Cramer & Anderson Partner Jennifer Collins has won a 2021 Distinguished Leaders Award from the Connecticut Law Tribune (CLT) for her notable work on behalf of clients, as well as her community service and leadership within the firm.
This year’s CLT awards were presented in a May 12 online ceremony. Partner Kent Mancini also won a Distinguished Leaders Award, and Partner Dan Casagrande was a finalist in the Game Changers category.
“I’m thrilled to win this prestigious award,” Attorney Collins said. “As gratifying as it is, I think it’s really a testament to the power of doing good for clients and causes. The challenges and level of need we encounter as attorneys is often so great, and people and organizations can feel like they’re in an uphill battle with rules no one explained, so when we help them achieve a positive, meaningful outcome, that’s the reward—and each time it feels like winning an award.”
As the leader of the firm’s Social Security Disability (SSD) section, Attorney Collins has integrated essential related practice areas, including Worker’s Comp and Personal Injury, further unifying a highly-experienced team of injury and comp attorneys and spurring growth.
In terms of tireless advocacy for clients, Attorney Collins won a 2020 settlement exceeding $1 million in a Worker’s Comp case for a landscaping company employee injured in an inclement weather accident—but when you ask her about notable outcomes, she focuses on the impact of a more modest settlement of approximately $200,000 for a gas company worker badly burned in an explosion. It allowed him to move forward by changing careers, becoming a physical therapist, and helping others who have been burned.
The nomination letter for Attorney Collins also noted how her compassionate advocacy extends to pro bono work and community service.
She has long accepted Social Security Disability case referrals on a pro bono basis from Connecticut Legal Services, as well as appointments from local probate courts to assist with matters involving guardianship, child neglect, and abuse. Those calls increased during the pandemic, with Attorney Collins representing individuals being conserved (on a significantly-reduced-fee basis) a half-dozen times in the last six months. Since 2010, she has also been a Connecticut Judicial Branch Magistrate for Small Claims Court and motor vehicle infraction dockets, which has taken her all over the state.
In 2020, she stepped up from participating in the annual SafeWalk event to raise funds for the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury to organizing a team on behalf of the firm. The women’s center’s mission is ending domestic violence, and funds raised support prevention and crisis intervention programs, and support services.
She also raised funds in 2020 for BluePath Service Dogs, which provides autism service dogs, and wrapped up a three-year commitment leading a group of Ridgefield teens in community service projects as part of the national nonprofit organization Lion’s Heart. Among their many initiatives, the young women sewed handmade comfort pillows for breast cancer patients at the Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital, made puppets for a teen traveling overseas as part of Operation Smile, and painted ornaments and keepsakes for Ben’s Bells, which teaches individuals and communities about the positive impacts of intentional kindness and inspires people to practice kindness as a way of life.
This past holiday season, Attorney Collins led the attorneys in the firm’s Danbury office in making donations to regional organizations devoted to advancing peace over violence, and embracing dignity and hope and over hate and discord, as well as working with the legal staff to replace the traditional office breakfast with an effort to raise funds and partner with the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury to create a holiday gift basket to help a local family.
Many of Cramer & Anderson’s attorneys have been honored with CLT Professional Excellence Awards in recent years, beginning with a 2016 New Leaders in the Law Award for Immigration Law Partner Lisa Rivas.
Partner John Tower won a Distinguished Leaders award, and Partner Josh Weinshank won a New Leaders in the Law Award in 2017, as did former associate Abigail Miranda.
Partner Chris Sochacki won a Distinguished Leaders award in 2018, the same year Partner Randy DiBella won a Best Mentors award, and Attorney Casagrande won the Giant Slayer award.
Cramer & Anderson Founding Partner, the late Henry B. “Hank” Anderson, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, also in 2018.
Partner Barry S. Moller won a Distinguished Leaders Award in 2020, and Associate Graham Moller, his son, won a New Leaders in the Law Award.
About Attorney Collins
Attorney Collins, who celebrated 20 years of practicing law in 2018, has long experience in achieving positive outcomes for clients. She couples her work with a focus on community service, while acting as an advocate for those in need of understanding and assistance. Reach Attorney Collins by email at jcollins@crameranderson.com and by phone at (203) 744-1234.For more information, see the website at www.crameranderson.com or call the New Milford office at (860) 355-2631.
