We are pleased to announce that David S. Hoopes, Jay R. Lawlor and Victor Morganthaler joined the firm as Partners, and Stephen T. Price joined the firm as an Associate in April of 2026.
David S. Hoopes has diverse business and real estate law practice including complex business litigation. He is a business law generalist, who has extensive litigation experience, but also regularly represents and counsels business clients in zoning and other land use matters, real estate purchase and sales, leasing and financing transactions, real estate title matters and business formations and transactions.
Mr. Hoopes has tried cases in a variety of jurisdictions and has argued appeals before the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He has served as a National Institute of Trial Advocacy faculty member and has lectured concerning real estate topics.
Mr. Hoopes has represented numerous developers and property owners in conventional and affordable housing applications before planning and zoning commissions, zoning boards of appeals, wetlands commissions, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and in zoning appeals.
Jay Lawlor is a seasoned commercial real estate, finance, and litigation attorney whose practice spans sophisticated transactional work and complex commercial disputes. He focuses on commercial finance, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, secured lending, and business structuring.
Mr. Lawlor represents lenders, developers, investors, and business owners in middle-market and institutional transactions, including bridge and permanent financings, distressed assets, restructurings, and enforcement of creditor rights. He brings to his transactional practice the perspective of a veteran litigator, allowing him to identify and mitigate risk at the deal stage and to structure transactions with an eye toward enforcement, downside protection, and dispute avoidance.
On the litigation side, Mr. Lawlor handles high-stakes commercial disputes in both federal and state courts, including matters involving complex liability theories and damages modeling. He has been central in obtaining tens of millions of dollars in recoveries for plaintiffs and in defending clients facing significant exposure, frequently securing early dismissals, summary judgment, or favorable resolutions short of trial.
Clients value Mr. Lawlor for his breadth of practice, commercial judgment, and work ethic – a combination that allows him to serve as both deal counsel and litigation lead when transactions or relationships break down.
Victor Morganthaler is a commercial real estate and construction law attorney, whose practice encompasses a variety of business and commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Morganthaler has represented private companies, municipalities, quasi-public instrumentalities, lenders and borrowers in the areas of site acquisition, real estate and asset-based financing, commercial leasing and the purchase and sale of property, among others. His construction practice includes all phases of the construction process, including preparation of procurement documents and preparation and negotiation of design and construction documents.
Stephen T. Price is a commercial litigator. He has substantial hands-on experience representing clients in commercial collection actions, foreclosures and evictions, domestication of judgment actions, regulatory proceedings before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and various real estate-related disputes. Mr. Price also regularly assists other attorneys at the firm and is valued for his ability to tackle complex statutory and procedural issues and distill them into clear, well-supported arguments that advance client objectives.
In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Price has advised various public housing authorities and other entities on a range of general counsel–type matters including governance and compliance issues, responding to Freedom of Information requests, procurement-related questions, and tenant, property management, and operational disputes. Mr. Price has also represented commercial lenders in connection with a broad range of financing transactions secured by commercial real estate assets.
