Michael T. Meehan - Bridgeport, CT

Michael T. Meehan is a founding member and partner of Meehanlaw, LLC. Michael is one of Connecticut's leading matrimonial trial lawyers. Michael is the father of three daughters. He resides with his Wife and children in Fairfield, Connecticut. Michael's practice focuses on matrimonial law representing clients in Fairfield County and throughout Connecticut in a variety of capacities. Michael is a skilled negotiator and litigator who represents his clients with a firm, but empathetic client-centric approach. Michael believes that trust between the lawyer and client is essential in order to understand a client's needs, identify issues and formulate a timely, efficient and affordable response. Strategizing with client's is a critical component to Michael's practice. Michael holds an AV® rating (preeminent) from Martindale-Hubbell since 2011 in the areas of family and criminal law, which is the highest possible rating for legal skill, integrity and ethics. Michael has also been selected by Super LawyersTM annually since 2007 based upon the Super Lawyers Selection Process and is limited to less then 5% of the lawyers in the state of Connecticut.

Michael has represented children and parties in some of Connecticut's most high conflict and legally challenging matrimonial law matters. Throughout his career he has achieved successful not guilty criminal jury verdicts in high profile criminal cases, substantial civil jury verdicts resulting in significant monetary judgments on behalf of clients. The success Michael had in those areas of the law have transitioned into highly favorable outcomes on behalf of his clients in a vast array of negotiated settlements and court decisions in family matters. Within the last several years Michael has successfully represented clients in ten separate court trials at Connecticut's Regional Family Trial Docket, which handles the highest conflict matrimonial cases in the Connecticut. Recently, Michael led his team in representing a client in the first virtual divorce trial in the history of Connecticut law. The case was conducted remotely via video conferencing and featured Michael's trial skills and his team of lawyers intelligent and savvy management and presentation of electronic evidence, which included in excess of a thousand digital exhibits. In addition to Michael's trial practice he has also argued successfully in the Connecticut Appellate Court and Supreme Court as set forth below.

Michael's complex matrimonial cases include:

• high net worth cases
• high income earners
• self employed earners
• complex wage earners
• business valuations
• foreign assets
• prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
• complex retirement and defined benefit assets
• modification of alimony
• modification of child support
• joint legal custody, sole legal custody, and joint legal custody with final decision making for health, education, religious decisions
• relocation - intra and out of state
• modification of custody, access, visitation
• emergency orders of custody when the child is at risk of physical or emotional harm.
• emergency applications for relief from abuse/civil restraining orders.
• abuse and neglect cases including child abuse, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse
• domestic violence matters
• refusal and resistance of parental contact, estrangement and parental alienation
• mental health issue affecting the family such as personality and mood disorder diagnosis

In addition to representing parties in matrimonial matters a substantial part of Michael's practice is to represent the best interest of children. Certified by the State of Connecticut as a Guardian Ad Litem and Attorney for Minor Children, Michael has tackled some of Connecticut's toughest cases on behalf of children. In honor of his youngest child, Michael holds a special place in his practice for children with special needs. He has advocated vigorously on their behalf.

Michael works with a vast array of professionals, mental health professionals, including marriage and family therapists, clinical and forensic psychologists, and psychiatrist, inpatient and out-patient mental health and addiction programs, as well as alcohol and drug testing and monitoring professionals and private investigators. For financial disputes, Michael works with a team of financial experts to assist his clients in all areas of complex financial issues in matrimonial matters ranging from income determinations, cash flow analysis, expenses analysis, asset valuations, which include valuations of business interests, real property and retirement assets.

Trained as civil and criminal litigator, Michael is proficient in the rules of evidence and has lectured on the topic to other lawyers and mental health professionals who work on family matters in Connecticut. Michael has assisted his father, Richard Meehan, Jr. in teaching advanced trial practice to students at Quinnipiac Law School over the years and has judged Quinnipiac moot court competitions. Michael has been a legal commentator for True TV (formerly Court TV). Over the course of Michael's career his cases have been featured in local and national media.

Meehan also has acted as a mediator, arbitrator and parenting coordinator for clients and colleagues. Michael's alternative dispute resolution practice benefits from the knowledge he has acquired over years of litigation. Having tried so many matters to conclusion before the Court, Michael has a wealth of knowledge and experience to provide to parties who are ready to resolve their differences in a non-adversarial way. Michael relies on the many court rulings and decisions he has achieved for past clients to educate clients as to the potential outcomes and trends the court may order should they choose to litigate their disputes instead of seeking resolution on their own. As most judges often ask parties, "Do you want a stranger in a black robe to decide your life, or do you want a carefully crafted resolution that you can decide?". Michael brings this approach to everyone of his cases so clients can make an informed decision on how they want to resolve disputes.

Michael always takes on pro-bono work as a way to give back to the community, which includes assisting families beseeched by tragedy or volunteering his time at Superior Court as a special master working toward settling cases. Meehan regularly represents pro-bono, children who have special needs as GAL or counsel for parents of special needs children. This is an important part of Michael's practice. As a father of a special needs child handling these cases pro-bono is a way he can give back to other members of the community who are faced with the challenges raising special needs child presents for any family. Michael is active in the Autism community and has represented children on the Autism spectrum as a part of his practice. Michael testified in front of a Connecticut legislative subcommittee in 2009 and advocated for the passage of legislation that now requires every health insurance company to provide insurance coverage for children diagnosed on the Autism spectrum for Applied Behavioral Therapy (ABA), he only researched based therapeutic intervention shown to help autistic children.

Michael is active in his community and has volunteered his time over the years to coaching youth sports and serving on local boards related to youth and teen athletics.