Former Connecticut Associate Supreme Court Justice Joette Katz Joins Shipman & Goodwin

Shipman & Goodwin LLP today announced that former Connecticut Supreme Court Associate Justice Joette Katz has joined the firm as a partner in its Business Litigation Practice Group. She will be resident in the firm’s Stamford and Hartford offices.

Immediately prior to joining Shipman & Goodwin, Justice Katz served as Commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families for eight years, a high-profile leadership position to which she was appointed by then-incoming Governor Dannel Malloy in January 2011.

“Joette has had an exemplary career of public service on behalf of the State of Connecticut. Her experience in the judicial and executive branches of state government over a lifetime, as well as her commitment to our state, are extraordinary,” said Alan E. Lieberman, Managing Partner of Shipman & Goodwin. “We are honored that she has chosen this firm as her new professional home.”

At Shipman, Justice Katz will work in several areas, including with the firm’s practitioners who handle federal, state and administrative appeals. She will bring a new dimension to the firm’s appellate work by providing Shipman attorneys and clients, both at the trial and appellate stages of a matter, with advice and counsel on the appellate process, as well as on positioning and strategy. In addition, she will provide mediation services, acting as a mediator, and will assist the firm’s clients both when facing government investigations, and in the conduct of their own internal investigations, across a broad range of industries and subject areas. Justice Katz also will be a significant contributor to Shipman & Goodwin’s award-winning pro bono efforts, providing legal services on behalf of the underserved and underprivileged members of the community.

During Justice Katz’s nearly two decades of service on the Connecticut Supreme Court, she heard some 2,500 cases and authored nearly 500 opinions. Prior to her time on the bench, while serving as Chief of Legal Services for the state’s Public Defender Services, she co-authored Connecticut Criminal Case Law Handbook: A Practitioner’s Guide, published by The Connecticut Law Tribune.

As Commissioner of the State Department of Children and Families, Justice Katz was responsible for children in the Department’s custody and under its guardianship, as well as for overseeing the Department’s service delivery statewide, and for providing legal advice on a regular basis for the Department’s litigation matters at trial and on appeal.

“I gave a great deal of thought to the next and likely final stage of my career, and am delighted to join Shipman & Goodwin, which has a stellar reputation for excellence and integrity,” said Justice Katz. “We are all working together and thinking outside of the box to create real value for our clients doing business in Connecticut and beyond. I am confident the firm will support the development of my practice and allow me to contribute in a variety of ways consistent with my more than four decades of legal experience.”

Justice Katz has taught at all three of the state’s law schools – Yale University School of Law, Quinnipiac University School of Law, and University of Connecticut School of Law, her alma mater – and she is currently an Associate Fellow of Trumbull College at Yale University.

“Two decades ago, I had the good fortune to be clerking at the Connecticut Supreme Court when Joette was on the bench, and I can say with complete confidence that she has always been one of the hardest working and smartest people in the room,” said Karen T. Staib, Co‑Chair of Shipman & Goodwin’s Business Litigation Practice Group. “Few people, if any, have her credentials or breadth of experience. I am thrilled to now be able to call her my partner.”

The Business Litigation Practice Group at Shipman & Goodwin comprises nearly 70 attorneys representing clients in state and federal courts throughout the United States across a range of subject areas.