New Partners for Day Pitney

On Dec 29, 2015

The law firm of Day Pitney, with New Jersey offices in Parsippany,  announced that seven attorneys have been elected as partners, effective January 1, 2016.

“We congratulate all of the talented lawyers that were promoted,” said Day Pitney Managing Partner Stanley A. Twardy, Jr. “This group are outstanding attorneys who represent the diverse practice offerings Day Pitney offers clients within all of the firm’s departments: Litigation, Transactions and Individual Clients.”

Promoted Partners

John Cerreta is in Day Pitney’s Litigation department in the Hartford office. He represents clients in a wide variety of matters, including products liability cases, appellate matters, complex commercial disputes, insurance and reinsurance disputes and criminal matters. Before joining Day Pitney, Cerreta served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Cerreta also clerked for then-Judge Alito and Judge Michael A. Chagares of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2005 to 2007. He received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut and his J.D. from Cornell Law School. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.

Christiana Gianopulos is in the Individual Clients department in the West Hartford office. She represents individual and corporate fiduciaries as well as individual clients. Her practice is focused on national and international trusts and estates, LGBT planning, probate litigation and controversies, tax-exempt organizations, charitable giving, trust services and fiduciary compliance.  Gianopulos received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut.

Rachel A. Gonzalez is in the Litigation department in the Parsippany office. Her practice is focused on employment and labor. She represents employers in union relations, employment litigation and employment-based immigration compliance. Gonzalez received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Elizabeth Latif is in the Commercial Litigation department in the Hartford Office. She is an experienced trial lawyer who regularly represents companies and individuals in connection with the defense of regulatory, white-collar criminal, securities enforcement and complex civil-litigation matters. Latif was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Eastern District of New York and the District of Connecticut. She also served as a law clerk to The Honorable Chester J. Straub of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to The Honorable Christopher F. Droney, then in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Latif received her B.A. from Boston University and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Jeff Mueller is in the firm’s Litigation department in the Hartford office. He practices in the area of complex commercial litigation and has experience handling trials and appeals involving claims of unfair trade practices, securities violations, breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, fraud and misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, successor liability and corporate veil piercing in both state and federal courts. Mueller served as a law clerk for The Honorable Alvin W. Thompson of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Mueller received his B.A. from Yale College and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.

Leigh Newman is in the Individual Clients department in West Hartford. Her practice is focused on trusts and estates, trust services and fiduciary compliance. Newman served as law clerk to The Honorable Richard N. Palmer of the Connecticut Supreme Court and to The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Newman received her A.B. from Princeton University and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut.

Lane Watson is in the Transactions Department in the Hartford office. He represents companies in mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, general corporate and business matters, Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust issues, commercial contracts and private placement of securities. He also counsels startup companies regarding formation, financing and related issues. Lane served as judicial extern to The Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. Watson received his B.A. from the University of Arizona, his M.A. from  Stanford University and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut.

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