Steven J. Stafstrom Jr.

Steve Stafstrom is a politically experienced commercial lawyer and litigator with a proven track record of helping clients navigate their most complex legal challenges.  As a Member in the firm’s Litigation and Real Estate and Environmental Departments, Steve practices primarily in the areas of commercial and business, banking, securities, real estate, land use, and environmental litigation.  He has also served as outside general counsel for closely-held businesses and as town counsel. He has represented clients in a variety of industries, including: cannabis, education, energy, financial services, farming, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing, public sector and real estate.

Steve leads the firm's Real Estate and Environmental Litigation team. He has represented property owners, landlords, commercial tenants, banks, developers, and energy companies in transaction disputes, breach of contract and lease disputes, commercial evictions, discharges of liens and foreclosures, boundary disputes, trespass and nuisance claims, environmental controversies, trespass or nuisance to property claims, including oil spills and stormwater runoff claims.  He also handles zoning and land use matters before Connecticut municipal agencies and appeals in Superior Court.

Steve also has substantial experience in partnership disputes and commercial business disputes, involving the Uniform Commercial Code, contract or tort claims such as unfair trade practices, misappropriation of trade secrets and proprietary information, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfers, and corporate veil piercing claims. He also represents investment advisors, broker-dealers, institutional investors and high net worth individual investors in Securities Exchange Act suits and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigations, arbitrations and mediations.

Steve is often sought after to serve as local counsel in some of Connecticut’s most high-profile and complex cases, thanks to his extensive knowledge of Superior Court procedures and strong professional network across the state. He has served as local counsel for some of the nation’s largest law firms in Connecticut’s most complex environmental cases, multi-million dollar insurance claims, “bet the company” business disputes and intellectual property claims. 

Within the firm, Steve serves as co-chair of the Associate Recruiting Committee.

In addition to his practice at Pullman, Steve is a member of the Connecticut General Assembly representing the 129th Assembly District (Bridgeport). In that role, Representative Stafstrom serves as House Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. He has authored and help pass many significant pieces of legislation affecting the Connecticut business community, including the business corporations act, the limited liability company act, the veil piercing statute, the special motion to dismiss statute, workplace protections, changes to CUTPA, the legalization of recreational cannabis as well as working on criminal justice reform and immigration issues.

Steve is routinely quoted in media reports on cutting edge Connecticut legal issues and is a frequent speaker at seminars and legal education programs.

Office

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association - Litigation Section, Securities Litigation Committee

Connecticut Bar Association - Litigation Section; Federal Practice Section; former member, Young Lawyers Section Executive Committee

Federal Bar Council

Raymond E. Baldwin Inn of Court

Greater Bridgeport Bar Association - past-chair, Young Lawyers Section

Community Involvement

City of Bridgeport - former member, City Council; member, Black Rock Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Board of Directors

Fairfield University - former vice-president, Alumni Association; alumni representative, Board of Trustees academic affairs and prep school committees

Bridgeport Regional Business Council - Graduate of Class of 20 of the Leadership Greater Bridgeport Program and current member, board of directors

Saint Ann Roman Catholic Church - Trustee

Alpha Community Services YMCA - former vice chair, board of managers

City Lights Gallery - past president

Honors & Recognitions

Winner of the ALM 2024 New England Social Impact Award

Named a Moffly Media Top Lawyer in Fairfield County, 2021 - Commercial Litigation, 2023 and 2024 - Government and Administrative

Recipient of the Connecticut Law Tribune's "2015 New Leaders of the Law" award

Selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers "Rising Stars" list since 2013 in the area of business litigation

Recipient of the Fairfield County Business Journal's "40 Under 40" award for 2014

Recipient of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council Legislator of the Year Award, 2016

Commercial and business disputes

• Contract Disputes: Litigated dozens of Uniform Commercial Code and contract disputes between businesses and customers, suppliers, consultants and agents
• Product liability: Represented product manufacturers and sellers in breach of warranty, negligence and strict liability claims
• Unfair Competition: Authorized legislative changes and represented dozens of clients in Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act cases (CUTPA); Defended major university in unfair competition and trade secrets dispute
• Membership Disputes: Prosecuted and defended numerous cases involving claims of breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent non-disclosure against members, shareholders and officers of companies; Dissolution claims; Defended shareholder derivative action and member dispute involving holding company for skilled nursing facility
• Corporate veil piercing: Defended real estate development company in a $22 million veil piercing, successor liability and fraudulent transfer case; Authored Connecticut’s veil piercing statute
• Intellectual Property: Served as local counsel to an international nonprofit environmental education organization in its lawsuit alleging an infringement upon its marks; Defended product re-seller in false endorsement and false advertising claim brought under the Lanham Act; Negotiated resolution to substance marks dispute between brewery and winery
• Insurance Disputes: Represented independent power producer in connection with insurance coverage litigation associated with a construction accident that involved multiple injuries, deaths and property damage; Represented insureds in hammer letter and bad faith claims

 Real estate, environmental and land use litigation

• Environmental Trespass/Nuisance: Prosecuted and defended claims under the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act (Conn. Gen. Stat 22a-14 et sq.) for trespass and nuisance to property, including several claims involving oil contamination; Secured defense verdict after trial for solar farm developer in stormwater runoff litigation
• Clean Water Act: Defended multiple Connecticut municipalities in Clean Water Act Enforcement actions
• PFAS: Local counsel for major water utility in PFAS contamination claim
• Boundary Disputes: Litigated adverse possession and partition of land claims; Negotiated resolution to easement dispute between neighboring condominium associations
• Housing Court matter: Commercial landlord/tenant disputes; pre-judgment remedy attachments; evictions; foreclosures
• CHRO: Defended many landlords and condominium associations in Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities fair housing matters 
• Land use appeals: Represent litigants and agencies in land use appeals
• Criminal: Secured dismissal of criminal charges stemming from residential neighbor property dispute

 Securities and banking

• Defended against Securities Exchange Act claims, including Section 12 claims, Rule 10b-5 claims, control person claims and related state law claims
• Represented registered representative in FINRA Rule 8210 investigation and sworn interview
• Represented leading college in FINRA arbitration and recovered nearly 100 percent of losses incurred as a result of brokers failure to make trades of stock in accordance with long-standing agreement
• Secured dismissal of case for financial advisor in lawsuit brought by individual who claimed significant losses with the market crash and that her account opening agreement was a contract of adhesion
• Defended broker dealer in FINRA arbitration claiming losses during the market downturn where panel rejected bulk of claims and limited its award to out-of-pocket costs
• Defended registered representative in suitability mediation with former client which settled for nominal amount
• Represented advisor in FINRA mediation where client alleged that the advisor recommended an unsuitable concentration of retirement assets into illiquid and speculative investments. Negotiated favorable settlement for advisor whereby brokerage firm covered majority of settlement amount and costs, and minimized U4 disclosure

 Town governments

• Town counsel to Redding, Connecticut
• Advised several land use agencies on Connecticut planning and zoning law
• Secured dismissal of Section 1983 Federal civil rights claim for eastern Connecticut city

News

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Press Releases