Attorney Joseph B. Burns

Attorney Joseph “Joe” Burns 

With nearly 38 years of legal practice, Joe serves as the firm’s Litigation Head. Joe’s experience includes handling civil liability claims representing both plaintiffs as well as defendants (including direct representation and as insurance defense counsel). The cases Joe has handled over the past 38 years range from small-value premises liability and motor vehicle claims to catastrophic injury and mass tort litigations, such as coordinating the defense of several defendants in the Station Nightclub (Warwick, RI) Fire Litigation, and civil claims arising from the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11 on behalf of large excess insurance carriers. 

Also notable is Joe’s leading role as one of only a half-dozen co-counsel representing four men wrongfully convicted of murder, securing the largest civil judgment ever entered against the United States, a figure exceeding $100 Million. See Limone v. United States, 497 F.Supp.2d 143 (D.Mass 2007). Most recently, Joe secured summary judgment on behalf of Kleen Energy Systems, LLC, concerning claims arising from the February 2010 Kleen Energy Power Plant Explosion in Middletown, Conn. See Dobratz v. O&G Industries, Superior Court, judicial district of Hartford, Complex Litigation Docket, Docket Nos. (X07) HHD CV10-6034675-S, (X07) HHD CV10-6034674-S, (X07) HHD CV10-6034671-S, (X07) HHD CV11-6034695-S, (X07) HHD CV12-6034696-S, (X07) HHD CV11-6034687-S, (X07) HHD CV10-6034676-S, 2023 Conn. Super. LEXIS 426 (Mar. 31, 2023, Noble, J.); see Gonzalez v. O&G Indus., 341 Conn. 644 (2021).  

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• Investigations
• Commercial Litigation
• Tort Litigation 
• General Litigation
• Insurance Defense Litigation

EDUCATION

• Western New England University, School of law, J.D.
• Boston University, B.A. History with a Minor in English 

BAR ADMISSIONS

• State of Connecticut
• U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
• Mohegan Tribal Court and Gaming Disputes Court
• Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court

MEMBERSHIPS

• Connecticut Bar Association
• Hartford County Bar Association
• James Cooper Fellow, CT Bar Foundation
• Indian Law Committee
• CT Trial Advocacy Institute
• Fellow, American Bar Association 
• CT Super Lawyers, General Litigation  

ROLES & APPOINTMENTS

• Fact Finder/Arbitrator, Connecticut Superior Court  
• Special Master, New Britain Superior Court
• Attorney Trial Referee, Connecticut Superior Court
• CT Judicial Branch, Complex Litigation Committee 
• Adjunct Professor, CT Law Practice & Procedure, Western New England University, School of Law 
• Connecticut Judicial Branch, Commission on Civil Court Alternative Dispute Resolution 

PUBLICATIONS 

• A Practical Guide to Discovery and Depositions in Connecticut, Chapter on Physical and Mental Examinations and Protected Health Information (MCLE, 2nd Edition 2021)