FAMILY LAW - Key Persons
James T. Flaherty practiced law for over 45 years. After serving in Vietnam and at the Pentagon for the US Navy, he attended and graduated from SUNY Buffalo School of Law and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1977. In 2010, Jim started Flaherty Legal Group, LLC with Attorneys Sandi Girolamo and Pamela Magnano.
He believed a team approach that drew upon the strengths of each attorney was the most effective way solve the problems created by divorce. In his practice, he handled family law trials often involving large marital estates, complex custody issues and post-judgment enforcement issues. He also frequently received referrals from other members of the family bar who requested that he try or co-chair their family cases that had little or no prospect of settlement.
Attorney Flaherty utilized private mediation to assist couples seeking to amicably end their marriages. He also provided legal counsel in family law matters involving paternity, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, gay and lesbian family law, father's rights, restraining orders, spousal support, child support, separation agreements and uncontested divorce.
James T. Flaherty was selected to Connecticut Super Lawyers® in every year from 2009 until he passed away in 2023. Super Lawyers is a rating service of lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Attorney Flaherty also maintained an "AV Preeminent rating" with Martindale-Hubbell and Lawyers.com for ethical standards and legal ability, and was well-reviewed and rated "Superb" on AVVO.com.
In the final decade of his career, Jim orchestrated his ideal vision for a firm. He built Flaherty Legal Group alongside his friends and partners, Sandi Girolamo and Pam Magnano. He was able to work with his long-time friend and colleague, Attorney Steve Sinatro. And he co-managed the business affairs of the firm with his son, Ethan Flaherty.
Jenna D. Hyler provides legal counsel on divorce and family law matters. She began her career at Flaherty Legal Group as a law clerk while attending Quinnipiac University School of Law, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Now an attorney with the firm, Jenna brings diligent preparation and savvy execution to each case she handles.
Attorney Hyler always seeks opportunities for mediated settlement. She is a member of the Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce (CCND) and received training in Collaborative Divorce, as well as Mediation. When parties cannot agree on a path to mediated settlement, Attorney Hyler will represent her client in trial.
Prior to joining the team at Flaherty Legal Group, Jenna served as Legal Extern and Certified Legal Intern in five different positions, including the Office of the Federal Public Defender, and the U.S. District Court, Chief Judge Stefan R. Underhill.
Jenna earned a Master of Arts in Community Psychology at University of New Haven, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at University of West Florida. With a Merit Scholarship and Judge Edgar Bassick III Scholarship, Jenna attended Law School at Quinnipiac University, where she served as Co-President of the Family and Juvenile Law Society and Editor-in-Chief of the Quinnipiac Probate Law Journal. Jenna also competed on the Mock Trial Society Competition Team, and the Society for Dispute Resolution Competition Team.Attorney Hyler's other accomplishments at Quinnipiac University School of Law include:
Pamela M. Magnano practices in the area of family law, representing clients in divorces, legal separations, support issues and child custody matters in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Since 2003, Attorney Magnano has represented clients and children at all levels of family proceedings and has appeared in family courts throughout the state of Connecticut, including the Regional Family Trial Docket in Middletown.
Prior to practicing law in Connecticut, she was one of four attorneys in a prominent law firm in Braintree, Massachusetts. There, she practiced in family law and represented clients in numerous courts throughout the state of Massachusetts, including family and probate court, civil court and criminal court. Attorney Magnano began her courtroom experience as a student prosecutor in law school, where she prosecuted all levels of crimes from arraignments to trials.
Super Lawyers™ selected Attorney Magnano for inclusion in Connecticut Super Lawyers in every year since 2014. Super Lawyers is a rating service of lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Pam was also selected to Connecticut Rising Stars in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Super Lawyers Rising Stars is a list of talented, up-and-coming young lawyers. Martindale-Hubbell recognizes Pam with an AV Preeminent rating for ethical standards and legal ability. In 2022, Attorney Magnano was elected to the Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows Program.
The Connecticut Law Tribune recognized Attorney Magnano in New Leaders in the Law 2013. Out of nearly 300 of the best and brightest nominees, Pam was one of 60 young attorneys to be recognized in the New Leaders in the Law 2013 yearbook published by the Law Tribune.
Pamela M. Magnano graduated from Stetson University in Florida and then received her Juris Doctor degree at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, where she earned a place on the Dean's List. Attorney Magnano is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Hartford County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Attorney Magnano served as the Co-Chair for the Family Law Committee of the Young Lawyers Section of the Connecticut Bar Association from 2006 to 2009. In this position, Attorney Magnano co-chaired several seminars on family law topics. Each of these seminars featured some of Connecticut's most prominent family law attorneys and most respected judges. Attorney Magnano also serves as a Special Master in the Tolland and Hartford Judicial Districts.
