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- Connecticut Business Lawyers: At Ciulla & Donofrio,LLP, we are committed to the practice of commercial litigation. We represent leading corporations, financial institutions, municipalities, utilities, insurance companies, telecommunications and technology companies, construction firms and businesses of all sizes in a broad range of civil matters litigated in federal and state courts. We also have diverse experience with various types of alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration, mediation and mini-trials.
- Firm Profile - Connecticut Business Lawyers: Ciulla & Donofrio, LLP represents businesses of all sizes, including financial institutions, major corporations, municipalities, insurance companies, utilities, technology firms, physicians, construction contractors and smaller business firms, in disputed matters before state and federal courts, administrative bodies, and in arbitration and mediation proceedings. We provide the specific litigation services that our clients need and desire ranging from comprehensive strategic management and conduct of lawsuits to the performance of discrete litigation support functions. We regularly counsel and represent clients in the areas of complex commercial litigation, construction and surety law, creditors' rights, contract law, insurance coverage and defense, municipal law, product liability, land use and zoning law, employment law, and complex commercial litigation. We also counsel clients in the areas of business and corporate law, including business organization and finance, contract negotiation and mergers and acquisitions.
- Practice Areas - Connecticut Business Lawyers:
- General Commercial Litigation
We have extensive experience in handling a variety of complex commercial litigation matters in all state and federal courts. The range of our business litigation includes:
- Antitrust
- Appellate law (state and federal)
- Bankruptcy (creditors only)
- Connecticut Franchise Act
- Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act
- Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act
- Contracts
- Disputes arising from the purchase/sale of a business/business assets
- Employment litigation
- ERISA and insurance coverage litigation
- Management and partnership disputes
- Officer and director liability
- Prejudgment and postjudgment remedies
- Professional liability (malpractice, E&O)
- Real estate litigation
- Securities
- Shareholder disputes
- Technology-related litigation
- Trade secrets
- Zoning and land use
- Construction and Surety Law: We represent subcontractors, general contractors, construction managers, municipal, corporate and developer owners, sureties, construction lenders, equipment dealers and design professionals in a wide variety of matters. Our experience is broad and includes: contract drafting, review and administration; proving and defending quality of work claims; prosecuting and defending time impact, lost productivity, inefficiency, delay and related contractual and extra-contractual claims and litigation risk assessments. Jeffrey M. Donofrio has represented contractors in complex construction litigation in state and federal courts throughout the United States and has taught eight seminars for the National Business Institute and Lorman Educational Services on construction and surety law in Connecticut in recent years.
- Creditors' Rights and Financial Services Litigation: We have extensive experience representing financial institutions in a variety of matters.
- Municipal Law: Robert K. Ciulla has been the Town Attorney for the Town of North Haven since 1979. We also represent other municipalities in discrete legal matters that require a particular expertise. Jeffrey M Donofrio also has extensive experience in the area of muncipal law, having provided legal services to many Connecticut municipalities throughout his career.
- Business and Corporate Law: In addition to our litigation and dispute resolutions services, we represent businesses and business owners in four related areas: business organization, business finance, contract negotiation, and mergers and acquisitions.
- Business Organization: When you are starting a new business it is obviously important to organize it correctly. Tax issues, the potential for owner liability, and the need for flexibility should all be considered when structuring any new business entity. Many entrepreneurs today reflexively choose to form a limited liability company. Though the LLC is certainly a useful device it is not always the right choice for a new business. We help entrepreneurs and investors understand the issues involved, assist them in negotiating structural and ownership issues with other parties involved, and prepare the necessary documents for the formation of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and other business entities.
- Business Finance: Many businesses find it useful (and often necessary) to work with banks, venture capitalists and private investors to meet their outside capital goals and needs. Additional capital allows businesses to purchase necessary equipment, finance operations during seasonal downturns, and expand their operations to increase market share or attempt to reach new markets. We help our clients understand the pros and cons of debt vs. equity financing and represent them in a wide variety of loan transactions and in selling shares of their businesses to private investors. Our experience in forming investment companies and representing institutional lenders in foreclosure and loan workout negotiations has given us a broad understanding of the practical realities involved and how potential future problems can be avoided by careful negotiation up front.
- Contract Negotiation: All business owners eventually come to understand that the most important consideration when entering into any contract - whether with a supplier, customer or employee - is whether the other party can be trusted. Even the most "bulletproof" agreement will be worthless if the opposing party ignores it and you are not willing to pay a lawyer to go to court or arbitration to enforce it. This can be a costly lesson if learned too late.
