Cramer & Anderson Senior Partner Josh Weinshank has been named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF).
Membership is limited to one percent of the lawyers admitted to practice in the U.S. and its territories, as well as a limited number of lawyers in international jurisdictions, according to the ABF.
Attorney Weinshank, whose practice focuses on Trust and Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Administration, Asset Protection, and Elder Law & Special Needs, was nominated by his peers to become a Fellow.
“Fellows comprise a global honorary society of lawyers, judges, law faculty, and 1egal scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the profession and service to society,” Barry C. Hawkins, the Connecticut Fellows Chair, explained in a letter to Attorney Weinshank. Hawkins is Of Counsel with Shipman & Goodwin LLP.
“I am extremely honored to join the prestigious American Bar Foundation and gratified to have been selected at the recommendation of my peers,” Attorney Weinshank said. “I’m also excited to support the Foundation’s vital research on the role and impact of the law, lawyers, and the legal process within society.”
Founded in 1952, the ABF is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, independent research institute, free to set its own research agenda. Recognized as a leading institute for the empirical study of law in the U.S., the ABF conducts cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research addressing critical questions at the intersection of law and society, such as access to justice, the function of juries in our legal system, law and health, levels of lawyer career satisfaction, the social costs of mass incarceration, diversity and equal justice, legal education, and law and globalization.
Fellows provide support for this critical research, advancing justice and the understanding of law, and also benefit from participating in special social events and educational programs held throughout the year, including those held in conjunction with the ABA Midyear and Annual Meetings.
Among his many other honors, Attorney Weinshank, the Resident Senior Partner in the firm’s Ridgefield office, won a 2022 Distinguished Leaders in the Law award from the Connecticut Law Tribune (CLT), in part for his vision and success in driving growth of Trust and Estate Planning business and guiding the firm’s expansion into Fairfield County.
He also won prestigious 40 Under 40 award from the Fairfield County Business Journal in 2019, was twice named a Super Lawyers Rising Star, and in 2017 was named a New Leader in the Law by the CLT.
Also known for impactful community service, Attorney Weinshank was named to the Board of Directors of Meals on Wheels of Ridgefield in June.
He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital Foundation, as well as the Norwalk Hospital Foundation. The hospitals are flagships for Nuvance Health.
Additionally, Attorney Weinshank serves as Chair of the Legacy Society for Danbury and New Milford hospitals, which recognizes donors who include the hospitals in their estate planning.
In 2021, Attorney Weinshank was named a corporator for Union Savings Bank, the $2.7 billion mutual bank headquartered in Danbury.
He has long supported the vibrant and growing nonprofit RVNAhealth, currently serving as a member of the Development Committee, and previously he served on the Board of the Ridgefield Playhouse, as well as its Finance Committee.
Attorney Weinshank lives in Ridgefield with his wife, Steffani, and their two daughters.
To learn more about Attorney Weinshank’s Trust and Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Administration, Asset Protection, and Elder Law & Special Needs practice, see his profile page. He may be reached by phone at (203) 403-4005 and by email at jweinshank@crameranderson.com.
