Firm News

Last week, in the case of Jordan v. Saltzman, 3:21-cv-560-MPS (D. Conn.), a Hartford federal jury returned a verdict in favor of Wiggin and Dana’s pro bono client, Victor Lamond Jordan Sr., and awarded him $1.55 million in damages. Wiggin and Dana attorneys Emmett Gilles and Daniel Passeser represented Mr. Jordan at trial. The District Court had appointed the firm to represent Mr. Jordan, an inmate in Connecticut state prison, in his civil rights lawsuit against a former Department of Correction mental health counselor for sexually abusing him in prison. As Mr. Jordan testified, the defendant actively encouraged him to perform sexual acts during counseling sessions over a six-month period, causing him lasting psychological harm. The jury awarded Mr. Jordan not only $300,000 in compensatory damages, but also $1.25 million in punitive damages. This important vindication of the rights of inmates to be free from abuse at the hands of prison staff is the culmination of years of representation by Wiggin and Dana attorneys, reflecting the firm’s longstanding commitment to pro bono service. In 2024, Law360 named Wiggin and Dana a Top 10 firm for pro bono efforts. Over 70% of the firm’s attorneys perform pro bono work, including appointments from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and the Second Circuit to handle civil and criminal trials and appeals, as well as the representation of immigrants, abused and neglected children, and nonprofit organizations throughout the region.