Qualified Attorneys in Canton, Tx & Danbury, CT

Attorney Joseph P. Secola

Attorney Secola has been in private practice since 1984. He has years of experience in a wide variety of legal disciplines. Read his profile below to get to know us better.

Joseph P. Secola

Attorney & Judge

Connecticut Probate Judge. Ret.

State Bars: Texas (2022); Connecticut (1984); New York (1985); and Virginia (1986)
In 2018, Earned an L.LM. Degree, a Master of Laws in Estate Planning & Elder Law from Western New England University School Of Law.

Legal Field:

* Probate Law

* Estate Planning & Elder law

* Wills and Trusts Law

* Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice

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Education

LL.M. Degree: Master of Laws in Estate Planning & Elder Law,

Western New England University School Of Law

2018

Juris Doctor Degree (Rank: Third) O.W. Coburn School of Law

1984

Bachelor of Arts in History (Honors Diploma; Phi Alpha Theta) Fairfield University

1981

Bar Admissions

State Courts :

Texas (2022); Connecticut (1984); New York (1985); Virginia (1986)

Federal District Courts :

District of Connecticut (1985); Southern District of New York (1988); Western District of New York (1996)

Federal Appellate Courts :

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1989)

U.S. Supreme Court : (1990)

Major Accomplishments

Argued before Connecticut Supreme Court on March 19, 1996, in a winning administrative law case involving the Due Process of Law, entitled Dolgner v. Alander, 676 A.2d 865, 237 Conn. 272 (Conn. 1996).

Won 2007 jury verdict in a car crash case - Groccia v. Lederer - Verdict of $580,000 ($80,000 economic and $500,000 non-economic) for middle-aged mother - New Haven Jury verdict featured on May 21, 2007, Connecticut Law Tribune, in Verdicts and Settlements section.

Won 2005 Jury Verdicts in a car crash case - Bolonos v. Curry - Danbury Verdicts of (1) $255,000 ($5,000 economic and $250,000 non-economic damages awarded) for college-age daughter and (2) $79,000 ($4,000 economic and $75,000 economic damages awarded) for middle-aged mother.

Won 1999 Jury Verdict in a car crash case - Riley v. Nordic Products, Inc. - Meriden Verdict of $168,000 ($35,000 economic and $133,000 non-economic damages awarded) for a middle-aged man.

Settled cases of note - medmal case of young girl settled for $690,000; wrongful death medmal case of a teenage male settled for 1.5 million; a 30-year-old male in a truck-car accident with permanent injuries settled for 1.2 million.

Professional Experience

Judge of Probate, District of Brookfield 2001-2011

Presided over Trust and Decedent Estates proceedings, including probating wills and the administration of estates, overseeing testamentary and living trusts, determining title to real and personal property, and construing the meaning of wills and trusts.

Presided over Guardian, Conservator, and Civil Commitment proceedings, including appointing guardians for persons who are mentally disabled, approving placements of persons who are mentally disabled, appointing a guardian of the estate or person for a child, for persons with mental illness and/or for persons who are incapable of managing or administering their own affairs, appointing conservators of the person and the estate, committing those suffering from severe mental illness to an appropriate facility.

Presided over proceedings involving Parents and Children, including removing unfit parents as guardians of their children, hearing the claims of paternity of unwed fathers, terminating the parental rights of parents who cannot fulfill their parental responsibilities, and granting adoptions.

Private Practice: Trial Lawyer 1984-Present

Thorough understanding of all aspects of probate court practice.
Probate wills and represent and advise executors and administrators of estates.
Prepare and draft diverse trusts, including revocable intervivos trusts, irrevocable trusts, and life insurance trusts.
Prepare and draft complex wills, conforming provisions to meet the individual needs of clients.
Advise clients concerning trust and estate planning.
Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
Thorough understanding and experience in civil trials and appeals in both state and federal courts.
Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
Represent clients in court, mainly on the plaintiff’s side.
Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.
Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges and question witnesses during the course of a trial.
Negotiate settlements of civil and probate disputes.
Other Legal ExperienceSummer Clerkship for the Honorable Tomas R. Brett, U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court, Tulsa, Oklahoma, summer 1983

