Portanova and Rutigliano

Welcome to our website. We are a law firm big enough to serve your needs, but small enough to make you comfortable as clients who receive individual attention. The following pages will introduce you to who we are and what we do. Our practice focuses on Connecticut family law matters, which include divorces, child custody law, post judgment issues, such as modifications and contempts, and also Connecticut personal injury law. Personal injury cases arise out of the obvious (motor vehicle accidents) and the not so obvious. Collectively, we have over seventy years of experience behind us. We have chosen to concentrate on Connecticut family law and personal injury law because, as our practice has grown and developed over the years, we have found these areas to be the areas where our strength and experience lie. Of course, if you have a legal problem not involving Connecticut family law or personal injury law, we will be happy to provide a referral for you. We would rather let you know that we cannot help you with an individual problem, than take on a matter that we feel is outside the scope of our ability to assist you.

It is an unfortunate statistic that one out of every two marriages ends in divorce. For a variety of reasons, many Connecticut law firms choose not to practice family law. Divorces, child custody issues, and post judgment modifications are areas which they would rather not handle, and we are proud to say that they have the confidence to refer their clients in need of such services to us. We have represented men and women of all ages and backgrounds in what is perhaps the most stressful time of their lives. Going through a divorce, child custody battle, or a post-divorce modification proceeding is not pleasant, but it is often unfortunately necessary.

Going to a lawyer is a lot like going to a doctor, a dentist, or a car mechanic. You have to like the person who’s assisting you, and you must have faith in their abilities. One without the other just doesn’t work. A client once came in to discuss his personal injury case. He had a problem with a lumbar disk, and he felt that he could get a referral to a competent neurosurgeon by asking a nurse he knew, who had worked for many years at a local hospital. After he had seen the neurosurgeon she recommended, he felt that the doctor had been so rude and nonchalant about his problem that he wouldn’t go back to him if he was the last neurosurgeon on earth.

Our goal is to make you feel as comfortable as possible during your family law or personal injury case, while providing you with competent and experienced legal representation. We have had many clients in the past, who have told us that they felt at ease in our offices (which started out as a house in the family of Simon Lake, who was a pioneer in the development of submarines early this century), and with our staff. It offers a pleasant alternative to sitting in the waiting area of a monolithic megafirm, where you may see more faces going by than you could in Grand Central Station.

We believe that you will find our fees moderate, and commensurate with the nature of the services provided. In a family law case, our fee is based on an initial retainer, and then on an agreed hourly rate, if the retainer is exhausted. For many people, legal fees in a divorce case can be burdensome. Our goal is to provide the best representation possible at the least cost to you. It may be possible to obtain a court order to have your spouse pay your counsel fees, and this is something that we will attempt to do whenever it is appropriate. In a personal injury case, our legal fee is contingent – that is, we are paid only if we receive a monetary settlement or verdict in your favor, based on a specified percentage of the recovery, which is generally one-third.

It is gratifying to have received “thank you” notes from our divorce and personal injury clients over the years, some of which we have included in the website. We have also been proud to display on our mantelpiece from time to time photographs of minor children whose parents we have represented in child custody cases, which have been sent to us by their appreciative parents. (It is not unusual for them to stop by to visit, either!) Our support staff, all of whom have been with our office for several years, have also been the recipients of numerous compliments.

Our philosophy is simple – we hope to be given the opportunity to serve your Connecticut divorce, child custody, post judgment modification, and personal injury legal needs. If we can’t help you, we will do our best to recommend an appropriate alternative. We believe that the best way to maintain our successful practice is to continue to obtain referrals from the many satisfied family law and personal injury clients in Connecticut whom it has been our privilege to represent over the years.