Group. Ed's practice has included estate planning for high net worth individuals and families; all aspects of estate settlement and administration; and trust planning, formation and administration. Today, Ed spends most of his time as an executor and trustee for numerou...
Howard S. Tuthill III (Terry) is a Principal with Cummings & Lockwood in its Stamford office and a member of the Firm's Private Clients Group. Terry joined Cummings & Lockwood in 1993 after practicing for 14 years with the New York law firm of Kelley, Drye and Warren and seven years with the Connecticut law firm of Cross, Brodrick & Chipman.
Jessie A. Gilbert is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Jessie advises high net worth individuals on estate and tax issues, helping them with succession, generation-skipping and asset protection planning. She also represents executors and trustees with respect to probate, estate and trust administration matters, as well as with estate and fiduciary income taxes. Jessie is a frequent writer and lecturer on estate planning and ad...
John F. Carberry is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Litigation Group and is based in the Stamford office. John has over a quarter century of experience representing creditors in state and federal courts, including bankruptcy court. He serves as a Special Master, Attorney Trial Referee, Arbitrator and Fact Finder for the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford. John also serves as Principal-in-Charge of the Stamford office, the Firm's General Counsel, Loss Prevention Partner and Pro Bo...
John R. Musicaro, Jr. is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. John practices in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration and fiduciary services. He served as Chairman of the Firm's Private Clients Group for over 12 years.
John W. Cannavino is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Litigation Group and is based in the Stamford office. He brings over 40 years' of broad-based experience to his litigation and trial practice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He has extensive experience in complex commercial litigation, including securities litigation; litigation between investors and hedge fund managers; insurance coverage disputes; corporate, partnership, and limited liability company disputes and di...
Jonathan B. Mills is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Commercial Real Estate and Corporate & Finance Groups and is based in the Stamford office. Jon devotes much of his legal practice to commercial real estate transactions, including commercial leasing, sales, acquisitions, development, joint ventures and financings. He has also represented companies in connection with various corporate matters, including asset sales and acquisitions, marketing, technology and other licensing agre...
Margaret A. Deluca is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. She joined the Firm in 1996 and concentrates in the areas of estate planning, business succession planning, estate and trust administration and probate litigation. She is on the Firm's Board of Directors and is the Administrative Co-Chair of the Stamford Private Clients Group.
Michael J. Hinton is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Corporate & Finance Group and is based in the Stamford office . Mike is a transactional lawyer who concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial real estate, corporate finance, tax-advantaged investments, joint ventures, UPREIT and downREIT transactions, construction contracts, leasing, financing, brownfield development, environmental remediation and land use restrictions, area development and franchise agreements, priva...
Michael P. Kaelin is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Litigation Group, and Family Office and Closely Held Business Group. Mike represents individuals, fiduciaries and businesses in commercial, employment, employee benefits, probate, trusts and estates, conservatorship, guardianship, and investment disputes, including wrongful discharge and discrimination claims, will contests, fiduciary removal proceedings, contested accountings, fee disputes, construction proceedings, undue influenc...
Rachel B.G. Sherman is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. She joined the Firm in 1999. Rachel works with high net worth individuals and families to address their estate planning needs, including the preparation of wills and trusts, tax planning, multi-generational planning, planning for retirement benefits and real estate holdings, gifting and preparation of gift tax returns. Rachel also focuses her practice on estate admi...
Robert B. Fawber is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. His primary areas of practice are estate and charitable planning, estate settlement, trust administration and residential real estate transactions. Prior to joining Cummings & Lockwood, Bob practiced real estate, estate planning and general business law in the Hartford area from 1975 to 1996. While at Georgetown Law, Bob served in the United States Army Reserve, Jud...
Executive Editor, Connecticut Family Lawyer, 1986-2001. Author: "Tax Aspects in Domestic Relations Cases," Trial Magazine, June, 1980; "When Prenuptial Contracts are Challenged in Court," The Family Advocate, Winter, 1984; "Valuation of Closely Held Corporations" [italics on]Valuation & Distribution of Marital Property,[italics off] Matthew Bender Publishing Co., 1984. Co-Author: "Lay Witnesses Can Value Assets," Trial Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 6, p. 33, June, 1986. General Editor, Family La...
DAVID W. GRIFFIN is a partner in the Westport, Connecticut law firm of Rutkin, Oldham & Griffin, L.L.C. Attorney Griffin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and the Connecticut Chapter of the AAML. He serves as a member of the State of Connecticut Child Support Guidelines Commission and is a member and officer of the Connecticut Bar Association Family Law Section, where he also serves on the Executive Committee. He lectures frequently on topics ranging from f...
