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Jacques J. Parenteau represents employees in state and federal courts throughout Connecticut. His practice focuses exclusively on employment litigation at both the trial and appellate levels.
Since 2006, Mr. Parenteau has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Law. Since 2007, he has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in Super Lawyers in Employment Litigation and Employment and Labor. Like the firm itself, Mr. Parenteau has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer review rating for legal ability and ethical standards.
On behalf of firm clients, Mr. Parenteau has litigated employment-related claims involving wrongful discharge; discrimination based on age, gender, disability, race, and sexual orientation; sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination; whistleblower and First Amendment retaliation; breach of employment agreements; wrongful denial of academic tenure; defamation; invasion of privacy; and termination without due process in municipal and state employment.
Most recently, in January 2022, Mr. Parenteau and his partner William Madsen represented Kevin Ollie, former men’s head basketball coach at the University of Connecticut, in an arbitration arising from his wrongful termination. The arbitration resulted in an $11.1 million award for breach of contract. Mr. Parenteau was quoted in The New York Times describing the award as a “total vindication” of Mr. Ollie, who was falsely accused of violating NCAA rules. In September 2022, Mr. Parenteau and his partner obtained an additional $3.9 million settlement from the University of Connecticut for reputational harm.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Parenteau has tried and appealed cases resulting in significant jury verdicts and judgments in Connecticut courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Many successful outcomes obtained on behalf of clients are subject to confidentiality provisions.
Mr. Parenteau has represented employees in a wide range of significant employment and employment-related matters, including cases involving academic tenure, First Amendment retaliation, wrongful termination, reputational harm, and employment-related torts. His trial work has resulted in substantial jury verdicts and judgments in complex cases tried throughout Connecticut.
In addition to the Kevin Ollie arbitration and settlement, Mr. Parenteau obtained a $12.7 million jury verdict against Trinity College arising from the wrongful denial of academic tenure. That case involved claims of gender and age discrimination, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract. According to an article published in The New York Times, the verdict was reported as the largest jury award in an academic tenure case in the United States at the time.
In July 2004, Mr. Parenteau represented two physicians who prevailed in a jury trial against Yale University in the Waterbury Complex Litigation. The jury returned a verdict of $5.5 million, and when punitive damages and attorneys’ fees were added, a judgment approaching $10 million was entered. The case involved First Amendment free speech claims arising from alleged Medicare fraud and patient safety concerns.
In May 2003, a jury in the Norwich Complex Litigation docket awarded three plaintiffs represented by Mr. Parenteau $6.8 million against Pequot Mystic Hotel, LLC. When punitive damages and interest were added, the judgment exceeded $14 million. The case arose from the defamatory termination of three managers employed by the Mystic Hilton and included claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
According to an article published in the New York Times, the Trinity College verdict represented the largest jury award ever in an academic tenure case in the United States.
In addition to his employment law practice, Mr. Parenteau has substantial trial experience in a wide range of complex civil litigation, including product liability, personal injury, medical malpractice, criminal defense, commercial disputes, and consumer matters.
In December 1995, Mr. Parenteau secured a $3.5 million jury verdict in Wagner v. Clark Equipment Company, a product liability action tried in New London County. The verdict included $500,000 for loss of consortium and was reported as the second largest non-death verdict in the county at that time. After the verdict was reversed on appeal, Mr. Parenteau retried the case and obtained a $9.4 million jury verdict in September 1999, which was reported as the largest product liability verdict in Connecticut at that time.
Mr. Parenteau has also represented clients in the Connecticut Supreme Court, the Appellate Court of the State of Connecticut, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in numerous reported decisions reflecting a broad range of trial and appellate experience. Those cases include matters involving employment law, constitutional claims, commercial disputes, and complex civil litigation, including:
Web Press Services Corporation v. New London Motors, Inc.; State v. Brosnan; Cartier v. Lussier; Wagner v. Clark Equipment Company (after retrial); Daley v. Wesleyan University; Craine v. Trinity College (on brief); Neiman v. Yale University; Jacobs v. General Electric Company; Berube v. A&P; Hubbard v. Total Communications, Inc.; Paola v. Spada; Matthews v. Lynch; Looney v. Black; Trusz v. UBS Realty Investors, LLC (on brief); Weinstein v. University of Connecticut; Wenc v. New London Board of Education; Kovachich v. Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; and Duso v. Town of Groton.
Mr. Parenteau has written and presented on issues involving academic employment and tenure, with a particular focus on the legal standards governing judicial review of institutional decision-making and the litigation of tenure denial cases.
He has authored papers entitled Should Courts Blindly Defer to College and University Employment Decisions Regarding Tenure?” and “How Universities and Colleges Undermine the Defense of Tenure Denial Cases.” These papers draw upon his extensive experience representing faculty members in tenure-related disputes and address both substantive and procedural issues that arise in such litigation.
Mr. Parenteau has also presented at the American Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, where he delivered a paper entitled “Clark Equipment Company Documents and Trial: Strict Liability and the Failure to Instruct.” That presentation was based on his trial and appellate experience in complex product liability litigation and focused on the use of internal corporate documents, evidentiary strategy, and jury instruction issues in strict liability cases.
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