Council Members and Staff
The Council consists of the following:
Three Superior or Appellate Court judge members
Three attorney members
Six public members
Two alternate judge members
Two alternate attorney members
Three alternate public members
Three alternate family support magistrate members
Three alternate workers' compensation commissioner members
Whenever the Council considers a complaint against a workers' compensation commissioner member, an alternate workers' compensation commissioner member replaces a judge member. Likewise, when the Council considers a complaint against a family support magistrate, an alternate family support magistrate member replaces a judge member. At the present time, terms of regular members are four years. A regular member may not serve consecutive terms. Alternate members serve terms of three years and cannot serve consecutive terms as an alternate member. An alternate member could, at the termination of his or her term, be appointed a regular member. The Chairperson and members are appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Legislature. The names of the present regular and alternate members of the Council and the dates their terms expire are listed below.
| REGULAR MEMBERS: (Four-year terms) |
|---|
|
Attorney Members: |
| Mitchell R. Harris, Esq. (Chairman) |
|
Mark D. Phillips, Esq. (Former Chairman) |
|
Russell London, Esq. |
|
Judge Members: |
| Hon. Maureen D. Dennis |
| Hon. James Abrams |
| Hon. John Kavanewsky, Jr. |
| Public Members: |
|
Motkue Bowles |
|
Peter Nathan |
|
Richard Smith |
| William Dyson |
| Lawrence Goldman |
| (Vacancy) |
| ALTERNATE MEMBERS: (Three-year terms) |
| Family Support Magistrate Members: |
|
Hon. Michael L. Ferguson |
| Hon. Anthony P. Fusco |
|
Hon. Gladys Idelis Nieves |
|
Workers' Compensation Commissioner Members: |
| (Vacancy) |
| (Vacancy) |
| (Vacancy) |
|
Judge Members: |
|
Hon. Anna Ficeto |
| Hon. Laurel Baldini |
| Alternate Attorney Members: |
| Genea Odessa Bell, Esq. |
|
Richard Meehan, Jr., Esq. (Former Chairman) |
|
Public Members: |
|
Samantha Rosenberg |
|
(Vacancy) |
|
(Vacancy) |
BIOGRAPHIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JUDGE MEMBERS:
HON. MAUREEN D. DENNIS Judge Dennis was appointed to the Superior Court bench in September of 1994, by then Governor Lowell Weicker. Since that time, Judge Dennis has served in a variety of assignments including criminal, family, juvenile and housing, in various locations throughout the state, including New Haven, Danbury, Torrington, Stamford, Norwalk, Waterbury, Bridgeport, Milford and Derby. Judge Dennis’ professional activities include membership on the Rules Committee of the Superior Court from 1997 to 2005. A member of the Connecticut Judges Association since 1994, Judge Dennis has served on the Executive and Nominating Committees, and as Chair of the Judicial Evaluation Committee. She also served as Vice President and President of the Connecticut Judges Association, the latter term ending in June of 2008, and subsequently served as a member of the Judges Association Board of Directors from 2008-2011, and again in 2018-2019. Currently she serves as a member of the newly established Bench/Bar committee. In 2011, Judge Dennis was appointed by the Chief Justice as a member of the Committee on Judicial Ethics and served as Vice-Chair from 2014-2017, and as the Chair from 2017-2018. Over the years, Judge Dennis has developed and presented courses for fellow judges at the annual Judicial Institute, including courses for juvenile court judges on permanency planning and applications for Orders of Temporary Custody and basic hearsay for criminal judges. For the past three years she has presented the mandatory Ethics course at the annual Judicial Institute to her fellow judges: in 2017 on the subject of Disqualification, in 2018 on the Subject of Reporting Disability or Impairment, and in 2019 on the subject of Ex Parte Communications.
HONORABLE JAMES ABRAMS currently serves as the both the Chief Administrative Judge for the Civil Division statewide and the Administrative Judge for the New Haven Judicial District. He also sits as a civil trial judge and mediates cases as part of the Judicial Alternate Dispute Resolution program. During his judicial career, he’s also presided over housing, foreclosure, family and criminal matters in the New Britain, Middletown, New London, and Waterbury Judicial Districts. He is an honors graduate of University of Connecticut School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Trinity College. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2007, he was an attorney in private practice, served as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly, and as Corporation Counsel for the City of Meriden. He also serves on the board of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (“NEASC”).
ATTORNEY MEMBERS:
MITCHELL R. HARRIS, ESQ. (CHAIRMAN) was appointed by Governor Lamont to serve as Chairman of the Judicial Review Council. Mitch is a partner at Day Pitney LLP, where he has practiced since 1990. He primarily represents financial institutions and insurance companies in litigation, arbitration, investigative and regulatory proceedings. He also counsels and represents corporations in complex contract cases, including sophisticated matters involving Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Mitch has served as lead trial counsel in commercial and insurance litigation in federal and state courts and in arbitrations throughout the country. An objective third-party survey, Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, has repeatedly recognized Mitch as a "Connecticut Litigation Star." From 2000 to 2003, Mitch was the chairman of Connecticut’s State Marshal Commission. Mitch received his bachelor’s degree, with highest honors, from Trinity College and his juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.
