James T. Shearin Starts Term as President of the Connecticut Bar Association
July 1, 2024 — Pullman & Comley litigation attorney James T. (Tim) Shearin starts his term today as the 101st president of the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA). He was officially installed as president at the CBA’s annual meeting on June 10 at the 2024 Connecticut Legal Conference in Hartford. Mr. Shearin served as CBA vice president in 2022-2023 and president-elect in 2023-2024; his term as president runs through June 30, 2025. Margaret I. Castinado is the outgoing president.
Mr. Shearin was chairman of Pullman & Comley from 2013 to 2022 and before that chaired the firm’s Litigation practice for 15 years. He was honored in 2018 with the CBA’s Career Service Award, and in 2009 was the recipient of the CBA’s John Eldred Shields Professional Service Award for outstanding service to the legal profession, the members of the CBA and the greater community.
“Tim is the rare combination of an absolutely top-notch attorney and a transformational leader,” says Lee D. Hoffman, chair of Pullman & Comley. “His speech at the CBA’s Legal Conference truly inspired the CBA’s membership. Going forward, I know he will have a tremendous positive impact on the CBA, as he has for the past three decades. I look forward to all he will accomplish to protect and expand the integrity and vibrance of our profession.”
Mr. Shearin has held more than a dozen roles and positions with the CBA over the years such as co-chairman of the Pro Bono Committee and multiple roles on the Executive Committee. He is a past president and Catherine Roraback Circle Member of the Connecticut Bar Foundation.
Mr. Shearin is ranked in Band 1, the highest level, by Chambers USA, where he has been listed for more than 20 years in the area of commercial litigation. He has been ranked among the top 10 lawyers in Connecticut by Super Lawyers since 2011 and has been named to Connecticut Super Lawyers lists in the areas of business litigation, antitrust litigation and securities litigation each year since 2006. Mr. Shearin is also named to The Best Lawyers in America in six practice areas — bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, litigation - antitrust, litigation - banking and finance, litigation - intellectual property, and litigation - securities.
Inducted as a Fellow into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in 2016 and the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2014, Mr. Shearin is also former director of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, past director of the American Red Cross, past president of the University of Connecticut Law School Alumni Association and past chairman of the University of Connecticut Law School Foundation. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Connecticut, and his J.D., high honors, from University of Connecticut School of Law.
About the Connecticut Bar Association
The Connecticut Bar Association, founded in 1875, is the preeminent organization for lawyers and the legal profession in Connecticut. With over 8,000 members and 70+ sections and committees, the CBA produces over 300 programs each year, including the Connecticut Legal Conference. The CBA is a nonprofit member service organization dedicated to advancing the legal profession and the principles of law and justice. Please visit the Connecticut Bar Association website.
About Pullman & Comley
Pullman & Comley is one of Connecticut’s largest law firms and, for more than 100 years, has provided a wide range of legal services to clients in the New England region, as well as throughout the United States and internationally. Pullman & Comley’s major practice areas include business organizations and finance; public finance; health care; labor, employment law and employee benefits; litigation; property tax and valuation; real estate, energy, environmental and land use; and trusts and estates. The firm has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford and Westport, Connecticut; White Plains, New York; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Wakefield, Rhode Island. The firm is an active member of the Law Firm Alliance, an international affiliation of law firms. For more information, please visit www.pullcom.com.
