In a state full of high-profile personal injury firms, Polito & Quinn have won enough cases, and peer recognition, to be chosen the winner in the Personal Injury category of the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Litigation Department of the Year Awards. The paper is Connecticut’s only weekly newspaper devoted to covering the legal community. The recognition took place at an awards banquet in Hartford, CT, on May 30th.
Michael Quinn and Humbert Polito Jr. have practiced together for 23 years. They worked for a small New London firm before splitting off 11 years ago and opening their own practice. Since 2002, the pair has resolved more than 800 cases on behalf of its clients through settlement, verdict or arbitration.
One notable case was a $1.35 million settlement following an arbitration session. The firm represented the estate of a young mother who committed suicide after her post-partum physical and emotional problems were not adequately treated by a neuro-psychologist. In another case, which was settled for $750,000 through alternative dispute resolution, the firm represented the family of a man who died in an accident involving a rented excavator. The lawyers argued that the rental company failed to provide proper training or warning about the excavator’s dangers.
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“The only thing we do is plaintiff’s work,” says Quinn. “One of the great advantages we have in doing only one thing is when, say a large firm tries to wear us down, we have each other to talk about that. Just having that resource to go to makes a big difference.”
The firm practices in Rhode Island as well as Connecticut. The firm’s lone associate, James Harrington, is admitted in both the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal courts, where he handles personal injury cases.
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Quinn says what the firm lacks in manpower, it makes up in collegiality. “Because of our size, we don’t have (scheduled) firm meetings. We have (informal meetings) all the time, several times a day.”
Polito says he and Quinn enjoy helping one another out, whereas a larger firm attorneys may not be inclined to collaborate as much. “A lot of them don’t share the income, so people feel, ‘Why should I help you if I don’t get money?’…That’s what we enjoy, having a good working relationship. That’s a strength of a firm of our size.”
That personal touch extends to client work. “We feel like we built a strong reputation on integrity,” Quinn says. “We’re helping one person at a time, sometimes that help can be quite profound. There is a sense of satisfaction…We improve the quality of their life, even though it’s in a small way.” Polito adds, “If you care about your clients and do your work with integrity, you can be successful for your clients.”
The two attorneys are also proud of living by their motto: “Doing well by doing good.” Polito & Quinn actively support a number of community service organizations and non-profits. They have sculptures and paintings by local artists on display in their offices. They were the main sponsor of a bike team that raised $2,300 to combat multiple sclerosis. In May, 2010, they sponsored and walked in the Valley Short CROP Hunger Walk, which is an interfaith effort of southeastern CT churches to raise money for soup kitchens and food pantries.
The firm is an example that counteracts the ‘public mistrust of lawyers’. They receive kudos from colleagues as well as their peers. New London lawyer Matthew Shafner calls Polito “one of the outstanding trial lawyers in CT. I’ve seen him in court.” Shafner also describes Polito as an excellent mediator who is trusted to help decide cases involving other lawyers.
The firm has also been recognized in U. S. News and World Report “Best Law Firms” for the past three years.
For more information contact the firm at 860-447-3300 or visit their website at www.politoandquinn.com
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