The James W. Cooper Fellows nominate outstanding Connecticut lawyers, judges, and teachers of law to become Fellows. The Connecticut Bar Foundation then extends invitations to nominees who have been selected by the Fellows Nominating Committee and approved by the Fellows and the Board of Directors.

Selection Criteria

Nominees should have a minimum of ten years in practice to become a Fellow (unless there are special circumstances that must be explained on the nomination form). 

In their outstanding professional, public and/or private careers, a Fellow:

(a) must have demonstrated extraordinary legal ability;

(b) must have demonstrated devotion to the welfare of their community, state and nation; and

(c) must have demonstrated devotion to the advancement of the legal profession.

In order to be nominated as a Fellow, a person must be:

• a member in good standing of the State Bar of Connecticut;
• a teacher of law regularly employed as such in the State of Connecticut who has been admitted to the Bar of any other state;
• a federal judge residing in Connecticut who has been admitted to the Bar of any other state; or
• a person registered as an authorized house counsel as defined in Section 2-15A of the Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct.

Nominees who accept their invitation to become a Fellow commit to a pledge of $2,500 to the program. The Foundation recognizes Fellows at an annual reception in their honor and publicizes their selection.

Nomination Timeline:

The James W. Cooper Fellows take great pride in welcoming outstanding new Fellows to their ranks.  The Fellows nomination process follows the same basic timeline each year.*

• Mid-September – Request for nominations of new Fellows sent to all current Fellows and CBF Board of Directors
• Early October – Deadline for submitting nominations
• Mid-October – CBF staff compiles information about all nominees
• Mid-late October – Fellows Nominating Committee meets to review nominees and ensure each meets the selection criteria. Committee votes and approves slate of nominees.  
• Late October – slate of Fellows nominees is circulated to all current Fellows for review and approval
• Early December – slate of Fellows nominees is presented for approval to the CBF Board of Directors at its December meeting; once approved, Fellows who nominated new Fellows reach out to their nominees to confirm their desire to become a Fellow
• Mid-late December – CBF sends invitation letters to new class of Fellows

*Please note that nominations for new Fellows are accepted on a rolling basis, but will not be considered by the Fellows Nominating Committee until the Fall.