Connecticut Bar Association, Member, Executive Committee, Family Law Section 1993 - Present, Fairfield County Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (2005 - Present), International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (2007 - Present). Certificate of Completion GAL/AMC Comprehemsive Basic Training, State of Connecticut, 2012. Member, Connecticut Law Review, 1986-1988, Board of Editors, Connecticut Family Lawyer, 1994-2000, Co-author, Connecticut Practice ...
ANNMARIE P. BRIONES is Of Counsel to Cohen and Wolf’s Family Law and Litigation Groups practicing in the firm’s Bridgeport and Westport offices. Ms. Briones practices primarily in the area of family law representing parties in divorce, legal separation, custody and post-judgment dissolution matters. Ms. Briones currently serves on the Faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. She has frequently served as a court appointed Guardian ad Litem and Attorney for Minor Childre...
David A. Ball is a principal in the firm's Litigation , Securities , and Telecommunications & Utilities Groups. Resident in the firm's Bridgeport office, Mr. Ball practices in state and federal court handling complex commercial litigation cases; shareholder and partnership disputes; business tort claims; securities fraud actions; and administrative appeals. He also litigates before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and has extensive experience handling arbitrations before the Am...
David L. Grogins is a principal and co-chair of Cohen and Wolf's Municipal Group. He is also a member of the Business & Corporate, Land Use & Zoning and Real Estate Groups. Resident in the firm's Danbury office, Mr. Grogins practices in the areas of municipal law, commercial real estate and planning & zoning law. He serves as town attorney for the Towns of Newtown (since 1990), Ridgefield (since 2000), and served as town attorney in Brookfield from 2010 - 2014. Mr. Grogins served ...
G. Kenneth Bernhard is a principal in Cohen and Wolf's Municipal , Business & Corporate , Real Estate , Family Law and Appellate Groups. Dividing his time between the firm's Bridgeport and Westport offices, Mr. Bernhard represents municipalities and a wide range of businesses, as well as individuals, in litigation, real estate, matrimonial and commercial matters. Mr. Bernhard has extensive experience in all phases of municipal law, including land use, administrative appeals, condemnations...
Jocelyn B. Hurwitz is a principal and chair of Cohen and Wolf's Family Law Group. Dividing her time between the firm's Bridgeport, Orange and Westport offices, Ms. Hurwitz practices in the areas of family law litigation and divorce mediation. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut, and the U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Ms. Hurwitz is a member of the American, Connecticut and Greater Bridgeport Bar Associations. She is a member of the Family Law Sections of the Connecticut ...
Joseph G. Walsh is a principal in Cohen and Wolf's Litigation Department and Chair of the Personal Injury Group. Resident in the firm's Danbury office, Mr. Walsh practices in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense and commercial litigation. He also supervises many of the enforcement actions filed on behalf of our municipal clients. Prior to joining Cohen and Wolf, P.C. in 1988, Mr. Walsh was an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, New York, where, as a member of the Narcotic...
Mark A. Kirsch is a principal and Chair of Cohen and Wolf's Real Estate Group and a member of the Commercial Lending and Common Interest Communities Groups. Resident in the firm's Bridgeport office, Mr. Kirsch practices in the area of commercial real estate, where he is involved in all aspects of acquisition, financing, leasing, conveyance and development. He has extensive experience representing banks and other financial institutions in commercial lending transactions, including asset-based ...
Matthew C. Susman is a principal in Cohen and Wolf's Business & Corporate, Real Estate, Commercial Lending and MunicipalGroups. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Susman was a partner with Susman, Duffy & Segaloff, P.C. Mr. Susman’s practice emphasizes the representation of banks and other financial institutions in commercial lending transactions, including asset-based and real estate secured loans, and syndicated and club deals. He is actively involved in the representation of muni...
Featured in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
Katherine (“Kacie”) Cotter Gent is an Associate in Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Kacie joined Cummings & Lockwood in 2016 and focuses her practice on estate planning, which includes the drafting of Wills, Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Health Care documents. She also advises high net worth individuals on estate and taxation issues, including estate and gift tax planning, generation-skipping...
Scott T. Witthuhn is Counsel in Cummings & Lockwood's Commercial Real Estate Group and is based in the Stamford office. Scott’s practice covers a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions and development of office, retail, hotel, industrial and multifamily assets. He has experience in portfolio transactions, joint ventures, equity investments, leasing and mortgage financings. Prior to joining Cummings & Lockwood, Scott was an Associ...
William N. Wright is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Litigation Group and is based in the Stamford office. Will primarily practices in the areas of commercial litigation and trust and probate litigation, and was recognized as among the “Ones to Watch” by The Best Lawyers in America in 2021. He represents individuals and institutional clients in a broad range of matters, including contract and partnership disputes, employment actions, trust and will contests, probate appea...
