Five Firm Attorneys Receive "Lawyer of the Year" Honors

Five (5) lawyers from Shipman & Goodwin LLP have been named “Lawyer of the Year” in their individual practice areas by The Best Lawyers in America© 2019: Alyce L. Alfano, Education Law; Ira H. Goldman, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Thomas B. Mooney, Employment Law - Management; Robert J. O’Brien, Construction Litigation; and Louis B. Schatz, Tax Litigation and Controversy.

Best Lawyers has been universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence for more than 30 years. Based on more than 7.3 million confidential detailed evaluations, only a single lawyer in each high-profile legal specialty in each large legal community is designated as a “Lawyer of the Year.” These Shipman & Goodwin attorneys received particularly high ratings from their peers for their abilities, professionalism and integrity:

Alyce Alfano, Hartford Lawyer of the Year in Education Law, has experience with special education, regular education, bullying, residency and disciplinary issues. She is a regular speaker and author on special education law both in Connecticut and nationally, and has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. While working as a consultant for the Connecticut State Department of Education, Ms. Alfano served as a mediator for special education disputes between boards of education and families, as well as investigating and responding to special education complaints. At the State Department of Education, she also participated in the management and coordination of the special education due process unit. Ms. Alfano has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2012 and is a former recipient of the Lawyer of the Year distinction.

Ira Goldman has been named Lawyer of the Year in Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in Hartford. He advises employers, as well as institutional trustees and service providers, in designing and administering qualified and non-qualified pension, savings, retirement and welfare plans, as well as executive deferred compensation arrangements. Mr. Goldman also represents creditors and debtors in workout and bankruptcy proceedings, and has particular experience in representing fiduciaries for public debt in Chapter 11 proceedings. Mr. Goldman is the author of A Poet’s Guide to Employee Benefits Law and is a frequent speaker before professional groups on issues of employee benefits law and commercial and bankruptcy law. For almost 30 years, Mr. Goldman taught Employee Benefits Law as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 1995 and was previously named Lawyer of the Year.

Thomas Mooney, Lawyer of the Year in Hartford Employment Law - Management, is Co-Chair of the firm’s School Law Practice Group. He is active in all areas of school law, including labor negotiations for certified and non-certified staff, teacher tenure proceedings, grievance arbitration, freedom of information hearings, student disciplinary matters, special education disputes and all other legal proceedings involving boards of education. Mr. Mooney is the author of A Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law (9th Edition, 2018), a comprehensive treatise on Connecticut school law used by teachers, administrators and board of education members throughout the state. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2006 and was recognized in previous years as Lawyer of the Year in both Education Law and Labor Law.

Robert O’Brien, recognized as Hartford Lawyer of the Year in Construction Litigation, has more than three decades of experience handling a broad range of construction-related matters on behalf of contractors, public and private owners, subcontractors, sureties, architects, engineers and condominium associations. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum Committee of the Construction Industry and serves on the American Arbitration Association's National Panel of Arbitrators. Mr. O’Brien is also a frequent panelist and speaker at construction law programs. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2015 and was previously recognized as Lawyer of the Year in both Construction Litigation and Construction Law.

Louis Schatz has been recognized as Hartford Lawyer of the Year in Tax Litigation and Controversy. He is Chair of the firm's Tax and Employee Benefits Practice Group, and practices in the areas of federal and State of Connecticut tax matters with attention to the representation of closely held businesses organized as limited liability companies, partnerships and S corporations; real estate joint ventures; and the representation of taxpayers involved in Connecticut tax controversies (at the audit, appellate and court levels). Mr. Schatz is co-author of Connecticut Limited Liability Act: Forms and Practice Manual, the leading treatise in Connecticut on limited liability companies. He is also a frequent lecturer on federal and State of Connecticut tax, partnership and limited liability company issues. Mr. Schatz has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2012 and was named Lawyer of the Year in both Tax Law and Tax Litigation and Controversy in previous years.