Jay Huntington began his career in Ventura, California as a prosecutor. He acquired invaluable trial experience and training very quickly under the District Attorney’s “no plea bargain” policy. He later moved to a private trial practice before returning to his roots in Connecticut. For the last ten years he was a partner in a Hartford insurance defense trial firm before coming to Conway Stoughton. Attorney Huntington has tried numerous cases to verdict in Connecticut. He has represented the interests of persons and companies in wrongful death, personal injury, products liability, employment, construction, malpractice, defamation, trucking, dram shop, unfair trade practices, insurance coverage, and insurance bad faith cases in the state and federal courts of Connecticut. In addition to his trial practice, Attorney Huntington been asked to provide coverage opinions for insurers. He has been appointed as an Attorney Trial Referee and as a Fact Finder/Arbitrator by the State Judicial Department.
Fraud
Conway Stoughton is experienced in all aspects of property insurance fraud including arson and suspicious theft claims. We defend insurance carriers in fraudulent life, health and disability insurance claims. Our attorneys have defended claims of bad faith, unfair insurance practices and wrongful denials which have been lodged against our insurance clients.
Theft
Arson
Our attorneys are experienced in handling a variety of different fire litigation. Our background includes IAAF (Insurance Association of Arson & Fire Investigators) training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia and our cases include arson investigations, examinations under oath, subrogation recovery and products liability.
We understand that going to court over a business dispute is never the first choice. Yet good faith disputes do arise and our attorneys are experienced in evaluating the business issues involved, and, if appropriate, litigating to conclusion. Our attorneys have arbitrated, mediated and tried complex business disputes including shareholder disputes, dissolution actions, derivative actions, unfair trade practices claims and a variety of contract disputes.
Business Transactions
Our attorneys have years of experience negotiating and closing complex business transactions from the purchase and sale or lease of commercial real estate to the transfer of stock or business assets. Whether lending advice concerning the terms of a vendor's contract or preparing an agreement to protect a client's vital business interests, we assist with practical advice and tested documentation that is both thorough and easy to understand. We have the knowledge and experience to handle the most sophisticated business transaction and the most commonplace contractual issues, with the same high degree of professional skill.
Limited Liability Companies
Our corporate and business entity practice provides a broad range of legal services to small and mid-sized businesses. We cater to the needs of closely held and family-owned companies. Our goal is to serve our clients in the role of in-house counsel. We are experienced in the formation of many types of business entities: stock corporations, partnerships and multi or single member limited liability companies. We also handle a wide variety of corporate and business governance and compliance issues.
We represent insurance carriers and employers through all stages of the workers compensation process before Workers' Compensation Commissions and on appeal to the Compensation Review Board and Appellate Court. Our attorneys have experience litigating disputes of compensability, insurance coverage and entitlement to statutory benefits as well as actions involving premium recovery, breach of contract and claims of bad faith.
Wrongful Termination
We defend employers and their employees in matters before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as in the state and federal courts. We defend claims concerning employment discrimination, wage and benefits, OSHA violations, wrongful termination and non-compete issues. In addition, we assist businesses with the preparation of employment manuals as well as employment, shareholder, confidentiality and non-compete agreements.
Employment Discrimination
Matt Conway is an accomplished trial lawyer who is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney. He has tried numerous cases to verdict in the judicial districts as well as every federal courthouse in the district. He has tried jury cases to successful verdict in claims of Traumatic Brain Injury, defamation, product liability, trucking and motor vehicle accidents, skiing accidents, uninsured motorist claims, breach of contract, premises liability, section 1983 civil rights, unfair trade practices, property damage, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, dram shop liability, insurance coverage and bad faith. In addition, he regularly serves as an arbitrator and mediator. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Attorney Conway established Conway Stoughton in 2003 after practicing with another Hartford law firm, and serves as the firm’s managing principal.
Non-compete Agreement
Sexual Harassment
Renée W. Dwyer is a trial attorney focusing on civil litigation. Her litigation practice involves the defense of serious premises liability actions for many, large, self-insured companies. She also has experience in sports and recreation litigation. Attorney Dwyer also represents employers in Federal and State Court in cases involving all forms of discrimination including sexual harassment. Attorney Dwyer routinely represents the daycare industry before the Office of Early Childhood’s Division of Licensing.