Community Involvement

Member, Board of Directors, Good Samaritan Mission, Danbury, Ct. [homeless shelter and discipleship house] (2014 - 2019)\
Member, Board of Directors, Brookfield Museum and Historical Society (2004 - 2019)
Member, Brookfield Youth Commission (2002-2005)
Sponsor, Several Little League and Pop Warner football teams (1996-2006)
Bible Study Teacher at Men's Bible Study, St. Paul's Anglican Church, Brookfield, CT (1995 - 2022)
Member, City of Milford Board of Education (1989 -1990)

Awards & Honors

Member, Million Dollar Advocates Forum

Who's Who in American Law, Millennium Edition §2000-2001

Strathmore's Who's Who §1999-2000

Lifetime Member, National Registry of Who's Who §1999

Who's Who for Connecticut §1993

Who's Who for American Law Students §1984

Law Review Invitee §1983-1984

Affiliations

Member, State Bar of Texas
Member, National College of Probate Judges
Member, Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association
President, Greater Danbury Bar Association (2012-2013)
Member Judge, Connecticut Probate Assembly (2001-2011)
Member and President, Connecticut Probate Judges Association for Local Courts, Inc. (2005-2010)

Publications

Articles:

Published Probate Court opinion in the Estate of Charlene E. Kreinus, 17 Quinnipiac Prob. L.J. 9 (2003).

Cases:

State v. Reddy, 135 Conn. App. 65 (Conn. App. 2012) (JPS won appeal reversing the seizure of the firearms of a gunowner).
New Milford Sav. Bank v. Mulville,258 Conn. 802, 786 A.2d 1090 (Conn. 2001) (JPS obtained a judgment of foreclosure by sale in the trial court and successfully defended the appeal in both the Appellate Court and Connecticut Supreme Court).
Dolgner v. Alander, 676 A.2d 865, 237 Conn. 272 (Conn. 1996) (JPS won appeal and Connecticut Supreme Court reversed agency action and restored license of JPS's client).
New Milford Savings Bank v. Roina, 659 A.2d 1226, 38 Conn. App. 240 (Conn. App. 1995) (JPS won summary judgment for plaintiff bank in trial court defeating lender liability counterclaim and successfully defending the appeal in the Connecticut Appellate Court).
Asset Recovery Management Co. v. Tarzia, 1995 WL 16797, 1995 WL 17181 (Conn. Super. 1995) (JPS won trial and obtained permanent injunction for plaintiff corporation enjoining interference with marketing of real estate).
Melief v. New Milford Savings Bank, 1996 WL 168011 (Conn. Super. 1996) (JPS won summary judgment for the defendant bank defeating lender liability claims).
New Milford Savings Bank v. Melief, 1994 WL 174725 (Conn. Super. 1994), affirmed, 659 A.2d 1232, 38 Conn. App. 906 (Conn. App. 1995), cert. denied, 665 A.2d 902, 235 Conn. 910 (Conn. 1995) (JPS won the trial for a deficiency judgment for the plaintiff bank and successfully defended the judgment in both the Appellate and Supreme Courts of CT).
New Milford Savings Bank v. Zukov, 1993 WL 544768 (Conn. Super. 1993) (JPS won trial court ruling for plaintiff bank which struck the lender liability counterclaim from the jury docket).
Kagan v. Ginsburg, 622 A.2d 1030, 30 Conn. App. 794 (Conn. App. 1993) (JPS won appeal; Appellate Court reversed trial court dismissal of plaintiff's claims).
K.W. Dolmar Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. Matar, 1992 WL 188915 (Conn. Super. 1992), affirmed, 632 A.2d 720, 32 Conn. App. 906 (Conn. App. 1993) (JPS won trial and obtained injunction and damages for intentional interference with business relations; JPS successfully defended the appeal in the CT Appellate Court).