Day Pitney

Day Pitney LLP
No. of offices	13
No. of attorneys	300
Major practice areas	General practice
Date founded	2007 (merger)
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	www.daypitney.com

Day Pitney LLP is an American law firm with more than 300 attorneys spread across thirteen offices in six states and the District of Columbia.

History

Predecessors

Pitney & Hardin was founded in Newark, New Jersey in 1902, by attorneys John R. Hardin and John Oliver Halstead Pitney, the latter being the brother of Supreme Court justice Mahlon Pitney.^[1] William J. Brennan Jr., who would later become a Supreme Court justice himself, was hired by the firm, right out of Harvard Law School, in 1931. According to Kim Isaac Eisler, in The Last Liberal: Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and the Decisions That Transformed America, the firm's clients, particularly Phelps Dodge, Western Electric and General Electric, were "some of the most notoriously antilabor corporations in the state of New Jersey."^[1] Eisler asserted the anti-labor clients he worked for while at Pitney Hardin Ward & Brennan cemented the liberal outlook he would later bring to his Supreme Court opinions. In 1999, after several unsuccessful ventures into the New York market, Pitney Hardin LLP "finally established a beachhead in New York" by taking over the intellectual property firm of Kane, Dalsimer, Sullivan and Levy, absorbing eight attorneys and moving into the acquired firm's office space.^[2]

Day & Berry was founded in Hartford, Connecticut in 1919, by attorneys Edward M. Day, Joseph F. Berry, and Lawrence A. Howard.^[3]^[4] In 1922, the firm relocated its offices "to be close to one of its largest clients, Connecticut Bank and Trust" (CBT),^[3] and in 1923, the firm combined with a firm headed by Harry W. Reynolds to form Day, Berry & Reynolds.^[5] By the 1930s, the firm operated under the name, Day, Berry & Howard. The firm relocated to Constitution Plaza in 1963, again to stay close to CBT.^[3] By 1977, Day, Berry & Howard was one of the largest in Connecticut, and established an office in Stamford, Connecticut.^[6] By 1984, the firm had 120 attorneys and an equal number of staff, at which point it moved its headquarters to City Place I.^[3]

Merger and post-merger history

In October 2006, Pitney Hardin LLP and Day, Berry & Howard LLP announced that they were merging to form Day Pitney LLP. The law blog Above the Law, reviewing the announced merger in advance of its execution, questioned whether the move would be enough to give the new firm a foothold in the highly competitive New York legal market.^[7] The merger was carried out in January 2007.^[8]^[9]

In 2015 the firm was one of two sued for allegedly overbilling a client in a major Connecticut medical malpractice suit.^[10] In 2016 and 2019, the firm expanded in the Florida market by merging with smaller boutique firms, Chapin, Ballerano and Cheslack,^[11] and Richman Greer,^[12] respectively.

In 2020 the firm employed 268 attorneys in 13 offices.^[13]

Practice areas

The firm has practices in litigation, probate, trusts and estates, labor & employment, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, municipal finance, real estate, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, tax law, insurance law, intellectual property, and energy law.^[14] The firm's main client base consists of middle-market companies, but it also represents some of the larger companies of the Fortune 500 as well as individuals.^[14]

Offices

The firm has offices in Boston, Connecticut (Greenwich, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, and West Hartford), Florida (Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Delray Beach), New York City, Parsippany, New Jersey, Providence, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.^[15]

Notable lawyers and alumni

William J. Brennan Jr.: United States Supreme Court Justice, worked at predecessor firm Pitney Hardin.^[16]
Vanessa Lynne Bryant: Former associate at Day, Berry, & Howard, is a United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut.^[17]
Sam Caligiuri: Former Connecticut State Senator (R-16th dist.), is a former partner in Day Pitney's Hartford office. Caligiuri also served on the Board of Aldermen of Waterbury, Connecticut, and ran for the United States Congress in 2010.^[18]
John P. Cotter: Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, who oversaw the consolidation of the state court system into its current structure.^[19]
Christopher F. Droney: Retired judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was mayor of West Hartford, Connecticut, from 1985 to 1989.^[20]
Frederick R. Lehlbach: New Jersey politician who obtained his first legal experience in the office of Pitney & Hardin.^[21]
Deval Patrick: Governor of Massachusetts, worked at predecessor firm Day, Berry, & Howard.^[22]
Edgardo Ramos: Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, former partner in Day Pitney's White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations practice.
Chase T. Rogers: Former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Michael P. Shea: Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Stefan R. Underhill: Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.^[23]
Shawn T. Wooden: Connecticut State Treasurer.^[24]

References

^ ^a ^b Kim Isaac Eisler (2003). The Last Liberal: Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and the Decisions That Transformed America. Beard Books. pp. 32–35, 38, 52–53. ISBN 9781587982712. Retrieved October 18, 2020. It is often reported that Pitney, Hardin & Ward, now located in Morristown, New Jersey, was founded by one Supreme Court justice and produced another. But it is not true. Mahlon Pitney had little to do with the firm. It was Mahlon's brother, John, who built up the law firm that later became known as Pitney, Hardin Ward & Brennan.
^ Tim O'Reiley, "Pitney, Hardin law firm takes on the Big Apple", Morristown Daily Record (November 23, 1999), p. 41.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Charles McCollum, "Law Firm Opens New Offices", Hartford Courant (February 21, 1984), p. B1, B4.
^ Hartford Courant (May 2, 1919), p. 22.
^ "Three to be members of Day & Berry film", Hartford Courant (March 30, 1923), p. 13.
^ "Fairfield Firms Attract Lawyers", Hartford Courant (December 18, 1977), p. 15C.
^ Lat, David (November 3, 2006). "Law Firm Merger Mania: Pitney Hardin, Day Berry". Above the Law.
^ "Law.com". Law.com.
^ "About Day Pitney". Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
^ Mayko, Michael P. (December 25, 2015). "Law firms accused of overbilling area family". Connecticut Post.
^ Brian Bandell (October 19, 2015). "Day Pitney LLP to merge with South Florida law firm". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved February 2, 2023. (subscription required)
^ Zimmerman, Kevin (January 2, 2019). "Stamford's Day Pitney expands in Florida via merger with Richman Greer".
^ "Big Law Is Doing Better Than Expected—But Mostly Because Businesses Are Tanking". Law.com. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020. For instance, Day Pitney, a law firm with 268 attorneys in 13 offices, has reversed the 15% across-the-board reduction...
^ ^a ^b "Services & Industries | Day Pitney LLP". www.daypitney.com.
^ "Offices | About | Day Pitney LLP". www.daypitney.com.
^ Greenhouse, Linda (July 25, 1997). "William Brennan, 91, Dies; Gave Court Liberal Vision". The New York Times.
^ "Vanessa L. Bryant | District of Connecticut | United States District Court". www.ctd.uscourts.gov.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Justice John P. Cotter Dies at 82; Centralized Courts in Connecticut". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 18, 1993.
^ "Hon. Christopher F Droney". www.ca2.uscourts.gov.
^ "A Wilmingtonian Honored", Delaware Gazette and State Journal (December 25, 1902), p. 2.
^ "Charter Day 2008 Keynote Speech - Howard University". www.howard.edu.
^ "Biography - District Judge Stefan R. Underhill". U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
^ "Wooden Sworn in as Connecticut's 83rd State Treasurer" (PDF). Connecticut Office of the Treasurer (Press release). January 9, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2020. Text of press release shows incorrect date of January 9, 2018. Document properties modification date corresponds to actual swearing-in date of January 9, 2019.