National Award Presented to Simsbury Attorney

SIMSBURY, CT — The Simsbury law firm Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri has announced that Paul Knierim, a former Simsbury Probate Judge and resident, has been awarded the National College of Probate Judges' (NCPJ) highest honor – the Treat Award for Excellence. This national award recognizes Knierim for his significant contribution to the improvement of the law in the probate field while he served 11 years as Connecticut’s Probate Court Administrator.

While serving as Probate Court Administrator, Knierim’s accomplishments included:

• consolidation of the state’s 117 probate courts to 54 courts
• presiding over expansion of continuing education for judges and staff
• overhaul of the rules of probate procedure
• enactment of a stronger judicial code
• establishing a system of random audits for conservators
• modernizing the technology used in the probate court system

“The most critical accomplishment of Judge Knierim’s tenure as Probate Court Administrator was massive Probate Court reform in his first year in office where he successfully built consensus among legislators, judges and municipal leaders,” said Judge Dianne E. Yamin of Danbury, who is a member of the NCPJ Executive Board.

Like father, like son – Knierim’s national recognition for his decades of dedication comes 30 years after his father, Judge Glenn E. Knierim, received this same prestigious award.

He is currently an attorney at Czepiga Daly Pope & Perri where he concentrates on estate planning and probate litigation. He also leads the firm’s dispute resolution practice area which assists families with complex probate and elder law disputes through mediation.

Story submitted by Jill Brightman