To ensure that she is up-to-date on all of the recent developments in her practice area, Attorney Magnano attends several Continuing Legal Education Courses each year. In addition to keeping up with this training, Attorney Magnano has knowledge of all of the computer software needed to be efficient in the field of family law, including FinPlan Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
Beginning in law school and continuing throughout her career, Attorney Magnano has been involved in several charitable events and organizations. While in law school, she volunteered with Shelter Legal Services, an organization located outside of Boston, Massachusetts, which provided legal representation to individuals in local shelters. Through this experience, Attorney Magnano was able to help battered women with housing issues, domestic violence issues and family law issues. Since becoming a member of the bar, Attorney Pamela M. Magnano has continued to give back to the community and was recently named to the Board of Directors for the Children's Law Center of Connecticut.
Pamela M. Magnano practices in the area of family law, representing clients in divorces, legal separations, support issues and child custody matters in Connecticut. Since 2003, Attorney Magnano has represented clients and children at all levels of family proceedings and has appeared in family courts throughout the state of Connecticut. She has been selected to Connecticut Super Lawyers in every year since she became eligible in 2014, and was elected to the prestigious Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows Program. Pam has developed in her 20+ year career a solid foundation in handling financial issues in divorce and family law cases.
Sandi B. Girolamo practices family law and appellate work. She has appeared, argued and written briefs and motions in the Superior Court and the Connecticut Appellate Court. She has tried numerous family law cases, including at the Regional Family Trial Docket. Attorney Girolamo has published decisions from the Connecticut Appellate Court and the Connecticut Supreme Court. Attorney Girolamo tries family law cases involving dissolution of marriage issues and post-judgment matters. Her trial experience includes a six-day post-judgment custody trial at the Regional Family Trial Docket and a nine-day dissolution of marriage trial in the Hartford Superior Court. One judge commented at the end of a trial that Attorney Girolamo "exhibited the very best in family lawyers. She presented her case and examined witnesses in a way consistent with the rules of evidence, in a logical manner, and in a way that I think all family lawyers should emulate, and that is vigorously defending her client's rights but not becoming so emotionally involved in the case that you lost sight of the ultimate goal."
Attorney Girolamo also believes that not every case should be tried and that a settlement usually better serves the client's needs and interests. Therefore, Attorney Girolamo participates in mediations to resolve her cases. She serves as a mediator for couples seeking an amicable resolution to their pending divorce and she serves as a Special Master for the New Britain Superior Court, Tolland Superior Court and the Hartford Superior Court. Attorney Girolamo has been selected to Connecticut SuperLawyers™ in every year since 2011, and to Connecticut Rising Stars in 2010. In September 2010, the Officers of the Family Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association selected Attorney Girolamo as one of five Rising Stars in Connecticut Family Law. In 2022, Sandi was elected to the Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows Program.
Attorney Girolamo graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English from the University of Connecticut. In 1998, Attorney Girolamo began attending Quinnipiac University's Law School at night while working full-time as a paralegal. In 2001, Attorney Girolamo received her Juris Doctor degree, summa cum laude, and she ranked second in the evening class and in the top 10 percent of the entire graduating class. While in law school, Attorney Girolamo also received the American Jurisprudence award in Workers' Compensation. Attorney Girolamo is admitted to practice in Connecticut State Courts and the U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. She also has served as co-chair for the Connecticut Bar Association, Young Lawyer's Family Law Section, and she currently sits on the Children Law Center's Development Committee. Attorney Girolamo has chaired several seminars on family law topics and was featured in an article on juggling a legal career and motherhood.
Attorney Girolamo was born in 1971 in Kentucky. She spent most of her childhood in New Jersey. After graduating from the University of Connecticut, she decided to establish her career in Connecticut. She is married to a schoolteacher, and they currently reside in Newington with their two children. Attorney Girolamo's community activities include teaching gymnastics classes and participating in her daughter's school PAC and her son's school PTO.
Sandi B. Girolamo has been practicing family law for over 20 years. In that time, she has been selected to Connecticut Super Lawyers in every year since she became eligible in 2011. She was also elected to the prestigious Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows Program. Attorney Girolamo has tried many cases in Connecticut Family Courts, and she has also averted the need to go to trial for many clients by negotiating equitable settlements. Sandi is an experienced divorce and family law attorney who is known for her keen approach to handling custody issues.