Selecting an attorney is an important decision that often comes in moments of great stress at a time we need an adviser, counselor and advocate to deal with a pressing problem or to maximize a potential opportunity. To help you assess whether I might best serve your needs, I am pleased to share my background with you.  Please be mindful that I am admitted to the practice of law in state and federal courts in Connecticut, but make no claim that I am an expert in or certified in any specialty of law.

As a practicing attorney, I have represented individuals and businesses since graduating from Georgetown University and being admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1981. I have personally and successfully handled a diverse portfolio of matters and I am pleased to discuss potential new cases.

My experience of having served as a senior government official includes:

• Commissioner of Consumer Protection, State of Connecticut;
• Chairman of the Liquor Control Commission, State of Connecticut;
• Deputy General Counsel of the United States Department of Education;
• Policy Development Staff Member of the office of the President-elect under George H.W. Bush.

As Commissioner, I successfully implemented the merger of the former Department of Liquor Control into the Department of Consumer Protection. I reformed management of the state’s leading business regulatory agency with a multi-million dollar budget and over 200 employees, and my efforts resulted in significant assistance to Connecticut consumers over a wide range of matters.

My leadership was felt in many issues of state and national interest, including protecting consumers from fraud and unsafe products. I often used the authority that was granted to me as Commissioner under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act in collaboration with my colleague, the then Attorney General of Connecticut and current U.S. Senator, Richard Blumenthal.

After leaving the commissionership, I continued to serve as the Governor’s designee as Chairman of the Connecticut-Israel Exchange Commission and was called on to advise then Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell in her transition to the governorship.

My federal government service included analyzing the management of the U.S. Postal Service for the incoming George H.W. Bush administration as a member of the Policy Development Staff of the Office of the President-elect, and then coordinating the Education Department’s regulatory program as Deputy General Counsel.

I conceived and implemented an innovative policy of non-regulatory guidance that addressed a need identified by President Bush in the Education Summit with the Nation’s Governors, led by then Gov. Bill Clinton, in cutting red tape and allowing schools across America to more fully utilize personal computers that had been purchased for students’ use with federal funds.

This policy overturned a widely ridiculed policy that had limited use of these computers to school students who were pre-qualified for a narrow federal program and otherwise required the schools to keep the computers under lock and key.

After I left the administration and returned to law practice in New Haven, President Bush appointed me as a Member of the President’s Committee on Developmental Disabilities.

My law practice has included serving as:

• Adviser to senior government officials in federal, state and local government;
• Adviser to statewide and national political campaigns;
• Representative of a major international non-governmental organization at the United Nations.

My pro bono legal activities have included:

• Obtaining the first funding under Title XIX of a heart-lung transplant for a Connecticut recipient;
• Obtaining an injunction mandating the first minimum training requirements for all special deputy sheriffs providing courthouse security in Connecticut;
• Coordinating the historic restoration of New Haven’s Orchard Street Shul, listed on the National Register of Historic Places;
• Obtaining temporary restraining orders protecting victims of domestic violence;
• Serving as Vice President for Legal Affairs for the Connecticut Yankee Council of Boy Scouts of America.

I have published articles on current issues in select forums including The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, New Haven Register and Industry Standard, and I have done broadcast interviews on Dateline NBC, CNN and the BBC.

Feel free to email me, mark@markshiffrin.com, or call me at 203-641-3488 for a confidential discussion to help you decide if I may be of service to you.  Please note that no representation will begin unless you retain me and I accept the retainer.  I appreciate all interest in my legal services and am happy to explore with you if I am the right attorney for your needs.