 |
KENT Receives Dose of Justice
By Talia DeFranco, courtesy of Kent News |
Students and faculty of the Kent community were invited to the Cumming House for the opportunity to listen to the School’s attorney, David J. Elliott. The intimate gathering was not only planned in order to give students a better understanding of the legal profession, but also so that the school had a chance to introduce a very successful man who has committed his life to representing his clients and fighting for justice. Mr. Elliott’s lecture included his involvement in the Kent School and Schaghticoke Indian Land Claim, other vocations within the legal system, and his own personal account of his journey to becoming a lawyer. Each of these elements contributed to the principal idea of the walk, which was to mentor the college preparatory student for a possible life in the law.
Mr. Elliott has been a partner in the office of David Pitney LLP, located in Hartford, CT, for over thirty years. There, he is the leader of the firm’s Shareholder and Securities Litigation Practice Group. He graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut and Suffolk Law School. He later worked as a professor at his alma mater, the University of Connecticut, where he taught for twelve years, teaching trial practice and appellate advocacy. Mr. Elliot’s current practice involves litigation regarding business disputes, securities, banking, and financial services. He has tried numerous amounts of cases in both state and federal courts, including Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. One of his seventy-five cases includes the notorious Kent School and Schaghticoke Indian Land Claim Case. Since 1975, David Pitney has represented Kent School in the Schaghticoke Indian Land Claim litigation and federal acknowledgment proceedings before the Bureau of Indian Affairs and since 1998, has been the principal attorney for Kent School.
All students were invited and encouraged by their history teachers to attend Mr. Elliott’s speech. Mr. Booth remarked, “Mr. Elliott was great; he clearly loves Kent School. It was truly refreshing to hear an idealistic approach towards one’s profession. He was a man of both integrity and virtue.” In addition, many other members of the school’s faculty were in attendance, many of whom had studied law themselves, including Mrs. Herr and Mrs. Voorhees. Furthermore, many of the students who attended also had an interest in the legal profession. Fr. Schell noted he “invited Mr. Elliott to speak because I saw a true devotion to his clients and law. I wanted the students to see an example of a professional person who loves his work even after 30 years.” Although Mr. Elliott’s speech catered predominantly to students who have an interest in law, his main purpose was to encourage students to start thinking of their future endeavors now and begin taking the necessary steps to reach these goals. As Mr. Elliott said, “The journey starts today.”
