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Attorney Biography for Dow, William F. III


William F. Dow III 
350 Orange Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06511
 

Phone:
(203)- 951-3720

Fax:
(203) 772-1691

E-mail:
wdow@jacobslaw.com


PositionAreas of PracticeEducation
HonorsAffiliationsRepresentative Cases


William F. Dow, III

William F. Dow, III was born in New Haven in 1941 and grew up in Stony Creek. He graduated from Yale University with a B.A. degree in 1963. Between 1963 and 1965, Mr. Dow was a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia and became fluent in Spanish. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating in 1968. Between 1970 and 1974, Mr. Dow was with the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut from 1974 to 1976.

For twenty-five years, Mr. Dow has been a lecturer in trial practice at Yale Law School. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been appointed by the Governor to the Judicial Selection Commission and is a member of the Connecticut Judicial Branch Criminal Division Task Force. He has served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Section for the Administration of Criminal Justice of the Connecticut Bar Association and President of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He served on the Drafting Committee of the Evidence Code adopted by the Judges of the Superior Court. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal Practice Section of the Connecticut Bar Association.

Mr. Dow is included in The Best Lawyers in America in connection with criminal defense representation. In 2006, Connecticut Magazine named him a Super Lawyer and one of the top three attorneys in the state.

Mr. Dow is heavily involved in white collar criminal defense and the trial and appeal of cases in both state and federal courts, involving homicide and other crimes of violence, drug offenses, and theft. He has defended both individuals and companies in criminal prosecutions. He also has argued numerous appeals in the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate Courts and the federal courts of appeals in New York, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. Mr. Dow has extensive experience in both state and federal courts.

Most recently he represented the Governor of Connecticut in connection with impeachment proceedings as well as in a federal criminal investigation. Mr. Dow also represents members of the legal and medical professions in connection with grievance and licensing proceedings.

He presently serves on the Executive Committee of the Federal Practice Section of the CBA and was appointed by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court to chair a Committee on Appointment of the District's Federal Public Defender.

Current Employment Position(s):
Member
Areas of Practice:
85% Criminal Law
5% Administrative Law
5% Professional Responsibility
5% Miscellaneous
Litigation Percentage:
95% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Bar Admissions:
Florida, 1968
Connecticut, 1969
District of Columbia, 1969
U.S. District Court District of Connecticut, 1974
U.S. District Court District of Vermont, 1995
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 1969
U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, 1969
U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1975
U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, 1970
U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1977
U.S. Supreme Court, 1981
Education:
University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1968
LL.B.


Yale University, New Haven, CT, 1963
B.A.
Major:  Political Science


Representative Cases:
Clisham v. Board of Police Commissioners, 223 Conn. 354, 613 A.2d 254 (  1992)
State of Connecticut v. Morrissey, 216 Conn. 185, 577 A.2d 1060 (  1990)
United States v. Dennis, 843 F. 2d 652 (2d Cir. 1988)
Tsokalas v. Purtill, 756 F. Supp. 89 (D. Conn. 1991)
Rauccio v. Frank, 750 F. Supp. 566 (D. Conn. 1990)
State of Connecticut v. Milum, 197 Conn. 602, 500 A.2d 555 (  1985)
Williams v. Warden, Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, Connecticut, 470 F. Supp. 1123 (D. Conn. 1979)
Classes/Seminars Taught:
Criminal Practice Seminar, Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, 1980 - Present


Tutor in Law, Yale Law School, 1976 - Present


Miscellaneous Seminars, Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association & Connecticut Bar Association


Honors and Awards:
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers


Fellow, American Board of Criminal Lawyers


Charter Fellow, Connecticut Bar Foundation


Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of White Collar and Non-White Collar Criminal Defense Representation


Professional Associations and Memberships:
American Bar Association
Member


Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association
Member


Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 1990 - 1992
President


National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Member


Federal Bar Council
Member


Connecticut Bar Foundation
Member


Superior Court Criminal Division Task Force, 1993 - Present
Member


Judicial Selection Committee, 1993 - 1998
Member


Second Circuit Committee on Admissions and Grievances, 1983 - 1993
Member


Reappointment of Federal Public Defender for the District of Connecticut, 2000
Chair, Merit Review Panel


Task Force on Post-Verdict Interviews of Juries, 1996
Member


New Haven County Bar Association, 1999 - Present
Member, Executive Committee


New Haven County Bar Association, 1990 - Present
Member, Committee for Development Opportunities for Minority Lawyers


New Haven County Bar Association, 1994 - Present
Member, Continuing Legal Education Committee


Connecticut Bar Association, 1989 - 1991
Secretary, Executive Committee


Connecticut Bar Association, 1992 - 1994
Chair, Executive Committee


Connecticut Bar Association, Section for Administration of Criminal Justice, 1991
Member


Connecticut Bar Association, 1979
Co-Chairman, Trial Advocacy Seminar Program Committee


Connecticut Bar Association, 1981
Secretary, Special Committee on Certification of Specialists


Connecticut Bar Association, 1991 - Present
Member, Court Rules Advisory Committee


Connecticut Bar Association, 1991 - 1994
Member, Committee on Liaison with State Courts


Connecticut Bar Association, Federal Practice Section, 1988 - Present
Member


Connecticut Bar Association, 1995 - Present
Member, Executive Committee


Connecticut Bar Association
Chair, Criminal Practice Subcommittee; Awards Committee


The District of Columbia Bar, 1972
Member, Committee for Revision of Criminal Jury Instructions for D.C.


Past Employment Positions:
Office of the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Assistant US Attorney, 1974 - 1976


Public Defender for the District of Columbia, Staff Attorney, 1970 - 1974


Public Defender Services Commission, Chair, 1992 - 1994


Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia, Trial Attorney, 1970 - 1973


Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia, Chief, Juvenile Division, 1973 - 1974


Connecticut Law Review Commission, Member, Evidence Code Drafting Committee, 1995 - 1998


Languages:
Spanish
Birth Information:
December 7, 1941, New Haven, Connecticut
William Dow
Contact William Dow by phone at (203) 951-3720 or by e-mail at wdow@jacobslaw.com.

Because many of our clients have commitments during the week, the firm is open for client meetings on Saturday mornings.
We conveniently serve clients in New Haven, Bridgeport, Meriden, and throughout the State of Connecticut.

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