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Though we enjoy and greatly value all of our corporate and business-related work, the heart of our corporate practice is in representing clients in the purchase and sale of businesses. Our lawyers have been lead counsel in transactions ranging in size from the $10,000 purchase of a single location consumer business to the defense of multi-million and billion dollar attempted hostile acquisitions of publicly traded companies. Our lawyers have represented businesses in many industries and of various sizes, both publicly and privately held, in connection with business dispositions, stock acquisitions, asset acquisitions, merger transactions, tax-free reorganizations and recapitalizations, and tax-free spin-offs, including transactions requiring filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
- General Commercial Litigation
- Attorney Profiles - Connecticut Business Lawyers:
- Robert K. Ciulla: Mr. Ciulla represents a diverse array of clients, including municipalities, utilities, financial institutions, insurance companies and multinational corporations. Mr. Ciulla's litigation experience is as diverse as the clients he represents. He regularly counsels clients in the areas of commercial litigation, product liability law, personal injury law, employment law, municipal and governmental/regulatory law, contract law and estate planning.
- Jeffrey M. Donofrio: Jeffrey M. Donofrio has been a commercial litigation attorney in Connecticut since 1990. He is a graduate of Boston College and the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Mr. Donofrio began his career at Tyler Cooper & Alcorn in New Haven, where he practiced commercial litigation until leaving to form Ciulla & Donofrio, LLP on November 1, 1996. Mr. Donofrio is admitted to the bars of Connecticut, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Mr. Donofrio represents financial institutions, municipalities, insurance companies, construction contractors, service companies and utilities in a wide variety of civil litigation, including construction and surety law, creditors' rights litigation, insurance coverage and ERISA law, municipal law, contract law and business torts. Mr. Donofrio has extensive multi-state and multi-district litigation experience, having represented clients in litigation in state and federal courts in Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Oregon, Kansas, New York, West Virginia, Texas, Florida, Nevada and the state of Washington.
- Richard F. Connors (Of Counsel): Richard F. Connors has been practicing law in Connecticut for over 32 years. He is a graduate of Villanova University and Columbia University Law School. He represents a wide variety of institutions and individuals in civil litigation and advises clients in the areas of commercial law, personal injury law and real estate law. Mr. Connors is admitted to the bars of Connecticut, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He is a member of the American, Connecticut and New Haven County Bar Associations, and has been involved in various community activities throughout his career, including the North Haven Board of Education and the North Haven Parks and Recreation Commission.
- Paul E. Monaghan (Of Counsel): Paul E. Monaghan has practiced corporate and business law in Connecticut since 1996. He is a graduate of the Yale Law School and the State University of New York (New Paltz), and is admitted to practice before all Connecticut state courts, the Federal District Court for the District of Connecticut, and the United States Tax Court. Mr. Monaghan assists area businesses and business owners in conceptualizing, structuring and negotiating vendor, supplier and customer contracts, debt and equity financing arrangements, and the purchase and sale of divisional business units and entire businesses. He has helped structure business financing and acquisition transactions for a wide variety of businesses, from small sole proprietorships and partnerships to publicly traded, Fortune 500 companies, and truly enjoys this interesting work.
- Jennifer N. Coppola: Jennifer N. Coppola has been practicing law in Connecticut since 1998. Jennifer is a graduate of Trinity College and Vermont Law School. She is admitted to the Connecticut bar and is a member of the American (Litigation and Torts and Insurance Sections), Connecticut and New Haven County Bar Associations. Jennifer practices civil litigation with an emphasis upon personal injury defense, creditors' rights litigation and zoning and land use law.
- Paul M. Cramer: Paul Cramer has been practicing law in Connecticut since 1993. His practice includes representing clients in state and federal courts in civil litigation. Paul has litigated over 19 jury trials to verdict and has extensive experience with all aspects of litigation. He is admitted to the Connecticut and New York bars, is a member of the Connecticut (Director of Committees, YLS and former Co-Chair, YLS Litigation Committee) and American Bar Associations, a member of the Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association and the Defense Research Institute. Paul is a graduate of UCONN and the Western New England College School of Law.
- Representative Clients - Connecticut Business Lawyers: List of representative clients with links to their Web sites.
- Directions to Connecticut Business Lawyers: Ciulla & Donofrio, LLP, 127 Washington Avenue, North Haven, Connecticut 06473. Telephone: (203) 239-9828. Fax: (203) 234-0379. Email: jdonofrio@cd-llp.com