Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | October 24, 2022 Lee Hoffman is the new chair of law firm Pullman & Comley. He's shown above outside the firm's Hartford office at State House Square. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED As new Pullman & Comley chair, Hoffman eyes growth opportunities in CT, elsewhere By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com V enerable law firm Pullman & Comley has turned to one of its top Hartford lawyers as its new leader. But newly-named Chair Lee Hoffman says he has growth aspira- tions beyond just the Capital City. One of his top priorities in the new role is to expand Pullman's footprint in satellite offices in and outside Connecticut and grow the firm's 88-attorney roster. Pullman & Comley has already been making moves. In September it opened its first Rhode Island office. In 2019, it opened a Springfield, Massachusetts location. "Our expansion, both in terms of adding attorneys and moving into new geographic areas, is in response to market opportunities and our clients' needs," said Hoffman, from the firm's downtown Hartford office in State House Square. "We have a century of history and deep roots in Connecticut … but, at the same time, our clients have legal needs across the region, and that has been the impetus behind our growth in Massachusetts and Rhode Island." In a wide-ranging interview with the Hartford Business Journal, the 53-year-old Allentown, Pennsylvania native — who was asked by the firm's executive committee to consider the chair role — discussed his goals, recent significant activity of the firm's mergers and acquisitions team, and diversity and inclusion efforts. He also spoke about the firm's expansion of certain practice groups. Pullman has Connecticut offices in Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Westport, in addition to a White Plains, New York outpost. Hoffman succeeds James T. "Tim" Shearin in the chair role. Shearin will continue as a member of the firm's litigation department. Growing footprint The fall has already been busy for Pullman & Comley. On Oct. 1, it added three staff members including one attorney to its now 10-person West- port office. In addition, the Wakefield, Rhode Island office — which focuses on property tax and valuation and labor and employment matters — opened Sept. 15. Pullman's Springfield office — which focuses on labor and employ- ment issues — opened in 2019 primarily for attorneys who serve Massachusetts clients. Short- and long-term plans could involve adding more attorneys as various practice groups grow and expand, Hoffman said. Meantime, two of the firm's fast- est-growing practice areas are cannabis and alternative dispute resolutions, Hoffman said. The firm had a cannabis practice group about the time Connecticut approved the use of medical mari- juana in 2012. It's been growing over the past year since recreational mari- juana was legalized in Connecticut in July 2021, Hoffman said. "For me, the cannabis practice is one of the best things you can do as a lawyer at a macro level," Hoffman said. "You are building something from the ground up; something that's never been done before. Our cannabis prac- tice is growing by leaps and bounds as Connecticut figures out what it wants to do with the legalization of recreational cannabis." Top cannabis issues, Hoffman said, range from planning and zoning concerns to employment issues. There are currently nine attorneys involved with Pullman's cannabis practice group, but that number could grow, according to attorney Andy Glassman, who leads the group. Meantime, the alternative dispute resolutions practice — where attor- neys work with clients to come up with solutions to legal quandaries instead of going to trial — is growing. It currently has eight attorneys, including four retired judges, said Hoffman. Pullman recently re-hired retired Judge William J. Wenzel to the alternative dispute resolution practice. His focus will be on the mediation and arbitration of family law and business disputes. "I think a lot of practitioners in the state of Connecticut have recognized the expense of going to trial, and have recognized the reliability of (alterna- tive dispute resolutions) in general," said Hoffman, the longtime chair of Pullman's real estate, energy, environ- mental and land use department. "We have practitioners who are willing to listen to all sides, make the tough calls and bring people together and come up with solutions." LEE HOFFMAN Chair Pullman & Comley Education: George Washington University, law degree; Tulane University, bachelor's degree Age: 53

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