Hamden, CT

John M. Gesmonde

John M. Gesmonde practices in the areas of labor, education, and employment law as well as municipal law and select land use issues. He has been named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association from 2014 through 2020 and from 2007 through 2019, New England Magazine named him a Super Lawyer. Mr. Gesmonde has experience representing individual employees, including superintendents of schools, more than 100 school administrator associations, and other public sector unions, including police, fire, secretarial, paraprofessional, nurse, custodial, and town hall employee units in collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, termination matters, and unfair labor practice complaints. He has extensive experience appearing and arguing before local boards and commissions, in the Connecticut Superior Courts, and in both the Appellate and Supreme Courts on labor and education issues as well as land use issues, including eminent domain, affordable housing, zoning, and inland wetlands matters. Since his appointment in 1983, Mr. Gesmonde has served on the State Department of Education Arbitration Panel as a labor sector advocate arbitrator. Mr. Gesmonde received his B.A. degree from Columbia in 1967. In 1973, he received his J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut, School of Law where he served as Associate Editor of the Law Review and received the American Jurisprudence Award for excellence in contracts. Mr. Gesmonde was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1973 and is admitted to the bars of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut (1975), the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (1975), and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York (1977). He is a frequent guest lecturer for teacher, administrator, superintendent, and assistant superintendent organizations and is a contributor to the Connecticut Association of School Administrators (CASA) newsletter. Attorney Gesmonde served as Town Attorney for North Branford from 1985 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2015.

Lawrence C. Sgrignari

Lawrence C. Sgrignari has been engaged in civil litigation and municipal law for over 35 years. He has successfully tried, arbitrated and mediated numerous jury and court cases, involving serious personal injury, business and commercial disputes and contested probate matters, including will challenges and appeals to the superior court. Mr. Sgrignari has represented individuals in administrative agency hearings before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Compensation Review Board and many state licensing agencies. He has appeared and argued before the State Appellate and Supreme Courts. In addition to his civil trial practice, Mr. Sgrignari has extensive municipal experience, having served as Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of East Haven from 1985 to 1987 and as Town Attorney from 1987 through 1991 and again from 1997 through 2007. In connection with his municipal law practice, Mr. Sgrignari has represented East Haven and other municipalities in administrative proceedings, including matters before the State Board of Labor Relations, the Board of Mediation and Arbitration, the Freedom of Information Commission and other state agencies. He has negotiated and arbitrated collective bargaining agreements and grievances and has handled disciplinary hearings before local agencies and state mediators and arbitrators. Mr. Sgrignari has successfully litigated and resolved many high profile disputes on behalf of his municipal clients; most recently, he was instrumental in negotiating a settlement agreement between the Town of East Haven and the United States Department of Justice relating to effective and constitutional policing. Mr. Sgrignari received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Haven, magna cum laude, in 1981 and his law degree, cum laude, from Temple University School of Law in 1984. After graduating law school, Mr. Sgrignari served as a judicial clerk for the State of Connecticut Superior Court, conducting legal research on a variety of matters. After concluding the judicial clerkship in 1985, Mr. Sgrignari began employment with the firm of Gesmonde, Pietrosimone and Sgrignari, L.L.C. where he currently serves as the managing member. In addition to his private and municipal law practice, Mr. Sgrignari also served as a member of the State of Connecticut Judicial Selection Commission from 2003 through 2006, a Hearing Officer for the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles from 2008 through 2011, and as a Special Master for Tax Appeals at the New Haven Superior Court. Mr. Sgrignari is listed as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers and recognized as a Connecticut Super Lawyer. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1984, and to the U. S. District Court, District of Connecticut in 1985. He is a member of the New Haven County Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, a Fellow of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

Carl M. Porto

Carl M. Porto earned his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1967 and returned to the New Haven area to practice with the firm, focusing mainly on civil and criminal litigation. He was the firm’s managing partner for over 50 years. He now focuses his practice in healthcare, business transactions, zoning and land use, and limited litigation and personal injury law. He has been recognized by the New Haven County Bar Association as one of the Legends of the Bar (2021).

Carl A. Secola, Jr.

Carl Secola has practiced personal injury law in New Haven for over 35 years, trying civil cases on behalf of plaintiffs in courts throughout the state. His practice includes representation of persons injured as a result of automobile accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, tractor-trailer accidents, as well as other types of civil disputes.

Fred Sette

Fred Sette completed his undergraduate degree at Providence College and earned his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He was admitted to practice law in Connecticut in 1964, in the U.S. District Court District of Connecticut in 1965, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971. He primarily practices in personal injury, elder law, and real estate law. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, New Haven County Bar Association, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).

Richard L. Goldblatt

Attorney Richard L. Goldblatt was the managing partner of the predecessor firm to Goldblatt, Marquette & Rashba, PC, P.C. Attorney Goldblatt practiced law from the date he was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1961 until his death in 2005. He was admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut and the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorney Goldblatt received his B.S. degree from the University of Bridgeport in 1958 and his J.D. from Boston University in 1961. He was Law Review Editor in 1960-1962. Attorney Goldblatt was a member of the New Haven County, Connecticut and American Bar Associations and the Connecticut and American Trial Lawyers Association. He was involved extensively in the areas of litigation, divorce and family law. He was married to the former Charlotte Kaye and had three children.

Joseph M. Porto

Joseph M. Porto is a New Haven native and a principal in the firm, dedicated to representing the injured. His trial-based practice includes State and Federal Court, with 27 years of experience in personal injury, medical malpractice, and other negligence cases. He earned his B.A. from Trinity College in 1993 and J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 1996, and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1996.