Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | October 24, 2022 9 Diversity efforts A privately-held firm, Hoffman said Pullman & Comley has seen "strong growth" with revenues up in each of the last two years. He declined to disclose specific numbers. Pullman & Comley was ranked as the fifth-largest law firm in Greater Hartford as of August 2022, based on the number of local attorneys (44), according to Hartford Business Journal's Book of Lists. One area of strength, Hoffman said, in the past few years has also been Pullman's mergers and acquisitions business. In 2021, he said, Pullman lawyers were involved in the sale of an international wire processor and distributor, multistate insurance firm, and privately-owned proxy advi- sory firm. Pullman also worked on multiple elevator company transac- tions nationwide and represented clients that bought an interest in a radiology center and acquired a competitor's frozen seafood business. Timothy Fisher, professor of law and former dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law, said one area where Connecticut law firms need to do a better job is with diversity. "First and foremost, diversity is challenging for Connecticut law firms," Fisher said. "It's not like in (Washington) D.C. or Atlanta, where being a lawyer of color is not remarkable. It's not noteworthy in those places. However, if you are an African-American or Hispanic, you know that here in Hartford it's still something that people notice. And, sometimes, it means that you feel like you have to prove yourself more than maybe somebody else does." Hoffman said he believes Pullman is ahead of the curve when it comes to diversity and inclusion with regard to minority groups, women and the gay community. "We continue to focus on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts and recognize that there is significant work to be done, as there is in the legal industry as a whole," Hoffman said. The firm declined to give a breakdown of attorneys based on gender and ethnicity. Among other things, Hoffman said, the firm participates in the Cultural Diversity Initiative, a program designed to give first-year law students who are members of diverse groups historically under- represented in the legal industry, the opportunity to interview with hiring law firms. Pullman attorneys, Hoffman said, are also actively involved in local, state, and national bar efforts to advance diversity and inclusion. Examples, he said, include Attorney John Stafstrom Jr., who is immediate past chair of the national board of directors of Lambda Legal, a national organization dedicated to advancing the causes of the LGBTQ community; and Pullman attorney Jessica Grossarth Kennedy, founding chair of the LGBT section of the Connecticut Bar Associa- tion, who currently serves on the board of the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity. Funding your business's full potential. Grow your business with the help of our experienced commercial lending professionals. Contact our commercial lending officers at liberty-bank.com/commercial-lending Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender. All loans are subject to credit and underwriting approval. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Lee Hoffman is the longtime chair of Pullman & Comley's real estate, energy, environmental and land use department. Tim Fisher

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