Bar Association Honors Holzberg

From the Connecticut Bar Association

Attorneys, judges, paralegals and other legal professionals will gather on Thursday, June 23 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford for the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) 2011 Annual Meeting. Each year, the Annual Meeting serves as an opportunity for CBA members to celebrate achievements from the past bar year and look ahead to new goals for the next.

This year’s event will feature 40 educational seminars—more than ever offered before—in areas such as labor and employment law, family law, real property law and technology. The CBA’s publishing division, LawFirst Publishing, will also premiere its newest publication, Annuities in Connecticut Estate Planning: An Essential Guide for Attorneys and Financial Advisors by attorney Joseph Cipparone. Moreover, CBA members will honor their colleagues and peers with the presentation of annual awards at the Annual Dinner, where former Connecticut Attorney General and current U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal will receive the Distinguished Public Service Award, and the Bench-Bar Luncheon, where Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers will deliver remarks.
Keith Bradoc Gallant, of New Haven’s Day Pitney LLP, will be installed as the association’s president for the 2011-2012 bar year. Other officers for the 2011-2012 term will be: President- elect Barry C. Hawkins of Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Stamford; Vice President Kimberly Knox of Horton Shields & Knox PC in Hartford; Secretary Lynne A. Ustach, a solo attorney practicing out of New Britain; Treasurer Stephen J. Curley, a solo in Stamford; and Assistant-Secretary Treasurer Jeffrey J. White of Robinson & Cole LLP in Hartford.

The state’s former attorney general, Senator Richard Blumenthal, will receive the 2011 Distinguished Public Service Award for his service to Connecticut. The Honorable Robert L. Holzberg will receive the Henry J. Naruk Judiciary Award. Peter Arakas of LEGO Systems, Inc., will receive the Charles J. Parker Legal Services Award. Attorneys Frances Z. Calafiore and James R. Greenfield will be honored with the John Eldred Shields Distinguished Professional Service Award and the Edward F. Hennessey Professionalism Award, respectively.

The CBA will also bestow pro bono awards upon five attorneys who have diligently represented underprivileged residents throughout the past year. The pro bono award winners include Janine M. Becker of Becker & Cali in Bridgeport, Gail A. Bedoukian from Newtown, Carole Masters from Willimantic; John F. Slane, Jr., of Heagney Lennon and Slane LLP in Greenwich and Ashley M. Van Valkenburgh of Gilbride Tusa Last & Spellane LLC in Greenwich.

The Connecticut Bar Association is a membership organization serving Connecticut attorneys and the legal profession by working to advance the principles of justice, the practice of law, the image of the profession, and public understanding of the law.