ABOUT TAD

Tad grew up as the youngest of three boys in a lower middle class family in the Hudson Valley of New York. After graduating from his local public high school, Tad attended Orange County Community College (SUNY-Orange) where he earned an Associate in Science Degree in Chemistry. He then attended Binghamton University (SUNY-Binghamton) where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Tad then received his law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Tad has been licensed to practice law in Connecticut since June 1994. He is also licensed to practice law in New York.

Tad believes that the person he is today can be attributed to four main influences:

Family

Tad was fortunate to grow up in a very tight knit family. Most evenings, after eating dinner and doing the dishes, Tad’s family would play board games or watch TV together. Many weekends and holidays were spent visiting with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived within a couple hours drive. From his father, who was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, and from his uncles who fought during World War II and the Vietnam War, Tad learned to love and respect this country and its flag, and developed his love of history and the law.

Cub Scouts / Boy Scouts / Order of the Arrow

When Tad was 8 years old, he joined Cub Scouts along with many of his friends. After earning his Wolf and Bear badges, he transitioned into Webelos, earned his Arrow of Light, and then crossed over into Boy Scouts upon completing the 5th grade and turning 11. As Tad progressed through Boy Scouts and earned each of his badges and awards, he learned leadership and self-reliance, and reinforced the good character and citizenship he was taught at home.

After having served in all of the youth leadership roles within his Troop and having obtained the necessary qualifications for membership, Tad was elected by his Troop into the Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouting’s “Honor Society.” In addition to remaining active with his Troop, Tad also took on an active role within his Order of the Arrow Lodge. He joined the Lodge Ceremonial Team and within two years became its Chairman. He was also elected Chapter Chief of one of the three Chapters within his Lodge, and then appointed to the position of Vice Lodge Chief. Three years after having taken his Ordeal and two years after earning his Brotherhood degree, Tad’s Lodge awarded him with the Vigil Honor. Tad also was elected to two terms as Lodge Chief prior to aging out at age 21 and then serving in an advisory capacity.

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International

During Tad’s second year of law school, he joined his law school’s Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International (PAD), a professional legal fraternity dedicated to service to the student, the school, the profession, and the community. The purpose of the Fraternity is to form a strong bond uniting students and teachers of the law with members of the Bench and Bar in a fraternal fellowship designed to advance the ideals of liberty and equal justice under law; to stimulate excellence in scholarship; to inspire the virtues of compassion and courage; to foster integrity and professional competence; to promote the welfare of its members; and to encourage their moral, intellectual, and cultural advancement; so that each member may enjoy a lifetime of honorable professional and public service.

Every two years the Fraternity holds an International Convention here in the United States with renowned guest speakers and where they conduct various sessions on leadership and other professional topics and elect their International Officers for the next two years. These Conventions also present an unrivaled opportunity for professional networking between law students, lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals. During the summer between Tad’s second and third year of law school, Tad was fortunate to attend his first such Convention.

During Tad’s third year of law school, he served as his Chapter’s Justice (President). That year the Chapter initiated nearly fifty new members into the Chapter and held many successful programs for the Chapter, the law school, and the local community. One of the programs spearheaded by Tad was a law related education program where Tad and other members of the chapter visited local elementary schools to teach programs on citizenship and the law to 4th and 5th grade students. Due to Tad’s leadership, the Chapter was a finalist for Most Outstanding Law School Chapter in the Fraternity, and Tad placed second for the Most Outstanding Chapter Justice in the Fraternity.

Since his graduation from law school, Tad has remained active in the Fraternity, and has served in many leadership roles, including Justice of two local Alumni Chapters. Tad has also attended 16 consecutive International Conventions, and was elected to a two-year term on the Fraternity’s 3-person International Tribunal (Supreme Court). Tad currently serves as one of the Fraternity’s District Justices, where he is responsible for overseeing and assisting the law school and alumni chapters in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Western Massachusetts, and a portion of Eastern New York.

Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Connecticut

Tad has always believed in helping others and giving back to his community. This belief was instilled in him as a child, was fostered through his membership in Scouting and his Law Fraternity, and continues to the present day. It was this belief that led him to follow in his Father’s and Maternal Grandfather’s footsteps to become a Freemason. In 2014 Tad joined Sequin-Level Masonic Lodge in Newington, Connecticut. Shortly after becoming a Master Mason, Tad was appointed as a junior officer in the Lodge. He subsequently served in each of the successive officer positions until he was elected Master of his Lodge for 2020. When the COVID pandemic shut down all Masonic Lodges in Connecticut for four months, Tad immediately started holding weekly Zoom sessions for his Lodge so that his members could continue to meet and so they could check on each other’s welfare and assist where needed. When Lodges were allowed to reopen, Sequin-Level Lodge was one of the first to do so, and was the only Lodge in Connecticut that was given permission to serve food at its membership meetings and at other public events until March 2021 when the ban was lifted for other Lodges in the State. Throughout the rest of 2020, when most Masonic Lodges were struggling to survive, Sequin-Level Lodge remained one of the most active Lodges in Connecticut. Tad was re-elected Master for 2021. Tad is currently serving his fourth term on the Grand Lodge of Connecticut’s Committee on Legal Matters.