Firm News

New Haven, CT – James Glasser, Chair of Wiggin and Dana’s Litigation Department, has been selected to receive the prestigious Nineteenth Annual American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit.

This honor is awarded annually to a lawyer or Judge in each Circuit whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.  The award will be presented at the Judicial Conference for the Second Circuit and recipients of the Professionalism Award will be recognized at the American Inns of Court annual Celebration of Excellence at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Glasser is a widely respected lawyer with more than thirty years’ experience as a trial lawyer and appellate advocate.  Prior to joining Wiggin and Dana, Mr. Glasser was a federal prosecutor for nearly two decades with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut where he held senior positions including Counsel to the U.S. Attorney, Chief of the Criminal Division, and Chief of Appeals. Mr. Glasser was appointed to serve on the U.S. Attorney General’s Criminal Chiefs’ Working Group, and was selected to lead Connecticut’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force immediately following September 11, 2001.  During his tenure as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Glasser received many awards including the Department of Justice Director’s Award and the District of Connecticut’s coveted Standing Tall Award.

The Honorable Stefan R. Underhill, Chief United States District Judge, wrote on behalf of the court in support of Mr. Glasser’s nomination: “The judges of our District unanimously support Jim’s nomination for this Award. Based on our long experience with him, in court and out, he has consistently demonstrated the characteristics and conduct this Award recognizes. He is the consummate professional, dedicated to the practice of law and the finest principles of the legal profession: civility, respect, excellence, and integrity. As one adversary counsel noted, Jim displays a grace in his practice that is, unfortunately, all too uncommon today. As talented and skilled as he is, he maintains a deep humility and exhibits kindness to opposing counsel that serve as a model for young lawyers.”

Leonard Boyle, First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut supported Mr. Glasser’s nomination as follows:  “As Jim sees it, the privilege to practice law carries with it the obligation to enhance the public’s respect for the law and its institutions by making it more just and more meaningful.  As both a prosecutor and private practitioner, [Jim] has embodied the Bar’s highest ideals of professionalism.  He advocates aggressively for his client’s interests, but does so with civility, dignity and respect for opposing counsel, the Court and all others with whom he interacts.”

In addition to his full-time litigation practice Mr. Glasser is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, teaches trial practice at Yale Law School, is a member of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Committee on Admissions and Grievances, Chairs the District of Connecticut’s Grievance Committee and is an active member of the Federal Bar Council.

Mr. Glasser’s colleagues at Wiggin and Dana are pleased but not surprised by this recognition. Under his leadership, Wiggin and Dana’s Litigation Department has been recognized year-after-year for its excellence both nationally and regionally.  “We are thrilled for Jim, and I am gratified that Jim’s peers have recognized what his partners and his clients have known for years,” said Paul Hughes, Wiggin and Dana’s managing partner.  “The accolades received by our litigation department during his tenure as Chair are no coincidence.  Jim has been a mentor to many of our lawyers and a highly effective leader within our firm as well as the profession as a whole.  He is an outstanding trial lawyer who is supremely devoted to clients, courteous to adversaries and, as the award reflects, has contributed to the legal profession in countless ways over the course of his  career.”