MARK D. PHILLIPS, ESQ. (FORMER CHAIRMAN) is a principal at the Law Office of Mark D. Phillips, where he devotes his practice to criminal defense and plaintiff civil tort litigation. He was appointed by Governor Dannel Malloy to serve as Chairman of the Judicial Review Council. Mr. Phillips is admitted to the Bars of Connecticut and New York and the Federal Court for the District of Connecticut. He is a member of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Mr. Phillips has served as a Part A Special Public Defender since 1991, qualified in all courts throughout Connecticut. He has been a Continuing Legal Education lecturer on topics of Criminal Defense, Personal Injury Litigation, and Firearms Laws in Connecticut, and he has been honored by Connecticut Magazine Super Lawyers and New England Super Lawyers from 2010 through the present. Mr. Phillips earned a Bachelors degree from Hobart College, and a Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law. During law school, he was selected for membership in both the Law Journal and Moot Court Program where he also was selected as a member of Syracuse Law’s National Trial Team. Mr. Phillips volunteers his time to various charitable causes and has been recognized by Abilis Agency as an Outstanding Community Partner for his legal support of people with developmental disabilities, and he has served as a Connecticut Justice of the Peace since 1997.
ATTORNEY RUSSELL L. LONDON is the co-managing attorney of the law firm London & London, located in Newington, Connecticut. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee Law School (JD 1989) and holds a bachelors degree from Bates College (BA with Honors, 1986). In law school, he received the Best Brief Writer Award in the 1989 John W. Davis Moot Court Competition. Mr. London has over 20 years experience in the areas of commercial and retail collections and consumer bankruptcy matters. His work has been cited by such nationally recognized publications as The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has published a number of articles in the VISA Bankruptcy Newsletter. He is a member of the Commercial Law League of America, the National Attorney Network, and the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA). He is on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Creditor Bar Association and serves as co-Chair of the section's Legislative Action Committee. He has been a featured speaker and panelist before the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys and the Visa Bankruptcy conference. He previously served as legal counsel to the Greater Hartford Jaycees Foundation, helping oversee over a million dollar of grants awarded to the community. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for over 20 years.
PUBLIC MEMBERS:
LAWRENCE GOLDMAN has lived and worked in Norwich, CT since 1989 with his wife Susan. His son lives in New Haven and works on the Hartford staff for Senator Murphy. He and his wife have been involved in local and state politics and worked on many boards and commissions. Currently, Mr. Goldman is the Secretary of the Norwich Public Utilities Commission and Chair of the Norwich Democratic Town Committee. Professionally, Mr. Goldman has worked in the printing industry for over 40 years, and since moving to Connecticut from Massachusetts, has worked for a few regional commercial printers in the area and most recently ran a successful print broker business. Mr. Goldman was recommended to the Judicial Review Committee in July of 2014 by Governor Malloy and started membership in October of 2014 to replace another public member with his term ending in November of 2016.
PETER W. NATHAN (retired), after serving as a Captain in the
U.S. Marine Corps, spent his entire 60 year career in the exhibition/conference
industry organizing over 500 events in more than a dozen countries in industries
as diverse as machine tools, aerospace, computers, telecommunications &
electronics, construction equipment, medical products, food & beverage
products, plastics & packaging, oil, gas and energy.Mr. Nathan was instrumental in staging the first <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> exhibitions in the former Soviet Union and <st1:country-region w:st="on">
ALTERNATE MEMBERS:
ATTORNEY GENEA O. BELL is the Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer at Community Health Services where she serves as its General Counsel, Compliance Officer, Privacy Officer and head of Human Resources. Prior to joining CHS, she practiced in the litigation departments of two large law firms where she represented a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 corporations to quasi-public agencies to not-for-profit organizations, across various industries.Ms. Bell is currently completing her second term as President of the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. In March 2016, Ms. Bell was appointed by Governor Malloy to the Judicial Review Council.ate Attorney Member:
ATTORNEY RICHARD MEEHAN, JR. (FORMER CHAIRMAN) - is a graduate of Notre Dame University (B.S. 1970) and the University of Connecticut School of Law (J.D. with honors, 1974).Admitted to practice in State and Federal Courts in Connecticut, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, he is currently the managing partner in Meehan, Meehan & Gavin, in Bridgeport. The firm and Attorney Meehan, individually, have received an AV rating (Pre-Eminent--Highest Rating) by Matindale-Hubbell Law Directory for the past 28 years. He is certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as both a Criminal Trial Specialist and Civil Trial Specialist. Mr. Meehan was inducted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (2011) and the American College of Trial Lawyers (2013), He is a Charter Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary Society (2007) and the American College of Board Certified Attorneys (2013). He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates; the Connecticut Bar Association (Lawyer to Lawyer Dispute Resolution Committee and Media and the Law Committee, Federal Judiciary Committee, and serves as co-chair of the Committee on Human Trafficking); National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association; Greater Bridgeport Bar Association (Executive Committee 1982, 1987-90, Chairman - Criminal Law Section 1981-82, 84-85, President 1986-87); the Connecticut Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers (1994-Present); and the Advisory Board of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Attorney Meehan is a Fact Finder and Arbitrator for the Connecticut Superior Court and a columnist for ConnPost.com - "Due Process". He has been honored by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Connecticut, by the American Socity of Legal Advocates as a Top 100 Litigation Lawyers in Connecticut (2015), by Connecticut Magazine Super Lawyers (2006-Present) and New England Super Lawyers (2007-2015, selected three times as Top Fifty). Mr. Meehan was selected as one of the Ten Best Criminal Law Attorneys for Connecticut by the American Law Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys in 2014.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ATTORNEY ROBERT S. BELLO was appointed Executive Director of the Judicial Review Council by Governor Ned Lamont, effective June 26, 2019.