CBA News (list)

On April 2, CBA President James T. (Tim) Shearin and CBA Executive Director Lina Lee attended the 36th Annual Thurgood Marshall Award Ceremony, held at Quinnipiac University School of Law by the university's Black Law Students Association.

The Connecticut Bar Association has joined with our sister bar associations across the country and the American Bar Association to issue a statement expressing our collective support for the rule of law.

The CBA Women in the Law Section, in association with the CBA Young Lawyers Section (YLS) Women in the Law Committee, presented the 2025 Ladder Award to Attorney Kimberly Jacobsen at this year’s Pathways to Leadership for Women Lawyers event on March 6 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.

Over 60 Connecticut Bar Association members gathered at Café Fiore in Cromwell on February 27 for the Young Lawyers Section Diversity Dinner: The Current State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The CBA is seeking leaders to represent their colleagues in the House of Delegates for a three-year term. The districts that have at least one expiring seat beginning July 1st are 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 17.

An independent judiciary, free from political intimidation and the defiance of its rulings is, in Justice Ginsberg’s words, “essential to the rule of law” which “can be shattered if the society law exists to serve does not take care to assure its preservation.”

In 2015, the House of Delegates unanimously approved the adoption of the CBA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy. For a decade, it has been engrained in our mission and values and a focus of our strategic plan. The CBA's promise to make the legal profession open to all remains steadfast.

On January 27, Governor Ned Lamont announced several Connecticut judicial nominations, including Connecticut Appellate Court Chief Judge William H. Bright, Jr. for the vacant associate justice seat on the Connecticut Supreme Court and Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robin L. Wilson for a seat on the Connecticut Appellate Court.

The Honorable Raheem L. Mullins was confirmed as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court on January 28, 2025. He has served as the Supreme Court’s interim chief justice since September 30, 2024, following Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson’s retirement from the bench.

The Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) is pleased to announce Lina Lee as its new Executive Director, effective January 2, 2025. Lina brings extensive leadership experience, a proven track record of innovation, and an unwavering commitment to justice, positioning her to guide the CBA into a new chapter of excellence and service to its members.

The Gruendel Fund at the Connecticut Bar Institute was endowed in 2023 by the Honorable F. Herbert Gruendel, his wife, Janice Gruendel, Ph.D., and their family and friends in honor of Judge Gruendel's outstanding career as an educator and jurist for the state of Connecticut.

CBA Executive Director Keith Soressi will be retiring effective December 31, 2024. The Executive Director Search Committee has engaged Attorney Lina Lee to replace Keith.

On December 3, the annual CBA Presidential Fellows Dinner took place at Grassy Hill Country Club in Orange, where Association leaders and past fellows introduced and discussed the program with the current class of fellows.

During two ceremonies that took place on November 8, over 170 new attorneys were sworn into the Connecticut Bar inside the Connecticut State Library and Supreme Court Building. Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins and Associate Justices Nora R. Dannehy, Gregory T. D’Auria, Steven D. Ecker, and Andrew J. McDonald presided over the day’s ceremonies.

On October 22 and 23, the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) Pro Bono Committee and Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut held its largest Free Legal Advice Clinic to date, which served 72 clients in need of legal assistance. The clinics, which are held quarterly throughout the year, provide members of the public in need of legal advice with 30-minute virtual meetings with volunteer attorneys providing answers to legal questions in a variety of practice areas.

The Connecticut Bar Association hosted its 9th Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit on October 25 at CT State Community College’s Gateway campus in New Haven. About 150 members of the Connecticut legal community attended the Summit to hear from distinguished speakers, who provided assessments on the state of DEI in the legal community and strategies for improving DEI initiatives within legal organizations.

On Monday, October 21 the Connecticut Bar Association celebrated the recent relocation of its headquarters from New Britain to Meriden with an Open House for members.

This year, CBA members continued to provide pro bono legal services to veterans at the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs’ annual Stand Down event, which the CBA has assisted with since 1998.

CBA Executive Director, Keith Soressi, has tendered his resignation effective as of December 31, 2024. While we at the CBA will miss Keith, this is a happy moment for him. He will be retiring to enjoy time with his family and hobbies.

On September 4, 2024, the CBA hosted its fifth Rule of Law Conference, and the first held in person since 2018, at the state’s Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The event was hosted collaboratively with the American Bar Association (ABA) as part of the ABA Task Force on American Democracy Listening Tour and featured former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson as its keynote speaker.