Congratulations Are in Order: Announcing 2019's Professional Excellence Winners

L-R: Dana R. Bucin of Murtha Cullina, Moy N. Ogilvie of McCarter & English, and Jon Bauer of UConn School of Law. Courtesy photos.

Winners of the 2019 Connecticut Legal Awards, including the three finalists for the Attorney of the Year, have been determined through a panel review of submissions sent in from attorneys and firms from across the state. In all, 65 winners from more than 40 different firms and organizations across the state are recognized in this year's class of honorees.

The three finalists for Attorney of the Year are professor Jon Bauer of the University of Connecticut School of Law, Dana R. Bucin of Murtha Cullina, and Moy N. Ogilvie of McCarter & English. From among these finalists the winner of this year's Attorney of the Year honors will be chosen and announced at the annual Connecticut Legal Awards dinner May 16 at the Bond Ballroom in Hartford. Congratulations go out to all of this year's winners, and thanks to everyone who took part in the nominating and judging processes.

Jon Bauer, University of Connecticut School of Law

Jon Bauer is the head of UConn Law’s Asylum and Human Rights Clinic, representing refugees who have fled persecution and are seeking asylum in the United States. A Yale Law School graduate and former staff attorney at New York City's Legal Action Center, Bauer teaches courses in employment discrimination, refugee and immigration law, and when he is not teaching, he gives significant time to public service, including work as a board member and past president of the Fair Housing Center.

Dana R. Bucin, Murtha Cullina

Dana R. Bucin chairs the immigration practice at Murtha Cullina. In late 2017 and early 2018, she worked to release two Cuban nationals from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, requiring extensive negotiations with ICE officials. A habeas corpus petition filed in federal court was key to the release of the clients, who were in custody for six and two months, respectively. In 2018, Bucin was appointed to serve as the honorary consul of Romania to Connecticut.

Moy N. Ogilvie, McCarter & English

In 2018, Moy N. Ogilvie was named managing partner of McCarter & English's Hartford office, with expertise in product liability, toxic tort and pharmaceutical matters at the state and federal court levels. In addition to ascending to managing partner, Ogilvie has served on the Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission and sits on the board of directors for the Connecticut Bar Foundation, Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity and the Hartford Youth Scholars. As McCarter & English’s diversity and inclusion partner, Ogilvie coordinates and implements recruitment and retention initiatives with an eye toward diversity.

The complete list of this year's winners is as follows:

Attorney of the Year Finalists

Jon Bauer, UConn School of Law

Dana R. Bucin, Murtha Cullina

Moy N. Ogilvie, McCarter & English

Distinguished Leaders

Kenneth Bartschi, Horton, Dowd, Bartschi & Levesque

Patrick M. Birney, Robinson & Cole

Carolyn Kaas, Quinnipiac University School of Law

Angela C. Robinson, Wiggin and Dana

Antonio Ponvert III, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder

Robert R. Simpson, Carlton Fields

Christopher F. Wanat, Milano & Wanat

Game Changers

Andrew Marcucci, Ruane Attorneys

Kenneth B. Lerman, Law Offices of Kenneth B. Lerman

Ken Krayeske, Kenneth J. Krayeske Law Offices

GC Impact

Chad A. McDaniel, Lydall Inc.

Brig Smith, City of Middletown

Officiators

Antonio Robaina, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter

Judge Bernadette Conway, Connecticut Superior Court

Giant Slayers

Bonnie Roswig, Center for Children's Advocacy

Kristan Peters-Hamlin, Peters Hamlin

Litigation Departments, General

Wiggin and Dana

McCarter & English, finalist

Litigation Departments, Special

Murtha Cullina, Appellate

Howd & Ludorf, Insurance Coverage

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider, Intellectual Property

In-House Legal Departments

Subway

Unsung Hero

Juri E. Taalman, Brignole, Bush and Lewis

Darren Pruslow, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center

Lou Etemi, Trantolo & Trantolo

Mentors

Sally O. Hagerty and Ilyssa H. Kelson, Danaher Lagnese

Howard S. Tuthill III and Edward F. Rodenbach, Cummings & Lockwood

Sarah Stark Oldham, Rutkin, Oldham & Griffin

Steven Katz, Rome Clifford Katz & Koerner

Louis R. Pepe, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter

Gerard McEnery, McEnery Price Messey & Sullivan

Lifetime Achievement Award

Judge Michael R. Sheldon, Connecticut Appellate Court

Charles L. Howard, Shipman & Goodwin

Maria Luisa de Castro Foden, De Castro Foden

Richard A. Silver, Silver Golub & Teitell

Stanley N. Bergman, Withers Bergman

James A. Wade, Robinson & Cole

New Leaders in the Law

Matthew D. Paradisi, Cicchiello & Cicchiello

Cindy Cieslak, Rose Kallor

Julia P. Boisvert, Murtha Cullina

Daniel J. Kagan, Murtha Cullina

Daniel Lage, Ruane Attorneys

Joshua Pedreira, Cohen and Wolf

Clifford A. Merin, Cohen and Wolf

Fletcher Moore, Moore Kuehn Law

Hailey Rice, Connecticut Trial Firm

Abby M. Warren, Robinson & Cole

Benjamin C. Jensen, Robinson & Cole

David Ludwig, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider

Dorothy L. Foster, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Michelle Ciotola, Cantor Colburn

Christopher Cramer, Trantolo & Trantolo

Karen Santana, De Castro Foden

DeVaughn L. Ward, Law Office of DeVaughn L. Ward

Latonia C. Williams, Shipman & Goodwin

Matthew Monteith, Shipman & Goodwin

Tara A. Sheldon, McCarter & English

Tyler Dew, Szilagyi & Daly

Laura Ann P. Keller, Wiggin and Dana

David Roth, Wiggin and Dana

Prerna Rao, Rao & Jo