The primary focus of our practice is representing the insureds of a variety of insurers and self insured entities, through trial, arbitration, mediation and dispositive motion practice in both the state and federal courts. We represent individuals and organizations in cases involving allegations of defamation, strict liability, property damage, property/boundary disputes and business torts.
Premises Liability
Julie Harris is a civil litigation attorney with a focus on defense of insured policyholders and carriers. Attorney Harris has tried more than 30 cases to verdict before Connecticut juries and has resolved many others in and out of the courtroom, through bench trials, private arbitrations and mediations. Attorney Harris has defended private individuals, businesses, and public entities against a wide range of tort claims, including auto and premises liability, liquor liability, professional liability and product liability. She has successfully handled appeal to Connecticut’s highest court on issues ranging from the authority of boards of education to enter into contracts, to the liability of travel tour operators for injuries occurring overseas. Early in her career, she assisted on the brief for a seminal case in the field of uninsured motorist lability. For 20 years, Attorney Harris was a senior trial attorney focused on commercial and professional liability law suits. She has served the court as an Attorney Trial Referee and currently sits on the West Hartford Historic District as an alternate member.
Construction Litigation
Principal Royce Vehslage began his legal career as a prosecuting attorney in New Hampshire where he gained significant jury trial experience. Since moving to Connecticut in 1992, Attorney Vehslage's practice has focused in the area of civil defense litigation. Attorney Vehslage is experienced with litigation in the areas of product liability, large loss subrogation, various professional malpractice matters, construction defect litigation and a wide variety of personal injury matters. The size and complexity of cases litigated and tried to verdict by Mr. Vehslage has reached exposure up to eight figures and spanned all types of injuries (commercial losses, wrongful death, catastrophic injuries). Attorney Vehslage’s practice also addresses insurance coverage issues for both insureds and insurers by offering opinions and litigating coverage issues. Attorney Vehslage has represented clients in both the trial courts and Supreme Courts of New Hampshire and Connecticut.
Land Use and Zoning
The law firm of Conway Stoughton LLC is pleased to announce that Christopher Williams has been named as a Principal. Attorney Williams’ practice is focused on litigating tort claims, product liability claims, land use issues, commercial disputes and catastrophic personal injury claims. Additionally, Attorney Williams heads up the firm’s litigation practice in both the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Courts.
Property Damage
We represent individuals, corporate clients and insurance carriers involved in the trucking, boating and transportation industry in all phases of litigation from catastrophic losses to property damage claims. We have investigated and litigated accidents involving tractor trailers, box trucks, sport utility vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, jet skis and speed boats. We provide timely responses, including on-scene accident investigation and effective liability assessments to our clients.
Our firm is not only experienced in participating in mediations and arbitrations on behalf of our clients, but also as the mediator or neutral. Matt Conway heads up our Alternative Dispute Resolution practice. He has served as a hearing officer for the State of Connecticut and various housing agencies for over 10 years. In the past few years, he has utilized his experience from his extensive trial practice, and from his many years of being a hockey referee, to offer mediation and arbitration services. Most of the cases we mediate are personal injury cases. However, given the breadth of Attorney Conway’s trial practice, he has also mediated cases involving many of the disciplines in which we practice. The ADR practice covers cases pre-suit and in litigation in state and federal court. We mediate in person or remotely at the convenience of the litigants, utilizing the firm’s replica courtroom for arbitrations and hearings.
Paul Stoughton began his career at Reid & Riege, PC in Hartford, where he practiced for eight years before leaving the firm to establish the Law Office of Paul H. D. Stoughton. Eight years later, he and Matt Conway established Conway Stoughton. The scope of Attorney Stoughton’s practice has been extensive and diverse, though his practice focus is in the commercial context. He is an experienced trial attorney, commercial transaction practitioner and business advisor, concentrating his practice in the representation of individual entrepreneurs and businesses in commercial (e.g., employment, corporate, partnership, real estate, governance and compliance) matters. He also is an estate planning counselor and practitioner and an advocate in probate litigation.