Member Spotlight

Mallori Deanna Thompson is a business litigation attorney at Robinson & Cole LLP and is currently the president of the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association and the vice chair of the Connecticut Bar Association's Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee.

Jermaine A. Brookshire, Jr. is an attorney at the full-service law firm of Herrick Feinstein LLP in New York, NY. He is a member of the firm’s Corporate Department where he focuses his practice on corporate finance and strategic transactions, technology agreements, commercial agreements, mergers and acquisitions, debt and venture capital financing rounds, securities law compliance, corporate governance, and other general corporate matters.

Denis R. Caron will receive the John Eldred Shields Distinguished Professional Service Award at the CBA’s annual awards ceremony, Celebrate with the Stars, on Wednesday, April 9.

Rosendo Garza will receive the Citizen of the Law Award at the CBA’s annual awards ceremony, Celebrate with the Stars, on Wednesday, April 9.

Alison J. Toumekian will receive the 2025 Young Lawyers Section Vanguard Award at the CBA’s annual awards ceremony, Celebrate with the Stars, on Wednesday, April 9.

Jeffrey L. Meyers is one of two attorneys who will receive the Honorable Anthony V. DeMayo Pro Bono Award at the CBA’s annual awards ceremony, Celebrate with the Stars, on Wednesday, April 9.

Jeffrey L. Meyers is one of two attorneys who will receive the Honorable Anthony V. DeMayo Pro Bono Award at the CBA’s annual awards ceremony, Celebrate with the Stars, on Wednesday, April 9.

Captain Robert Burnes (Cherokee Warrior-Cherokee Nation) works, alongside his family, to further Native American rights, to enforce treaties, and to dispel misinformation about Indigenous American appearance, customs, and history that is often misrepresented in the entertainment industry. After retiring from the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Office of Justice Services, Attorney Burnes created The Grey Winds Project to train and assist local and tribal police in missing persons/missing persons at-risk investigations.

Jennifer R. Rawlings is a native of New Haven and a senior contracts manager in the Office of Research Administration at Yale University. She is also a director at the Center for Indigenous Peoples Rights, a non-profit, Indigenous led organization the provides low cost and free legal services to Indigenous people and communities.

John M. Letizia is the managing and founding partner of the employment, healthcare, workers’ compensation, and corporate defense firm Letizia Ambrose & Falls PC in New Haven.

Cheryl A. Sharp was appointed as the deputy director of the State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights (CHRO) on July 4, 2014, and serves as the second in command in the oldest governmental, civil rights agency in the nation.

Louis R. Pepe is a litigation attorney at McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP in Hartford who focuses his practice on business torts and contract disputes and construction contract cases. He represents his clients in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration, mediation, and other ADR proceedings.

Cristina Salamone is a principal attorney in Updike Kelly & Spellacy PC’s New Haven and Hartford offices. She focuses her practice on commercial litigation and counseling business owners on contractual and employment issues.

Attorney Charleen E. Merced Agosto is a partner at Merced Agosto Law in Bridgeport. Her practice focuses on family law, general litigation, bankruptcy, and real estate.

Lucas Hernandez is the founder of the Law Offices of Lucas Hernandez, a solo practice that focuses on Family Law, Real Estate and Probate.

Scott T. Garosshen maintains a state and national appellate practice at Robinson & Cole LLP in Hartford. Attorney Garosshen’s work has ranged from successfully persuading the Connecticut Supreme Court to enforce a contract regarding frozen embryos upon divorce, to securing appellate reversal in a choice-of-law battle over an arbitration agreement, to pro bono work on the Sheff v. O’Neill Connecticut school desegregation lawsuit.

Ashleigh Backman is the deputy director and chief operating officer at the Connecticut Bar Foundation, where she supports the foundation’s mission to facilitate systemic change that advances civil justice for all, regardless of power or resources, to achieve a more just and equitable society.

Ginny Kim is deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer in the State of Connecticut Office of the Treasurer. Attorney Kim joined the treasurer’s office in January 2022, after more than twenty-five years of private sector practice

CBA Members Tamar R. Birckhead, Corrine A. Boni-Vendola, Kristin A. Connors, Steven R. Dembo, Cody N. Guarnieri, Cristina M. Lopez, Matthew Necci, Susan E. Nugent, John P. Regan, Eric P. Smith, Alayna M. Stone, and Matthew Wax-Krell were among those nominated.

Cindy Cieslak is a Partner at Rose Kallor LLP in Hartford. Her practice focuses on all aspects of labor and employment litigation in state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies.