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Jerome Paun
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Jerome Paun
Law Office of Jerome Paun
746 Main Street
Willimantic, CT 06226
Phone: (860) 456-1984 | Fax: (860) 456-4452
http://www.paunlaw.com
Vigorously Defending Your Rights!
Legal Topic
Criminal Defense
Preferred New Clients
I represent adult and juvenile clients being investigated or charged with criminal or serious motor vehicle offenses; including all felonies and misdemeanors, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and serious motor vehicle offenses.
I also provide legal assistance and representation to clients who have been previously convicted of crimes and are now seeking a pardon or an erasure of their criminal records from the State of Connecticut.
Sub-Categories
Criminal Defense
- Aiding, Abetting, Accessory, Conspiracy
- Appeals
- Capital Crimes/Capital Cases
- Environmental Violations
- Felonies
- Grand Jury Proceedings
- Juvenile Crimes
- False Identification
- Truancy
- Military Crimes (UCMJ)
- Misdemeanors
- Parole
- Probation
- Perjury
- Plea Negotiation
- Search & Seizure
- Victims' Rights
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender (LGBT) Rights
- Animal Abuse
- Child Abuse
- Domestic Violence
- Elder Abuse
- DUI
- Felony Auto Accidents
- Parking Tickets & Towing
- Traffic - Moving Violations
- Open Container
- Driving with a Suspended License
- Driving without a License
- DWI
- Hacking
- Malicious Code
- Unauthorized Access
- Expungement or Expunction
- Drug Cultivation & Manufacturing
- Drug Possession
- Intent to Distribute Drugs
- Intent to Sell Drugs
- Medical Marijuana
- Constitutional Rights Defense
- Illegal Possession or Transportation
- Other Weapons & Devices
- Bank Fraud
- Checks & Credit Cards
- Corporate Espionage & Sabotage
- Embezzlement
- Extortion
- Forgery
- Identity Theft
- Insider Trading
- Insurance Claims
- Money Laundering
- Public Offerings
- Racketeering & RICO
- Securities Fraud
- Smuggling
- Tax Evasion & Fraud
- Trade Secrets
- Wire Transfer
- Arson
- Burglary
- Embezzlement
- Larceny
- Shoplifting
- Theft
- Trespass
- Vandalism
- Abduction
- Child Abuse
- Child Pornography
- Indecent Exposure
- Prostitution, Solicitation, & Pandering
- Rape
- Sexual Assault
- Stalking
- Trafficking in Women
- Assault & Battery
- Domestic Violence
- Extortion
- Kidnapping
- Manslaughter
- Murder
- Robbery
Legal Topic
Employment & Labor Relations
Preferred New Clients
I provide legal evaluation/consultations and representation to individuals and labor organizations in employment and labor law related matters.
Sub-Categories
Employees
- Affirmative Action
- Age Discrimination
- Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Compensation, Benefits, & Pensions
- Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
- Disability Discrimination
- Discipline/Suspension
- Emotional Distress
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
- Employee Rights
- Employment Contracts
- Equal Pay Act (EPA)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA)
- Government Employees
- Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
- Jones Act
- Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
- Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
- Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
- Race Discrimination
- Racial Harassment
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
- Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
- Severance Packages
- Sex Discrimination
- Sexual Harassment
- Termination
- Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act
- Wage & Hour Laws
- Whistleblower
- Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
- Wrongful Termination
- Collective Bargaining
- Labor Arbitration
- Labor Disputes
- Labor Legislation
- National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
- Picketing/Freedom of Speech
- Unfair Labor Practices
- Unions
Bar Admissions
CT, Sep 1986
Bar Number: 102500
NY, Mar 1980
Bar Number: 1667633
Other Court Admissions
State Courts of New York and Connecticut
United States District Courts for the Districts of: Southern and Eastern New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts
United States Courts of Appeal for the First and Second Circuits
United States Supreme Court
Association Memberships
American Bar Association
Connecticut Bar Association
Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Lawyers Guild
Continuing Education
Each year, I attend and participate in continuing legal education courses primarily studying criminal law and procedure and small law office practice management and development.
Example Cases
In State v. Matthew S, I was successful in keeping a young man out of jail by persuading the sentencing judge to grant him a ten year fully suspended sentence with five years probation when the prosecution was arguing for a 12 year sentence suspended after six years in jail for a guilty plea to assault in the second degree case where the victim was very seriously and permanently injured as a result of the fight.
In another matter involving a man accused by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) of child abuse and neglect, with a client and spouse who were fully willing to follow my advice, I was successful in forcing DCF to drop its investigation without a finding of abuse or neglect and I was successful in thwarting police efforts to secure an arrest warrant for my client. This case proves the value of good pre-arrest legal representation and counsel to avoid criminal charges entirely.
Education
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
School:
State University College at Brockport
City:
Brockport
State:
NY
Year:
1972
Honors:
I graduated cum laude.
Focus and Accomplishments:
I was also selected to participate in the Political Science Department Washington, D.C. Semester Program as an intern at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. There I conducted a statistical analysis of the impact of racial and ethnic minority representation on metropolitan regional planning boards and government councils.
Political Science and Philosophy dual majors. I was also very involved in student government; particularly as it related to civil rights issues involving local migrant farm workers and Viet Nam war protests.
Degree:
Master of Arts in Political Science (Urban Administration)
School:
State University College at Brockport
City:
Brockport
State:
NY
Year:
1975
Honors:
I was selected to participate and given a full scholarship at the launch of this masters degree program because of my outstanding undergraduate academic record and commitment to public service.
Focus and Accomplishments:
My masters degree thesis involved researching and conducting a statistical analysis of the effectiveness of using paralegals in delivering legal services to indigent clients.
Degree:
Juris Doctor
School:
State University of New York at Buffalo Law School
City:
Buffalo
State:
NY
Year:
1979
Honors:
I was one of only three first year law students to successfully compete for and win a seat on the Moot Court Board.
Focus and Accomplishments:
I continued to be active on the Moot Court Board throughout law school. In my second year, I competed in the Wagner Labor Law Moot Court competition at New York Law School where my partner and I reached the quarter finals. During my third year, I competed in a trial court moot court competition hosted at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. I was selected as a National Member in the Order of Barristers for excellence and having attained high honor in the art of courtroom advocacy.
In law school my focus was on Labor Law and Criminal Law and Procedure.
Number of Attorneys
1
State Licensed In
Connecticut and New York.
Firm Focus and History
My law firm primarily focuses on representing adult and juvenile clients in Eastern Connecticut being investigated for or charged with crimes, including: all felonies, misdemeanors, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and other serious motor vehicle violations. I have also developed a niche law practice representing people convicted of crimes who are seeking pardons or erasure of their Connecticut criminal records.
My law office also provides legal counsel, assistance and representation to individuals and labor organizations in employment and labor relations matters.
My law firm was originally established as a solo practice in 1990. At that time, my law practice focused exclusively on representing labor unions and workers in labor and employment matters, including workers' compensation. By the late 1990s, I added criminal defense to the legal services I provided clients and then I continued to expand that practice area.
In 2005, as legal work representing unions in labor relations matters became more scarce due to declines in the unionized workforce generally, I began redirecting the focus of my law practice toward criminal defense. Today, about 80 percent of my law practice is criminal defense in adult and juvenile cases. The remaining 20 percent or so of my practice consists of representing people who are seeking pardons for their criminal convictions from the State of Connecticut or who have employment related issues with their employers or former employers. I continue to represent a few local labor unions in labor relations matters.
Previous Employment Summary
From 1980, when I was admitted to the New York bar until I established my law firm in 1990, I was the Regional Counsel for the Greater Northeastern Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). ACTWU merged with the International Lady Garment Workers Union in 1995. The merged international unions became known as UNITE!
As Regional Counsel, I acted as general counsel for the Greater Northeastern Joint Board, representing it and its membership in virtually all of its many legal matters and especially in legal matters related to: collective bargaining, grievance processing, labor arbitration, unfair labor practice and union recognition proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and in federal courts, and bankruptcy proceedings in United States Bankruptcy Courts securing benefits for workers and the union from bankrupt employers.
When I established my own solo law firm in 1990, I continued to serve as the Regional Counsel for the Greater Northeastern Joint Board until it merged with the UNITE New England Joint Board in 2002. I continued to serve as Regional Counsel to the New England Joint Board until late 2004. Thereafter, I refocused my law practice on more plentiful criminal defense representation in Eastern Connecticut.
Activities and Awards
I am a Special Public Defender (SPD) in Windham, Tolland and New London Counties of Connecticut. As an SPD I represent indigent adult and juvenile clients accused of felony and misdemeanor charges in Connecticut Superior and Juvenile Courts.
I also provide pro bono legal representation to mentally incompetent individuals in Probate Courts for the Towns of Windham, Andover and Colchester, Connecticut. I have been repeatedly recognized by the Connecticut Bar Association for my contribution of pro bono publico legal representation to indigent clients.
I am an active member of the National Lawyers Guild and I was elected and re-elected as the Guild's national treasurer from October 1998 until October 2006. In that capacity, I served on the Guild's national executive council and supervised the overall operation of the Guild. I was especially involved with establishing the Guild's annual national budget and finances.
As a national officer of the Guild, I was frequently asked to speak to concerned citizen groups in Connecticut and on radio shows about the draconian provisions and discriminatory implementation of the PATRIOT Act that swept through Congress and the nation in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy.
Before becoming the Treasurer of the National Lawyers Guild, I served as a co-chair of its national Labor and Employment Committee. I continued to serve in that capacity for a couple years while I also served as Treasurer. As co-chair of the Labor and Employment Committee, I was selected to participate in a Guild delegation to Japan in 1999. As part of that delegation, I met with and addressed members of the Japanese Association of Lawyers for Freedom and Japanese trade unionists regarding the adverse impact of the globalization of capital on industrialized workers and their vanishing jobs.
I am especially proud to be a member of the National Lawyers Guild because of its historic demonstrated dedication to the principal expressed in the Preamble to its Constitution that "human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests."
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
I believe that the legal system, courts and court procedures are a very scary mystery for all but the most sophisticated of clients. As part of my own efforts to de-mystify the legal system for clients, I encourage clients to educate themselves on the legal system and the legal issues confronting them. That being said, I discourage clients from taking advice from frequently well-meaning but usually ill-informed non-lawyer friends, relatives, and those with whom they may be incarcerated.
Self-education in the legal system and the legal issues is a serious endeavor that should not be undertaken lightly or with saving money in mind. Rather, it should be undertaken with the idea that a well-informed client is better able to work with and assist his or her lawyer with representation.
Self-education on legal issues is not the same as nor should it be confused with self-representation in court or in other forums. In all but the most simple and least consequential of legal matters, usually long-lasting and potentially devastating consequences may result. A person thinking about representing himself in court or in another forum where the stakes are high is well advised to heed the old adage that he who represents himself has a fool for a client.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
I am happy to review, edit and revise documents prepared by clients for modest fees. Such legal assistance can be a very satisfactory and cost-effective method of providing the right client with all the legal help he may need in a given circumstance.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
It depends on the client, the forum and the type of case. If a client appears to be intelligent, reasonably articulate and otherwise capable of adequately representing him or herself in an appropriate forum where the stakes are not too high or the cost of actual legal representation would be prohibitive, I am willing to coach clients to represent themselves for more modest fees. I am most willing to coach appropriate clients to represent themselves at hearings for unemployment compensation benefits. It is my belief and experience that a reasonably intelligent and articulate client who has spent a couple of hours with me coaching him and who has diligently done his homework can adequately represent him or herself at such hearings with a very good chance for a successful outcome.
On the other hand, I believe that clients cannot be adequately coached or prepared to represent themselves in more complicated legal matters or more formal forums such as most courts. I especially discourage people from attempting to represent themselves in criminal courts unless the charges they face are nothing more than infractions that carry no penalty greater than a modest fine without any chance for incarceration. The stakes are simply too high in criminal court. A pro se defendant is no match for a well-trained prosecutor with all the criminal justice apparatus of the state behind him.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
It's a long story. When I was growing-up in Queens, New York, kids in my neighborhood didn't become lawyers. If they became involved with the law as a vocation, it was more likely to be as a criminal or, if they were lucky, as a cop. I wasn't planning to be either.
I had become active in the civil rights movement as a student ambassador to maintain Andrew Jackson as the model high school of racial integration in New York City. Despite my reputation as an effective civil rights ambassador for my high school, after several go-rounds with my guidance counselor telling me I was not really fit for the various vocations I had proposed to pursue, he finally approved when I told him I had decided to become a physical education teacher.
One day, after one of my few brilliant moments in class, as I was leaving social studies my teacher asked me what I was going to be. Having recently settled that question, I proudly told him I was going to be a gym teacher. He gently put his arm around me and said, "Jerry my boy, you're wasting your time and your talents - become a lawyer." Well, nobody had ever suggested that to me, but I liked the idea. In 1968, it seemed like lawyers, particularly civil rights attorneys, were doing good work to make the nation live-up to its promise of being a nation where all men and women are created equal and are treated fairly under law. So, instead of majoring in phys ed at college, I dual majored in political science and philosophy and graduated with honors.
After continuing to pursue civil rights, equality, social and economic justice issues by serving my country in VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) for two years and acquiring a Master of Arts degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Urban Administration, I went to law school.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
I received my most valuable education at Andrew Jackson High School. When I attended high school from 1965-68, Andrew Jackson was the model New York City high school of racial integration. While my parents had always taught me to value everyone and treat each person as I would want to be treated, at Jackson I had the opportunity to apply those lessons across a broad new spectrum of friends from different races and backgrounds. I experienced and learned the benefits of a racially diverse and integrated education. That basic education in humanity has informed and influenced not only how I live my life but also how I practice law.
My work in VISTA also profoundly informed and increased my compassion and empathy for the disadvantaged members of our society. There is no real substitute for living in a poor community and working for poverty wages to inform oneself about what being poor in the United States is all about. I learned compassion and empathy for those struggling to survive poverty in the richest country in the world.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
I originally chose to be a union-side labor lawyer because I grew-up in a working-class home of immigrants. I understand and I am sympathetic to the plight of working-class people in the United States. As a union-side labor attorney I was able to use my law school education and legal skills to serve the people and roots I come from. Union-side labor law is a practice area where civil rights, equality, social and economic justice issues come together. The work done by union-side labor lawyers improves the lives of a lot of people. As an added benefit, labor law is a very interesting and stimulating area of law practice - I enjoy it. When union-side labor legal work became more scare, I knew I could not cross the ideological divide to become a management-side lawyer.
Criminal defense is the other area of law that has always interested me and that I had already begun practicing. When a lawyer defends a person charged with a crime, he not only defends his client but also all the rest of us. People frequently don't realize that it is the criminal defense attorney who puts the brakes on the state's enormous apparatus for locking-up people. Without criminal defense lawyers challenging the state's police power, the state could lock people up without regard for their rights for no reason at all! Criminal defense lawyers really are the first-line defense against the tyranny of a police state. I am very proud to be a criminal defense attorney defending our rights as well as my clients.
What do you like best about your career?
I like helping people who are in trouble. It doesn't happen in every case but every once in a while and with some frequency, I get to help someone out of a big jam and enable him to turn his life around for the better. I find great satisfaction in helping to make that possible.
More routinely, I enjoy holding the state accountable. In most cases, I am the only person who is standing-up for my clients' constitutional rights and I am frequently the only thing that stands between my clients and jail.
I believe that criminal defense lawyers are the first-line of defense against tyranny. It is criminal defense lawyers who, by vigorously asserting defendants' constitutional rights day-in and day-out, stop the state from willy-nilly arresting people and locking them up for no good reason. I believe in all the constitutional rights that some regard as mere technicalities. Those constitutional rights and the criminal defense lawyers who vigorously defend them are our protection against becoming a police state.
Tell us about your law firm:
I am a solo practitioner in Willimantic, Connecticut. That means that not only am I responsible for but also that I actually represent each and every one of my clients.
I have a wonderful legal assistant who is very capable and helpful with my clients. She is usually the voice they hear and speak with when they call my Eastern Connecticut law office. She frequently answers their questions putting their minds at ease immediately. When she can't answer a question right away, she diligently asks me for the answer and either she or I return a call to our client as soon as one of us can.
My clients only occasionally have contact with my office manager. She really is responsible for managing my law office finances and bookkeeping.
What are your strengths and style?
Potential clients often ask if I am aggressive, as if that were always a good thing in a lawyer. The answer is, I am effective. I want to be as effective as I possibly can be in getting the best possible results for my clients. Aggression usually interferes with effectiveness. So, I am only aggressive when I need to be. Most of the time, there is a better way to achieve the best result. Since 98 percent of all cases are resolved without a trial, a good negotiating strategy is usually necessary to persuading prosecutors and judges to give my clients the best outcome. As a union-side labor lawyer I developed excellent negotiating skills that now benefit my criminal defense clients as well.
Personal Interests:
My personal interests are quite varied, ranging from my family and friends to human rights, social and economic justice issues. My interests in the struggle for human rights, equality, social and economic justice, have played a major role in determining who I am and the kind of lawyer I am.
I like learning new things. I enjoy reading. I learn a lot of new things that make me a better lawyer by reading.
I enjoy physical activity too. For years I studied martial arts but for nearly ten years now I have been studying swing, Latin and ballroom dancing. My passion is Argentine Tango.
I also enjoy photography, especially black and white film photography.
Office Manager/Assistant
Office Manager is Berkeley Nowosad and Legal Assistant is Robin Stillman.
Fax
(860) 456-4452
Office Hours
Usual office hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Consultations and office meetings are by appointment only, so clients and prospective clients should call in advance to make appointments.
Emergency After Hours
Yes
Foreign Languages
We understand and speak some Spanish and can make arrangements for interpreters if needed.
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
I do have some fixed-price fees. I charge a $250 flat fee for initial individual employment matter evaluation/consultations that cover up to two hours of my time. In criminal matters I have several mostly fixed-price fees that vary depending on certain factors.
Hourly Rates
My rate is $225 per hour and I bill my legal assistant at the rate of $65 per hour.
Free Initial Consultation?
For criminal and pardon cases I offer free initial consultations. Those initial interviews usually take about 45 minutes. I conduct the initial consultation in criminal cases while my legal assistant usually conducts the initial interview for pardon applications.
For individual employment related matters I charge a $250 flat fee for initial evaluation/consultations due to their complex and time-consuming nature. These initial evaluation/consultations tend to take at least an hour-and-one-half to two hours of my time and frequently require me to review a number of documents.
Typical Retainer
For misdemeanor charges my pre-trial retainers range from $1,500 to $3,500.
For felony charges my pre-trial retainers run from $2,500 to $5,000 for less serious felony charges, and from $5,000 and up for more serious felonies.
When a client desires legal defense representation pre-arrest during a police and/or Department of Children and Families investigation, my pre-arrest retainer is usually $750.
In individual employment related matters, after the initial evaluation/consultation fee, I require an advance against attorney fees and expenses to go on deposit in my clients' trust account of between $1,500 and $3,500, depending on the additional legal work agreed upon to be performed on behalf of the client.
Nolo's Licensing Check
Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the applicable bar associations upon joining the directory.
Directory lawyers are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any bar association.
