Lee D. Hoffman Named as Pullman & Comley Chair
HARTFORD, September 20, 2022: Lee D. Hoffman has been named as chair of Pullman & Comley, LLC, the law firm announced today. Mr. Hoffman was unanimously elected to the position on September 19 and succeeds James T. “Tim” Shearin in the role.
“Lee has played an integral role at the firm for the last decade, focused on streamlining the delivery of our legal services to maximize the value for our clients,” said Tim Shearin. “He’s an excellent strategic thinker and understands that while our firm has a more than century of history, it’s critical to remain forward-facing, always adjusting to meet our clients' needs. Pullman will continue to grow and thrive under his leadership.”
Mr. Hoffman joined Pullman & Comley in July of 2003 and has served in many leadership roles at the firm. He has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2013 and until recently served as co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate, Energy, Environmental and Land Use Department. He focuses his practice on the development of energy projects, assisting clients with complying with environmental regulatory requirements and the development of projects on contaminated properties. He is recognized in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers to Businesses in the area of environmental law; by The Best Lawyers in America© in energy and environmental law, and by Super Lawyers in the areas of environmental, energy and natural resources, and utilities law. He is a past recipient of the Connecticut Law Tribune’s “Attorney of the Year” award (2015) and the Hartford Business Journal's "40 Under Forty" Award (2006).
An active member of Connecticut’s legal and business community, Mr. Hoffman is the immediate past chair of the Environmental Section of the Connecticut Bar Association and currently serves as chair of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Energy and Environment Council. He is a member and secretary of the board of directors of the Brownfields Coalition of the Northeast; a board member of the Connecticut section of the national Air & Waste Management Association; and a member of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Brownfields Working Group. He is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and of the Connecticut Bar Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows. He served as a member of the board of directors of the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity for six years and as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Connecticut Law School for 12 years.
Mr. Hoffman’s community involvement includes serving as secretary on the Town of Windsor's Redevelopment Agency and on the STEM Advisory Committee of the Talcott Mountain Science Center for Student Involvement. In addition, he is a member of the Executive Board and Board of Trustees for the Connecticut Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America and has held various leadership positions in Troop 203 and Pack 203 in Windsor. He was awarded the STEM/Environmental Good Scout Award by the Boy Scouts’ Connecticut Yankee Council in 2019.
Mr. Hoffman’s assumption of his new role is part of a planned succession of the firm’s leadership. As chair, he will continue to serve as part of a four-member Executive Committee, together with returning member Nancy A. D. Hancock, who also serves as co-chair of Pullman’s Business Organizations and Finance Department; Michael J. Andreana, co-chair of the firm’s Public and Private Finance Department, who was appointed to the Executive Committee on September 19; and Martin Hochstadt, the firm’s Executive Director.
“This is an exciting time to be elected as chair of Pullman & Comley,” said Mr. Hoffman. “I am fortunate to be taking on the role at a time of robust growth for the firm, and that is due in large part to the past nine years of Tim’s visionary leadership. We are continuing to develop new practice areas, add talented attorneys and staff and expand our services to clients with offices in new markets, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I’m energized about the direction the firm is heading and am looking forward to working with the other members of the Executive Committee and practice leaders to build on that success.”
Mr. Shearin will continue his full-time practice of law as a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, and continue his active involvement in the legal community, where he currently serves as vice president of the Connecticut Bar Association and was recently appointed as chair of the State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
About Pullman & Comley
With nearly 90 attorneys, Pullman & Comley, LLC, founded in 1919, is one of Connecticut’s largest firms and provides a wide range of legal services to clients in the New England region, as well as throughout the United States and internationally. The firm’s major practice areas include business organizations and finance; environmental and land use; public and private finance; health care; labor, employment law and employee benefits; litigation; property tax and valuation; real estate; regulatory, energy and utilities; and trusts and estates. The firm has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury and Westport, Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts; Wakefield, Rhode Island; and White Plains, New York. Pullman & Comley is a member of the Law Firm Alliance, an international affiliation of law firms. Visit pullcom.com for more information.