Allison Near

Attorney Allison Near, a member of the firm, practices in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense, and business litigation.

Allison has extensive experience representing individuals charged in state and federal court.  She has handled cases involving computer crimes, wire fraud, sexual assault, DUI, possession and sale of narcotics, firearms offenses, kidnapping, robbery, and murder.  She has tried numerous felony trials to verdict in state and federal court, including cases involving sexual assault, racketeering conspiracy (RICO), violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VCAR), assault, and murder.  Allison also has extensive experience in post-conviction matters, including appeals before the Connecticut Appellate Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, habeas matters, and sentence modifications.  Allison is an active member of the District of Connecticut’s Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel.

Allison also handles a broad array of personal injury matters, including motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall cases, and assaults.  She represents individuals and companies in business disputes and acts as local counsel in federal civil matters.

In 2025, Allison was recognized by her peers as the Best White Collar Criminal Lawyer in the New Haven area.  She has been listed in Best Lawyers since 2024 for Criminal Defense: General Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, and Personal Injury Litigation.  She has also been recognized by her peers as a Super Lawyer, first as a Rising Star from 2012 to 2015, and as a Super Lawyer in Criminal Defense for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2024.  In 2016, the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association awarded her the inaugural Diane “Cookie” Polan Award, which is given to a rising female attorney fighting for civil rights.

By appointment of the District Judges of the District of Connecticut, Allison has served on a number of committees in service to the District Court. Allison has served on the Federal Grievance Committee since 2022.  She served on Connecticut’s Criminal Justice Act Standing Committee, and in 2019, Allison was appointed to the committee charged with aiding in the selection of a new United States Magistrate Judge.  From 2016 to 2019, Allison was asked by the Chief Judge to serve on the Local Criminal Rules Advisory Committee, which was charged with overhauling the local criminal rules for the District. Allison has also served as co-chair of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Federal Practice Section and as a board member of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Association (CCDLA).  She presently serves on the board of New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc.  In 2021, the Governor appointed Allison to serve as the Chair of the Connecticut Public Defender Commission, a position she held until 2023.

Allison is an honors graduate of Colgate University.  She completed her legal education at Northeastern University School of Law, after which she clerked for the Honorable Charles D. Susano, Jr., on the Tennessee Civil Court of Appeals.

Allison is often called upon to teach continuing legal education classes on various topics in the field of criminal defense.  She has taught trial practice as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law, and she has served as a guest lecturer to discuss sentencing practices in state and federal courts.

Allison is a native of Tennessee, but she relocated to Connecticut in 2006.  Presently, she serves as the Associate Head of College for one of the residential colleges at Yale University. She resides in New Haven with her husband and two children.