The CBA Young Lawyers Section (YLS) held its annual legislative breakfast virtually over Zoom on Tuesday, April 19. Section members met with State Representative Rosa Rebimbas, who was the guest speaker for the event.
Rosa Rebimbas represents the 70th general assembly district in Naugatuck. She is a member of the Connecticut State House of Representatives’ Environment, Judiciary, and Transportation Committees. She is currently serving her last term in office. At the event she spoke about the importance of using her experience as an attorney to inform her duties as part of the House’s bipartisan Judiciary Committee. She explained that having a legal background provides the ability to decipher the practical implications of proposed bills that are under review, and grasp whether they may have unintended consequences beyond their original intentions. While describing the importance of legal literacy in her role, she reiterated, “There’s no substitution to reading a bill. Someone can tell you what the intent of the bill is. What they’re saying and what the bill is are two different things. The intent doesn’t always match the application of a bill.”
During a question-and-answer period held at the end of the breakfast, one YLS member asked Representative Rebimbas how she manages to balance her schedule between her cases and her duties as an elected official. She stated that it was important to be careful about taking on too many cases and that gaining the trust of colleagues, other attorneys, and judges would help to ensure that they will be understanding when special accommodations are necessary.
YLS Chair Joshua Devine ended the event by thanking Representative Rebimbas for meeting with those attending and reminded everyone of the importance of public service.