Annual Awards

The University of Connecticut Law School Alumni Association, Inc. honors the accomplishments of its alumni and members of the broader legal community through the Annual Alumni Awards Dinner. These awards recognize outstanding individuals who have demonstrated exceptional professional achievement, leadership in their communities, and meaningful contributions to the legal profession and the UConn Law community.

Day Pitney, Keegan Werlin, Pullman & Comley, Robinson+Cole, Cowdery, Murphy & Healy, Connecticut Bar Association, Carmody, Ruel Burns Feldman, UKS, GRSM, Shipman & Goodwin, Carter Mario, McCarter & English, RTX, and Eversource.

Wesley Horton ’70 is one of Connecticut’s most distinguished appellate advocates. After graduating from UConn School of Law, he clerked for Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Charles House and joined the firm of Regnier, Moller & Taylor. Early in his career, Horton successfully challenged Connecticut’s school finance system in Horton v. Meskill, a landmark 1977 Connecticut Supreme Court decision that declared the state’s public school funding structure unconstitutional.

For more than four decades, Horton built a nationally recognized appellate practice, first as a founding partner of his own firm and later as Of Counsel to McElroy Deutsch. He has argued many of Connecticut’s most consequential cases, including Sheff v. O’Neill, which addressed educational inequality and racial isolation in Hartford-area schools, and Kelo v. City of New London, the landmark United States Supreme Court eminent domain case. His career has left a lasting impact on constitutional law, education policy, and public law in Connecticut and beyond.

Kevin B. Sullivan ’82 has dedicated his career to public service, law, education, and public policy. After graduating from Trinity College, he served in a series of education policy and legislative roles before earning his law degree from UConn School of Law in 1982. An attorney focusing on administrative, communications, and banking law, Sullivan was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1986, where he championed education and mental health initiatives and played a key role in advancing the landmark UConn 2000 program.

Sullivan went on to serve as Majority Leader of the Connecticut State Senate and as Connecticut’s Lieutenant Governor, where he led statewide efforts to improve mental health care and support veterans. His distinguished career also includes service as vice president of Trinity College, president of The Children’s Museum, and Connecticut Commissioner of Revenue Services. A lifelong advocate for education, public service, and community engagement, Sullivan continues to consult on tax administration and litigation while supporting efforts related to mental health and affordable housing. He lives in West Hartford with his wife, Dr. Carolyn Thornberry, a graduate of UConn’s Neag School of Education.

Theresa Hopkins-Staten ’82 is president of the Eversource Energy Foundation, providing strategic leadership to advance its mission and focus priorities, and Vice President, Community Partnership and Engagement for Eversource Energy, New England’s largest utility. She oversees the company’s community engagement initiatives, which proactively and meaningfully connect with communities experiencing historical and systemic challenges so customers can help mitigate energy costs and effectively participate in the clean energy transition. She has also held legal and regulatory leadership roles at Eversource.

Theresa earned a BA in Sociology from the University of Connecticut, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In addition, she earned a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law and received an Honorary PhD from Goodwin University. Theresa has received numerous recognitions for her unwavering leadership and dedication to community service, including honors from the Connecticut Bar Association, Connecticut Democracy Center, the Greater Hartford NAACP and the University of Connecticut Alumni Association. Her civic leadership includes several years of service on the Connecticut State Board of Education, as well as leadership roles on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.

Gregory Chase ’16 is Senior Counsel at Travelers, where he provides coverage opinions on complex insurance coverage issues, manages litigation of complex coverage disputes and bad faith claims, and is the subject matter expert on multiple automobile coverage issues. Greg has created and led multiple mentorship programs geared to law students, where he has mentored numerous UConn Law Students over the years. Greg is also a Past President of the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association (CHBA) and a current board member of the organization and has served as the Chair of the CHBA’s Scholarship Chair for the past decade. He also is a board member of the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity (LCD). Recently Greg was named in the Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under-40 and has won the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 40 Under-40 in the past. Greg has also won multiple Connecticut Law Tribune Awards including the GC Impact Award. Greg has also won LCD’s Carolyn Golden Hebsgaard Award, Travelers’ Claim Legal Tim Wahler Diversity Award, and Travelers’ Diversity Network Leadership Recognition Award.

Megan Wade ’16 is the founder of Connecticut Appellate Law Firm, a law firm dedicated to Connecticut appellate practice. She represents parties in the Connecticut Appellate Court and Supreme Court and partners with trial attorneys on appellate consulting and litigation strategy. Megan founded the firm in 2024. Earlier in her career, she served as a law clerk to Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson (ret.). Megan is actively involved in Connecticut Bar Association leadership and regularly presents continuing legal education programs on appellate practice and issue preservation. She previously served on the Board of Directors of Community Partners in Action, including two years as Vice Chair.

Chelsea C. McCallum ’21 is an associate at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Connecticut. At Shipman, she represents private and public clients in a wide variety of litigation matters at both the trial and appellate levels, including complex litigation, contract disputes, construction disputes, and administrative appeals. She dedicates a considerable portion of her practice to representing underserved communities in a wide variety of pro bono matters, including civil rights litigation, veterans’ benefits, and more. Chelsea currently serves as the secretary for the Oliver Ellsworth Inn of Court. Prior to joining Shipman, Chelsea clerked for the Honorable Sarah A.L. Merriam during Judge Merriam’s tenure as a United States Magistrate Judge and United States District Judge.

For questions about the Law Alumni Awards or the nomination process, please contact Jordan Abbott, Senior Director of Alumni Relations, at jabbott@foundation.uconn.edu.