COHEN AND THOMAS - Key Persons
Christine particularly enjoys research and writing and has handled appeals in state and federal courts. She is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Valley Bar Association. Prior to joining the firm Christine served as the housing clerk at Derby Superior Court.
Christine graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Law with honors and was admitted to practice in 1989. She has been with the firm since 1991 and practices in a wide variety of areas including representing individuals and businesses in civil litigation.
Dominick J. Thomas, Jr., the principal of the firm, is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law and was admitted to the bar of the State of Connecticut in 1971. Attorney Thomas was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served in the Office of Special Investigations before transferring to the U.S. Army where he was an honor graduate of the Judge Advocate General's school and served as a defense and trial counsel at Fort Hood, Texas, and as an Instructor/Assistant Professor of Law at the United States Military Academy where he also represented cadets in the 1976 West Point cheating scandal.
Upon his honorable discharge he joined the firm in 1977 and has practiced in the areas of criminal, family, civil and personal injury litigation, real estate, municipal and land use law. Attorney Thomas has tried civil and criminal cases before the Superior Court and United States District Court and has argued numerous cases before the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts. While continuing his litigation practice, his current emphasis is in the area of land use where he has represented numerous individual and corporate clients in major residential and commercial projects. His land use practice involves all types of applications and appeals, with an emphasis on Planned Development Districts. Attorney Thomas served on the Connecticut Judicial Department Ad Hoc Committee on Electronic Filing of Administrative Appeals Records which suggested Practice Book rule changes that were adopted. [link to land use resume??]
Attorney Thomas served as Town Attorney for the Town of Oxford during the periods 1986-1987, 1995-1997, and 2001-2003, and served as special Town Counsel on other occasions. He negotiated the labor contracts in addition to representing the town and issuing legal opinions on various municipal matters.
In his litigation practice he and the firm are often retained by other counsel to assist or assume complex litigation matters. Attorney Thomas and the firm are strong advocates for alternate dispute resolution in and effort to resolve matter in the most economical manner for the client.
Attorney Thomas has always placed an emphasis on community involvement and also represents many non-profits and first responder entities. In the spirit of the firm's founder, David Cohen and Attorney Thomas' recently retired partner, James Cohen, he and the firm have stressed the importance of giving back to the community. Attorney Thomas' community and volunteer activity include:
• Member and legal advisor - Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Board of Directors (33 years) (Past President) (Service to Youth Raymond P. Lavietes Award Recipient - 2006)
• Member and General Counsel - BHCare (formerly Birmingham Group Health Services) Board of Directors (30 years)
• Member - Valley Association of Retarded Children and Adults (VARCA) Board of Directors (20 years)
• Charter Member - Valley Advisory Committee of the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven
Dominick J. Thomas, Jr., has been a practicing attorney since his admission to the Bar in 1971, following graduation from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law.
Gayle C. Carr has been a practicing attorney since her admission to the Bar in 1990. Gayle C. Carr graduated from Boston University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude in 1983. She then attended a joint law-psychology program through Hahnemann University and Villanova Law School. She received her J.D. from Villanova Law School in 1990, and was admitted to the Bar the same year. She successfully completed her doctoral internship in clinical psychology in 1991, when she began her full time practice of law. She is admitted to the Bars of the State of Connecticut, U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals - Second Circuit. She has offices in both Litchfield and Derby, Connecticut.
Attorney Carr clerked for the Milford Superior Court from 1991 to 1992 when she left to join the firm of Cohen & Thomas. Since that time she has been an active trial lawyer with a practice concentration in Family Law. Her concentration in family law includes the representation of spouses, parents and children in all applications of family law including divorce and custody litigation, mediation, collaborative divorce, and preparation of premarital agreements . She has tried cases in both Federal and State Courts. Attorney Carr has served as a Special Master most recently for family law cases in Milford and Litchfield Courts as well as at the Middletown Regional Family Trial Docket. She is a court approved Guardian Ad Litem. She has been a speaker and co-author of materials for continuing education courses for the Bar including Family Law in Connecticut, Complex Divorce Issues for the Connecticut Practitioner, and Child Custody and Visitation in Connecticut. Attorney Carr has been a special master in multiple courts across the state.
Attorney Carr was selected to the 2019,2020 and 2021 Connecticut Super Lawyers list, an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5% of attorneys in Connecticut receive this distinction. Attorney Carr maintains memberships in the Connecticut Bar Association, American Bar Association - Family Law Section and Litchfield County Bar Association. She has served on the Town of Litchfield Board of Education from 2007-2019, retiring from the position after serving as Board Chairman. Attorney Carr was chosen by the Connecticut Bar Association in 2020 to be one of the recipients of The Honorable Anthony V. DeMayo Pro Bono Award for demonstrated dedication to the provision of legal services to those in need. In addition, Attorney Carr was elected to the Borough of Litchfield Board of Warden and Burgesses in 2021, currently serves as the Senior Burgess and Acting Warden and is also on the Board of Assessment Appeals for the Town of Litchfield since 2020.
Gregory Thomas received his Juris Doctor from Villanova Law School in 1998, following his graduation from Fairfield University in 1995.
Ian A. Cole graduated from Western New England College School of Law in1980. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley in 1974.
Attorney Cole has been with the firm since 1986, and his practice area include Zoning and Land Use, Personal Injury, Workers'Compensation, Civil Rights, and Commercial Litigation and Appeals.
James E. Cohen has been a practicing attorney since his admission to the Bar in 1971, following graduation from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Connecticut Law School.
Over the course of more than thirty years, Atty. Cohen has achieved a degree of specialization, which has allowed him to establish practice concentrations in the fields of Real Estate (Purchase and Sales); Mortgage Financing and Foreclosure; Probate, Wills and Trusts; Zoning, Planning and Land Use; and Municipal Law. He is an approved closing attorney for all area Mortgage Lenders, and has closed thousands of properties during his years of practice.
From 1973 to 1980, and again from 1992 to 1994, he served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Derby, handling all legal matters for the City during that time.
Since 1996, he has served as an Attorney Trial Referee, to try cases for the State's Superior Court, pursuant to appointment by the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Atty. Cohen has always maintained an active role in his community. He is a member of many local civic organizations, and has been honored by several, including the Martin Luther King Brotherhood Award Committee, and the Housatonic Council, Boy Scouts of America.
James E. Cohen has been a practicing attorney since his admission to the Bar in 1971, following graduation from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Connecticut Law School.
Over the course of more than thirty years, Atty. Cohen has achieved a degree of specialization, which has allowed him to establish practice concentrations in the fields of Real Estate (Purchase and Sales); Mortgage Financing and Foreclosure; Probate, Wills and Trusts; Zoning, Planning and Land Use; and Municipal Law. He is an approved closing attorney for all area Mortgage Lenders, and has closed thousands of properties during his years of practice.
From 1973 to 1980, and again from 1992 to 1994, he served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Derby, handling all legal matters for the City during that time.
Since 1996, he has served as an Attorney Trial Referee, to try cases for the State's Superior Court, pursuant to appointment by the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.