Justin Contratto is an experienced family law practitioner and trial attorney. Prior to joining BodnarMilone, Justin was employed by well-regarded matrimonial firms in Manhattan and Northern Virginia, where he represented clients in complex matrimonial matters. Justin’s matrimonial practice has focused on the representation of high net worth individuals, including partners at major law firms, tech industry and finance executives, and high-profile public figures. Justin began his legal c...
Featured "Lawyer of the Year" Honorees
Antonio Ponvert III focuses on civil rights, constitutional law, prisoner rights, police misconduct, product liability, wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, and other complex individual and class action cases in Federal and State courts in Connecticut and across the nation. He has represented plaintiffs in hundreds of high profile lawsuits, and has argued more than 40 appeals in State Appellate and Federal Circuit Courts.Since joining Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder in 1999, he has achi...
Conrad Teitell is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. Through his law practice, lectures, publications, columns and congressional activities, Conrad strives to help charitable organizations receive and donors make taxwise charitable gifts that take into account their entire estate plan for themselves and their families. He is also frequently called upon to help clients patch-up plans that have gone awry. He has been an adjunct la...
Heather J. Rhoades is Chairman of Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. She practices in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement, trust administration and charitable planning. Heather is a member of the Firm's National Charitable Planning Group.
Kelley Galica Peck is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is the Principal in Charge of the West Hartford office. Kelley focuses her practice in the areas of estate and trust planning and probate law. Kelley has significant experience working with individuals and families to plan for the management, protection, and transfer of wealth, including succession planning for owners of closely-held businesses. She handles complex charitable gift planning, estate plannin...
Laura Weintraub Beck is Firm-wide Chairman and Managing Director of Cummings & Lockwood. She is based in the Greenwich office. She focuses her practice on estate planning, including business succession planning and planning for real estate holdings, estate administration, probate litigation and trust administration. Laura was formerly the Chairman of Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group. In addition, she was previously Director of Client Communication for the Private Clie...
Paul L. Bourdeau is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. He joined the Firm in 1980 and was the founder of the West Hartford office. Paul advises clients in the areas of estate planning, tax efficient wealth transfer, estate settlement, trust administration, business succession planning, taxation and charitable giving. In addition, he has extensive experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. His clients include corporate e...
Greta E. Solomon is a principal and chair of Cohen and Wolf's Trusts & Estates, Elder Law, and Tax Groups. Ms. Solomon has been assisting clients in the areas of estate planning, elder law, and probate administration (including estates, trusts, conservatorships, guardianship, etc.) for more than 30 years. Her in-depth knowledge of the tax codes and sophisticated estate planning techniques allows her to provide counsel on complex estate matters. Ms. Solomon also has experience in retiremen...
Rachel A. Pencu is a principal in Cohen and Wolf's Family Law and Litigation Groups. Dividing her time between the firm's Bridgeport and Westport offices, Ms. Pencu practices primarily in the area of family law litigation. Ms. Pencu serves as a Special Master, appointed by the Superior Court, to mediate divorce disputes in the judicial districts of Bridgeport, Danbury and Milford. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut and is a member of the American, Connecticut Fairfield County and Grea...
Richard Di Marco is a principal in Cohen and Wolf’s Tax, Trusts and Estates, and Business & Corporate Groups. He has thirty years' experience advising clients in tax matters, estate planning and administration, and business law; and representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Di Marco practiced as a CPA prior to entering the practice of law. His clients include closely held corporations, partnerships, funds, tax-exempt organizations, and high net worth individual...
Richard L. Albrecht is a principal in Cohen and Wolf's Litigation , Appellate , Family Law and Legal Ethics Groups. Dividing his time between the firm's Bridgeport and Westport offices, Mr. Albrecht maintains a distinguished practice representing clients in complex financial litigations, including matrimonial, estate, and family business matters. Mr. Albrecht is a former New York County Assistant District Attorney with significant experience in the management and trial of large cases involvin...
Richard Slavin is the managing partner of the firm's Westport office. He is a principal and chair of Cohen and Wolf's SecuritiesGroup. He is also a member of the firm's Litigation and Business & Corporate Groups. Mr. Slavin practices in the areas of securities regulation, securities litigation in state and federal courts, and banking regulation. He regularly represents broker-dealers, investment advisers, broker-dealer agents, investment adviser agents and solicitors, and issuers of secur...
In Brief
A Historic Settlement and the Start of Sweeping Change
Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder made U.S. history in 2022 by securing a landmark wrongful death settlement on behalf of the families of Sandy Hook Elementary shooting
Reworking Connecticut's Solicitation Laws
Best Lawyers highlights legislation out of Connecticut addressing state solicitation and regulatory laws.