Pullman & Comley, LLC is pleased to announce the addition of six new attorneys. The attorneys will be based in Pullman & Comley’s Hartford office and include four partners: William R. Connon, Michael P. McKeon, John P. Shea, Jr. and Mark J. Sommaruga, as well as two associates: Zachary D. Schurin and Susan L. Scott.
All six join the firm from Sullivan, Schoen, Campane & Connon, LLC, one of Connecticut’s first law firms devoted to representing school boards. At Pullman & Comley, they will provide legal guidance on a full spectrum of education law issues including board governance, special education, Freedom of Information requests, student discipline and residency, bidding and procurement procedures, vendor contracts, teacher discipline, building committees and budget referendums. Additionally, the new attorneys will handle all aspects of public sector labor and employment law and will continue to represent school districts as well as regional educational service centers, municipalities, housing authorities, water districts and transit districts in the areas of labor negotiations, mediations, interest arbitrations, grievance arbitrations, employment litigation and administrative proceedings.
“Our new attorneys have an excellent and established reputation in educational law and representing school boards and municipalities,” says Rob Morris, chairman of Pullman & Comley. “They will expand our practice area providing services to educational institutions, and broaden our services to our many municipal clients.”
The new attorneys will be members of the Labor, Employment Law and Employee Benefits Department, and will help launch Pullman & Comley’s new School Law practice, which will combine their considerable experience with the efforts of Pullman & Comley’s Colleges, Universities and Educational Institutions industry team.
The new attorneys include:
William R. Connon has more than 36 years of experience advising and representing boards of education in a wide range of education law matters, including numerous special education hearings before the State Department of Education. He is an Executive Committee member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section and the Education Law Committee, the Connecticut Council of School Attorneys and the National Association of School Board Attorneys. Bill holds a J.D. from Syracuse University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Connecticut.
Michael P. McKeon represents boards of education, municipalities and private-sector employers across Connecticut in both federal and state courts on both the trial and appellate levels, as well as before federal and state boards and commissions. An attorney for more than 25 years, Mike has established new case law in Connecticut in the areas of special education and Title IX. The favorable decisions he has obtained for Connecticut school districts have been cited by courts across the country. He is a member of the Education Law and Labor and Employment Law Committees of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Connecticut and National Councils of School Attorneys. Mike received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law; his M.A. from the University of Missouri, and his B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.
John P. Shea, Jr. has represented public and private employers in labor and employment matters for nearly twenty years. He also performs a significant amount of general municipal work, and routinely represents public and private entities in employment litigation. On the labor front, John has handled grievance arbitrations before both the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration and the American Arbitration Association, assisted in the negotiation and arbitration of collective bargaining agreements and defended unfair labor practice claims before the Department of Labor. John received his J.D. from the Washington and Lee University School of Law and his B.A. from Fairfield University.
Mark J. Sommaruga has provided legal counsel to Connecticut municipalities and school boards, other public sector clients, and private sector clients for the past 20 years. His experience includes labor, employment, education, civil rights, special education, municipal law, construction law, tort matters, and assorted other litigation in the state and federal courts on both the trial and appellate court levels, as well as before various state and federal agencies. He serves as chairman of the Legislative Subcommittee and member of the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Section and on the Education Law Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association. Mark received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and his B.A. from Trinity College.
Zachary D. Schurin represents school boards, municipalities and other public sector clients across Connecticut on a broad spectrum of labor, employment, and education law issues. He received his J. D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and his B.A. from Hamilton College.
Susan L. Scott’s practice focuses on education, labor and employment. She represents public sector employers in collective bargaining, arbitration and complaints before the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, and has extensive experience as general counsel to boards of education. Susan formerly was a trial attorney for the Office of the Public Defender in Providence, Rhode Island and also served as an attorney for the Rhode Island Disability Law Center. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the Boston College Law School and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
