Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Aaron Bayer chairs the firm's national appellate practice. He has briefed and argued numerous cases before state and federal appeals courts, assisted trial counsel on substantive legal motions and post-verdict motions, and advised clients and trial counsel on appellate strategies and options. He speaks and writes on appellate issues, including a regular appellate column in the National Law Journal. He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (2006 and 2007) for his work as an appellate lawyer (for more about the standards for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America, please see http://www.bestlawyers.com/news/default.aspx ).

Mr. Bayer also represents institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations, and advises corporations on their interactions with State Attorneys General and state regulatory agencies.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Bayer served as the General Counsel and Secretary of Connecticut College from 2002-2003, the Deputy Attorney General of Connecticut from 1991-2000, and Counsel to Senator Joseph Lieberman and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee from 1989-1991. Earlier in his career, he practiced law with O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C., where he focused on appellate litigation.

As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Bayer oversaw the work of the Office’s 200 attorneys, which included advising the Governor, legislature, and all agency heads, representing the State in all civil litigation, and investigating misconduct by state officials. He managed some of the Office’s most complex and politically sensitive cases. He also strengthened the Office’s extensive appellate practice and its involvement in amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court. His appellate arguments for the State included successfully defending the State’s reapportionment and redistricting plan and obtaining a reversal of a multi-million dollar judgment on a First Amendment claim.

As Secretary of Connecticut College, Mr. Bayer coordinated the work of the Board of Trustees and advised the President of the College. As General Counsel, he oversaw all of the College’s legal affairs including litigation, contracts, internal policies and procedures, and compliance with state and federal law. He taught Constitutional Law at the College and at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, guest lectured on legal and policy issues, and served as the Acting Vice President of College Advancement during 2001-2002.

Mr. Bayer’s responsibilities at Connecticut College, as well as his oversight of the representation of the state universities while Deputy Attorney General, provide him with extensive experience to serve educational and non-profit clients. He currently serves as Vice President of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government, as Vice Chair of Connecticut Legal Services, and as counsel to the board of trustees of the Connecticut Center for Science and Exploration, Inc. A longstanding advocate of open government, he has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Freedom of Information Commission. He served on the Judicial Task Force on Public Access, established by the acting Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court to increase public access to the courts, and chaired the Committee on Access to Judicial Proceedings, which made recommendations on media coverage of court proceedings.

Mr. Bayer graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. from Yale University in 1977, and in 1980 received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review. After law school he was a law clerk to Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Areas of Practice

• Appellate
• Litigation
• Education
• Media
• Tax Exempt Organizations

Bar Admissions

• Connecticut, 1980
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
• U.S. District Court District of Connecticut
• U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia

Past Employment Positions

• Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Law Clerk
• Connecticut College, General Counsel and Secretary, 2002 - 2003
• Connecticut, Deputy Attorney General, 1991 - 2000
• Senator Joseph Lieberman, Counsel
• O’Melveny & Myers

Education

• Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1980
  J.D.
  Honors: cum laude
  
  Law Review: Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review, Editor-in-Chief
• Yale University, 1977
  B.A.
  Honors: summa cum laude

Fraternities/Sororities

• Phi Beta Kappa

Address

One CityPlace
185 Asylum Street
Hartford, CT 06103-3402

Phones

(860) 297-3759

Faxes

(860) 525-9380

Emails

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Websites

http://www.wiggin.com