McElroy Deutsch Adds Two Highly Respected Hartford Attorneys To the Firm’s Growing Appellate Practice

McElroy Deutsch today announced that Wesley W. Horton and Karen L. Dowd have joined the Firm’s Appellate practice group. Mr. Horton will serve as Of Counsel to the Firm, and Ms. Dowd has joined as a Partner.  Both attorneys have decades of experience in appellate law, having argued, briefed and / or consulted on scores of cases in the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts, the United States Supreme Court, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. They previously served as partners of Hartford-based Horton, Dowd, Bartschi & Levesque, P.C.

At McElroy Deutsch, Ms. Dowd and Mr. Horton join one of the nation’s most diverse and credentialed appellate practice groups, which was established soon after the Firm’s founding in 1983 by William T. McElroy, a former New Jersey Appellate Court Judge. Current members of the practice group include several highly regarded attorneys – notably Ronald J. Riccio, former Dean of Seton Hall Law School, and Louis R. Pepe, former President of the Connecticut Bar Association – as well as former members of the judiciary, including former Connecticut Supreme Court Justice C. Ian McLachlan, who served more than nine years on Connecticut’s appellate courts; and former Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Peter T. Zarella, who served in that capacity for nearly two decades.

In announcing the additions, James A. Budinetz, who serves as Managing Partner of the Firm’s New England offices, said “We’re honored to have two attorneys of Wes’ and Karen’s experience and stature in appellate law join our Firm. Their addition will further strengthen our ability to deliver an exceptional level of legal insight and litigation experience to our clients in the Northeast and across the nation.”

Mr. Horton is well-known in Connecticut for his representation of the City of New London in Kelo v. New London before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Horton was known for his groundbreaking win in Sheff v. O'Neill, in which he successfully persuaded the Connecticut Supreme Court that education was a fundamental right under the Connecticut Constitution, and that de facto segregation in schools violated this right.

Mr. Horton is a graduate of Harvard College and the University Of Connecticut School Of Law, and the author or co-author of several scholarly publications and articles on legal topics. He is the recipient of many professional awards, including the University of Connecticut Law School Alumni Association’s Medal of Excellence; and currently serves on the Board of Editors for the Connecticut Law Tribune, and as a Lecturer and Adjunct Professor at the University Connecticut Law School.

Ms. Dowd has handled civil litigation in Connecticut’s state and federal trial courts, in addition to her appellate experience. She also is often retained to consult with trial counsel, assisting in creation of trial strategy and preparation of pleadings. She served as the Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association Litigation Section, and continues to serve on the Litigation Section Executive Committee. She’s also served on the faculty of the Connecticut Trial Advocacy Institute.

Ms. Dowd is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Connecticut School of Law, has co-authored Connecticut Insurance Law and currently co-authors the Connecticut Practice Book Annotated, and edits the CBA Professional Discipline Digest. She has spoken on appellate and ethics issues in seminars and presents the Annual Appellate Review at the Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Bar Association.

Both Mr. Horton and Ms. Dowd were selected for Best Lawyers for Appellate Practice 2022. In addition, Ms. Dowd was named The Best Lawyers 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Appellate Practice in Hartford.