Malloy nominates a baker’s dozen to Superior Court

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy nominated 13 lawyers Wednesday as judges of the Superior Court, a boost to a trial court system where one of every five authorized positions is vacant.

Missing from the list of eight men and five women is Eric Coleman, who resigned from the Senate in January to pursue a judicial appointment. Malloy’s office said the governor expects to nominate as many as four more judges.

Thirty-seven of the 185 authorized positions on the Superior Court are vacant, a number that will reach 39 once the legislature confirms the governor’s two recent nominations to the Appellate Court. Both are Superior Court judges.

The governor’s nominees to the Superior Court:

• Barry F. Armata of Suffield  is a partner at Brown, Paindiris & Scott in Hartford, concentrating on family law. He is a graduate of Boston College and Syracuse University College of Law.
• Matthew J. Budzik of East Haddam is an assistant attorney general who led multistate litigation against a national rating agency for deceptive credit ratings in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis. He is a graduate of The American University and Georgetown University Law Center.
• John L. Cordani of Wolcott is a partner at Carmody, Torrance, Sandak & Hennesey, specializing in intellectual property and patent litigation. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Quinnipiac University School of Law.
• Matthew D. Gordon of West Hartford is managing partner of Matthew Dallas Gordon, LLC, a five-member firm located in West Hartford, and a former president of the Hartford County Bar Association and a member of the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association. He is a graduate of Bard College and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
• Ernest Green, Jr. of Norwich has been a senior assistant public defender since 2014. He is a graduate of Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Master of Science and Ph.D. in human sexuality education, and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
• Kimberly A. Knox of West Hartford is a principal at Horton, Shields & Knox in Hartford, where her practice focuses on appellate litigation in the Connecticut appellate courts and the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Knox is a former president of the Connecticut Bar Association and co-founder of the organization’s Appellate Advocacy Institute. She is a graduate of Connecticut College and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
• Margaret M. Murphy of West Hartford is a legal counsel to the House Democratic caucus and former associate director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
• Shari Murphy of North Branford is a partner at Keyes & Murphy in Branford and a former special master in state court for civil matters. Murphy is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University and the Quinnipiac University School of Law.
• Tammy Nguyen-O’Dowd of Bloomfield is an assistant attorney general, representing the Connecticut Department of Children and Families in child abuse and neglect proceedings before the Superior and Appellate Courts and in administrative appeals. Born in Vietnam, she is a member of the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego, the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America, and The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.
• W. Glen Pierson of Hamden is a principal attorney at Loughlin FitzGerald, PC in Wallingford. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Georgetown University Law Center, where he received a Juris Doctor degree.
• Walter M. Spader, Jr. of North Haven is an attorney at the Marcus Law Firm in North Branford. He is a graduate of Fairfield University and the Quinnipiac University School of Law.
• Elizabeth J. Stewart of Hamden is a partner at Murtha Cullina LLP in New Haven, where she has worked since 1986 and is the firm’s managing partner. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law.
• Thomas J. Welch of Shelton is a partner at Welch, Teodosio & Stanek, LLC in Shelton and is the corporation counsel for Shelton and Derby. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Connecticut School of law.