Brian L. Smith
Partner
Experience
Brian L. Smith has been representing employers, municipalities, insurers, and third-party administrators in Connecticut workers’ compensation claims for more than 30 years. He dedicates his practice to defending clients in complex workers’ compensation claims. Brian is one of only 48 Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists in Connecticut, having held that distinction since 2005.
Brian appears regularly before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Compensation Review Board, the Connecticut Appellate Court, and the Connecticut Supreme Court. Prior to graduating from law school, he argued successfully before Connecticut’s Supreme Court in Miko v. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, 220, Conn. 192 (1991).
In addition to his practice, Brian has served on the Connecticut Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee for 10 years. He was President of the Waterbury Bar Association from 2002 to 2004. In addition, Brian was chair of the Connecticut Bar Association Standing Committee on Certification of Workers’ Compensation Specialists from 2014 to 2022, the committee that certifies workers’ compensation specialists.
Brian is a regular presenter at workers’ compensation seminars and serves as an arbitrator and mediator.
Related Areas
Honors & Awards
Connecticut Super Lawyers, Workers’ Compensation, 2009-11
Waterbury Bar Association Community Service Award, 2007
Background
Admissions
- Connecticut, 1991
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, 1993
Education
- Quinnipiac University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1991
- Quinnipiac University Law Review, Academic Invitee
- Hartwick College, B.A. Political Science, magna cum laude, 1985
- Best Senior Thesis
- Faculty Scholar
Professional Affiliations
- Connecticut Bar Association
- Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee, 2005-22
- Standing Committee on Specialization, 2014-22
- Continuing Legal Education Committee, 2012-16
- Waterbury Bar Association
- President, 2002-04
- Treasurer, 1998-2002
Community Involvement
- Waterbury Schools, Mentor, 1995-2000
- United Way of Naugatuck Valley, Member Appropriations Committee, 1995-99
- Public Interest Law Forum, Treasurer, 1990-91
- 70,001 Corporation, Member Advisory Board, 1987-88
- Connecticut Eviction Intervention Program, Bridgeport, CT, Mediator, 1990-91
News & Knowledge
Publications & Events
- “Workers’ Compensation Specialization Certification – Why Would I Subject Myself to This?” Connecticut Bar Association Compensation Quarterly, Volume 27, No. 3, Fall 2017
RECENT INSIGHTS
June 30, 2023