Leonard M. Braman

Leonard M. Braman PARTNER

Lenny Braman practices commercial and general litigation on behalf of businesses large and small, municipalities, and individuals. He handles a variety of matters including contract disputes, construction litigation, land use and zoning matters, civil rights claims, and insurance litigation. He previously served as the Vice-Chair of the Town Plan and Zoning Commission of the town of Fairfield and he co-chairs the firm’s Land Use/Zoning Group.

Lenny graduated summa cum laude in 2002 from Columbia University, and cum laude in 2005 from Harvard Law School, where he served as an executive editor of the Harvard Negotiation Law Review. He clerked for the Hon. Anita B. Brody of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for the Hon. Judith A. Cowin of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Prior to joining the firm in 2016, Lenny served as Senior Counsel in the Affirmative Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department, where he represented the City as plaintiff in a wide range of commercial and public policy litigation, ranging from tax evasion, fraud, and RICO cases, to construction and design litigation involving City schools and public buildings, to civil rights cases on behalf of the City’s Commission on Human Rights. Before that, Lenny practiced complex commercial litigation for several years at the law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler in New York City.

Lenny is a member of the Connecticut and New York bars, and is admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the District of Connecticut and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits.

Lenny was selected to the 2018 and 2019 Super Lawyers Rising Stars list by Thomson Reuters for his work in Business Litigation (a distinction awarded to no more than 2.5% of lawyers in Connecticut) and was again recognized in the Super Lawyers list in 2022 and 2023. Lenny is a member of the Raymond E. Baldwin chapter of the American Inns of Court, and has served as a District Leader in the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee. For several years, Lenny served as a volunteer arbitrator in the New York City Small Claims Court. He was awarded the MFY Legal Services, Inc. Partner in Justice Award in 2010 for his pro bono efforts on behalf of that organization. He was awarded the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award in 2010 and 2011 for his work on a successful federal class action on behalf of children in the foster care system. Outside the office, Lenny enjoys playing guitar and singing, and he performs regularly with several local bands.

Practice Areas

  • Harvard Law School, Juris Doctorate, cum laude, 2005
    • Co-Executive Editor, Harvard Negotiation Law Review
    • Ames Moot Court Competition, Semi-Finalist
  • Columbia University, Bachelor of Arts in Classics, summa cum laude, 2002
  • New York
  • Connecticut
  • United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • Connecticut Super Lawyers, 2022 – 2023
  • Connecticut Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2018 – 2019
  • Partner in Justice Award, MFY Legal Services, Inc., 2010
  • Pro Bono Publico Award, The Legal Aid Society, 2010 – 2011
  • Connecticut Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Fairfield County Bar Association
  • Raymond E. Baldwin Chapter of the American Inns of Court
  • New York County Lawyers’ Association, Pro Bono Committee, 2009 – 2011
  • Firm Obtained $2.4 Million Judgment in Commercial Dispute
    • Attorney Leonard Braman successfully represented plaintiff Sussex Investments BVI Co. in a commercial dispute between investors in a Louisiana-based rubber recycling venture. The Court awarded our client the full amount sought, $2.4 million, and dismissed the defendant’s counterclaims.
  • Firm Successfully Represents Individual Severely Injured in Motorcycle Accident
    • Attorneys Stephen Finn and Leonard Braman successfully represented a Westport man who was severely injured in a motorcycle accident. Attorney Finn first obtained a substantial settlement against the negligent driver whose vehicle struck the firm’s client. Because that driver lacked sufficient insurance to adequately compensate our client for his injuries, Attorneys Finn and Braman then filed suit against our client’s underinsured motorist insurance carrier, which had refused to pay. After several years of hard-fought litigation in which they pressed claims that the underinsured motorist carrier had acted in bad faith in refusing to pay, the firm achieved a settlement against the carrier well in excess of the amount available under the policy. In all, the firm’s efforts resulted in the recovery of over $1 million for the client.
  • Firm Successfully Represents Homeowner’s Association in Opposing Stamford Zoning Regulation Change
    • In a case that attracted significant media attention, Attorneys Leonard Braman and Steven Grushkin successfully represented a Stamford homeowner’s association and its members in opposing a proposed change to the Stamford zoning regulations that would have allowed the development of indoor-outdoor fitness complexes in office parks in the City’s residential neighborhoods. The firm successfully argued the legal question of the Board of Representatives’ authority to decide whether to adopt the change. The Board of Representatives’ decision was upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court in High Ridge Real Estate Owner, LLC v. Board of Reps., 342 Conn. 423 (2022).
  • Tuohy v. Town of Orange, 2021 WL 1235732 (Conn. Super. Ct. Mar. 5, 2021)
  • Ramos v. Town of East Hartford, 6-cv-166 (VLB), 2019 WL 2785594 (D. Conn. Jul. 2, 2019)
  • Vassalli v. Ahneman Kirby, LLC, 2018 WL 794015 (Conn. Super. Ct. Jan. 12, 2018)
  • Kemper Independence Insurance Co. v. Superior Plus Energy Services, Inc., 2016 WL 5009632 (Conn. Super. Ct. Aug. 10, 2016)
  • “Zoning: How Did We Get Here and Where Do We Go Now,” Panel Discussion, April 2021
  • “Legal Eagle | Eric Higgins & Lenny Braman,” WNHH Community Radio, April 2018
  • Town Plan and Zoning Commission, Fairfield, CT, 2019 – 2023
    • Vice-Chair, 2021 – 2023
  • Fairfield Democratic Town Committee, District Leader, 2020 – 2023
  • Active in Local Synagogue, Congregation B’nai Israel of Bridgeport
  • New York City Small Claims Court, Volunteer Arbitrator, 2012 – 2016