James W. Bergenn | Hartford Criminal Defense Lawyer

Jim Bergenn's practice is comprised of complex criminal and civil litigation, including white collar crime and government investigations, personal injury and wrongful death cases, and other trials involving significant consequences.  With more than 40 years trial lawyer experience and a trial skills teacher at UConn Law for over 35 years, other lawyers and clients call Jim regularly to seek his trial skills, and experience with investigations and experts, in many different kinds of contested cases.

Jim’s wide range of criminal cases includes representing targets of investigations, criminal defendants, grand jury and other witnesses, and crime victims.  Because he handles personal injuries, he often helps victims during and after criminal cases are brought to obtain the right compensation for their harm. He works in cases prosecuted by all the various federal, state and local authorities, such as the US Attorney’s Office, The Chief State’s Attorney’s Office, State and Federal Grand Juries, the FBI, the State Police, the SEC, the DEA, the ATF, the DOD, the IRS, the FDA, the FTC, the Office of Inspector General for various Federal Agencies, state regulators such as the Attorney General, the DEP, the DOH, the DMR, the DCF, and the Office of Consumer Protection, and local police.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Partner	Shipman & Goodwin LLP	Hartford, CT	Present

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Columbia University Law School	J.D.	Law School	1979
Catholic University of America	Bachelors		1976

State / Court	Date
Connecticut	1979

• American Bar Association
  Connecticut Bar Association: Executive Committee, Criminal Justice Section; Chair, Media and Law Committee
  Hartford County Bar Association
  National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
  Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association: Board of Governors
  The Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Top 25

• Catholic University of America: President's Award
  Firm is ranked Tier 1 by U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers as a Best Law Firm in both Personal Injury Litigation and Products Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs
  AV Preeminent® Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
  Listed as a Connecticut Super Lawyer®: Criminal Defense: White Collar (2006-2020); Personal Injury Plaintiff: General, Business Litigation (2006-2015)
  Listed as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Connecticut by Super Lawyers® (2014, 2016, 2019)
  Listed in The Best Lawyers in America®: Criminal Defense: White-Collar (2009-2020); Criminal Defense: General Practice (2017-2020); Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar (2009-2016); Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs (2018-2021); Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs (2018-2021)
  Named "Lawyer of the Year" (2014, 2016): Best Lawyers Hartford Region Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar
  Named "Lawyer of the Year" (2018, 2021): Best Lawyers Hartford Region Criminal Defense: General Practice
  Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star: Wrongful Death and Personal Injury (Plaintiff) (2012-2015)
  Chosen as a member of The Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a voluntary membership organization that admits only attorneys who have won million dollar verdicts or settlements, and of which fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members
  Connecticut Statewide Grievance Committee for New Haven Ethics Panel
  CBA Task Force on Confidentiality and the Courts Commission
  CBA Task Force for Legal Education
  State of Connecticut Judicial Branch: Advisory Commission on Wrongful Convictions
  American Bar Foundation: Fellow

• $4,500,000 VERDICT - Dental Malpractice - Overfill of Sealer During Root Canal
  Through a referral from an in-house attorney from one of our corporate clients, we represented an executive in a dental malpractice case. Our client was injured during a root canal where the dentist over instrumented leading to a large over fill of sealer some of which went into our client’s mandibular canal. The defendants disputed liability, causation, and damages. The defendants’ insurance company offered only $200,000 two weeks before trial. After three weeks of evidence, including the use of technology at trial, Bill Ronalter obtained a verdict of $4,500,000, which consisted of $165,000 for past and future medical bills and $4,335,000 for additional harms, including constant pain, fatigue from prescription medications, and the reduction of enjoyment in many aspects of her life. In addition, we filed an Offer of Compromise agreeing to settle for $750,000 the year before the trial. Since the verdict was in excess of $750,000, interest runs from when the litigation started in February 2013 bringing the total amount to up over $5,300,000. This verdict is the largest dental malpractice verdict in Connecticut history and is believed to be the largest dental malpractice verdict ever nationally.

• $36,500,000 ARBITRATION AWARD - Defective Product - Catastrophic Burns to 3 Year Old Boy and 33 Year Old Father
  Our clients, a 3 year old boy and his 33 year old father, suffered third degree burns to over 70% and 50% of their bodies respectively and we argued that a lithium ion battery exploded from an electronic device. We brought claims against the product assembler, distributor, and seller. After three unsuccessful mediations and more than 50 depositions, the claims were presented to an arbitration panel. The result of the arbitration was a gross recovery of $36,500,000 for our clients.

• The Cool Justice Report | Truth Hard To Find When Investigating Political Corruption | 2007

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James W. Bergenn has been a Premium Member since March 02, 2021.
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Verified Credentials	Date Verified
(1979) Licensed as Attorney in Connecticut. Verified with Connecticut Bar Association.	March 02, 2021

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