Wiggin and Dana is routinely referenced as “arguably the strongest and deepest firm in Connecticut.” While the firm certainly has a strong foothold in the Nutmeg State – with six offices, in New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, Greenwich, Westport and Madison – it also has a more expansive footprint that encompasses New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Palm Beach, Florida, housing a total of approximately 70 litigators. The firm is also recognized outside the state’s boundaries for its work, with appellate work on a national level and even incorporating international aspects. “Wiggin and Dana are big in the insurance world,” testifies one peer. “They represent The Hartford nationwide and they also do some work for Zurich.” Another insists, “You’ve got to respect Wiggin and Dana. They even have close ties with Cravath [Swaine and Moore]! You don’t get that kind of alliance unless you’ve got the goods.”
Speaking to the firm’s insurance prowess, The Hartford has called on the firm’s appellate services – and specifically those of New Haven’s
Jonathan Freiman – for its business-interruption claims brought by a host of entities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wiggin’s New Haven office has also historically been counsel to Elm City institution Yale University in a diverse host of matters. In another COVID-related case, Freiman represented this client on appeal regarding class actions filed by students claiming they were owed refunds because of having to transition to remote learning. Wiggin is also “doing a lot of professional liability work, malpractice and the like.” In this area, Hartford’s Timothy Diemand represents a New England-based law firm in a dispute with former clients who sued, seeking hundreds of millions in damages.
Benjamin Diessel, based in New Haven, works as co-counsel with the aforementioned Cravath representing Epic Games – the maker of the popular videogame Fortnite – against Apple, in what has been called “the World War III of antitrust” regarding the availability of Fortnite on Apple’s app store. Wiggin is also said to have a prominent international compliance group. “This is a fairly new practice for [Wiggin] but they have actually been REPLACING bigger and better-known firms on these types of cases when the client isn’t happy with the turnout,” offers a peer. “David Ring (who works from the DC and New Haven offices) does a lot of that work – like a monitorship role when there are export violations.”
