James P. Sexton
PARTNER
Extension 1
jsexton@sextoncolaw.com
Jay Sexton is a partner who handles special litigation matters, concentrating in appeals that involve civil, criminal, family and child protection issues. He appears regularly before Connecticut’s Appellate Court and Supreme Court, where he represents both domestic and international clients in appeals ranging from marital dissolutions that involve complex offshore asset disputes to constitutional claims concerning the state's authority to compel a seventeen-year-old woman to undergo chemotherapy against her will. Attorney Sexton also handles special education and disability matters that involve claims under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, among other laws. In addition to litigating special education and disability claims on appeal, he also advocates for students with disabilities in the public education system and provides counsel to private businesses regarding disability compliance issues.
Prior to co-founding this firm, Attorney Sexton worked on appeals involving professional liability matters at a mid-size insurance defense firm. He began his appellate career as a law clerk to the Hon. Richard A. Robinson at the Connecticut Appellate Court, and has been recognized as a "Rising Star" or a “Super Lawyer” in appellate practice by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers rating service each year since 2015. Attorney Sexton is admitted to practice in Connecticut, as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States.
An active member of the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA), Attorney Sexton recently completed his three-year term as co-chair of the Appellate Advocacy Section and remains a member of that Section's Executive Committee. In addition, he is a member of both the Technology Subcommittee of its COVID19 Task Force and the Pandemic Recovery and Future of Court Technology Task Force. In 2017, Connecticut Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers appointed Attorney Sexton to the Judicial Branch’s Access to Justice Commission, where he is working with other bar leaders to increase representation opportunities for low-income litigants on appeal. Attorney Sexton is also a member of the American Bar Association, where he sits on the Council of Appellate Lawyers, and is a member of the Connecticut Supreme Court Historical Society. In 2020, he was recognized by the Connecticut Law Tribune as a “Best Mentor” for his work in helping to prepare the next generation of leaders in the law. As a younger attorney, Attorney Sexton was Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Section's Appellate Practice Committee and was a Barrister in the Oliver Ellsworth Inn of Court.
Attorney Sexton is an adjunct professor of law at Western New England University School of Law, where he teaches appellate advocacy to future generations of lawyers. He also regularly lectures in the areas of appellate law and legal technology. In addition to serving frequently as faculty for continuing legal education classes sponsored by the Connecticut Bar Association and the Office of the Chief Public Defender in Connecticut, Attorney Sexton has also presented seminars at national conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association. Examples include serving as faculty at the Appellate Advocacy Institute and at the Connecticut Legal Conference, as well as presenting a seminar on the mature minor doctrine at a conference in Washington D.C.
Attorney Sexton received his J.D. in 2007 from Western New England School of Law and his B.A. in 1999 from University of Maine. While in law school, he won the Daniel Webster Award for Best Overall Advocate in his law school's intramural moot court competition and was a quarter-finalist in the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition.
Among the cases that Attorney Sexton has either argued or played a substantial role in the briefing and argument preparation are:
State v. Peluso, 344 Conn. 404 (2022)
O.A. v. J.A., 342 Conn. 45 (2022)
In re Yassell B., 208 Conn. App. 816 (2021)
In re Taijha H.-B., 333 Conn. 297 (2019)
Connecticut Interlocal Risk Mgmt. Agency v. Jackson, 333 Conn. 206 (2019)
Sen v. Tsiongas, 192 Conn. App. 188 (2019)
In re Jacob W., 330 Conn. 774 (2019)
Meribear Prods., Inc. v. Frank, 328 Conn. 709 (2018)
Rockhill v. Danbury Hospital, 176 Conn. App. 39 (2017)
In re Elijah C., 326 Conn. 480 (2017)
Cathedral Green, Inc. v. Hughes, 174 Conn. App. 608 (2017)
In re Oreoluwa O., 321 Conn. 523 (2016)
Doyle Grp. v. Alaskans for Cuddy, 164 Conn. App. 209 (2016)
In re Yasiel R., 317 Conn. 773 (2015)
Anderson v. Comm'r of Correction, 158 Conn. App. 585 (2015)
Eigner v. Eigner, 157 Conn. App. 902 (2015)
Millan v. Comm'r of Correction, 154 Conn. App. 673 (2015)
In re Cassandra C., 316 Conn. 476 (2015)
In re Kyara H., 147 Conn. App. 829 (2014)
In re Azareon Y., 309 Conn. 626 (2013)
Gross v. Rell, 304 Conn 234 (2012)
Lee v. Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman, LLP, 128 Conn. App. 250 (2011)