William F. Dow, LLC

About William F. Dow, LLC

Willie Dow is one of Connecticut's most experienced and effective criminal defense lawyers. For more than 15 years he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America®. He has been recognized by Connecticut Magazine as a Connecticut Super Lawyer® in Criminal Defense from 2006 to 2015. In 2008 and 2009 he was voted by his peers as the Top Attorney in Connecticut in Connecticut Magazine.

Willie was born in New Haven and grew up in Stony Creek, Connecticut. He attended Yale University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he worked for two years with legal services programs in Florida and... Read More

Willie Dow is one of Connecticut's most experienced and effective criminal defense lawyers. For more than 15 years he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America®. He has been recognized by Connecticut Magazine as a Connecticut Super Lawyer® in Criminal Defense from 2006 to 2015. In 2008 and 2009 he was voted by his peers as the Top Attorney in Connecticut in Connecticut Magazine.

Willie was born in New Haven and grew up in Stony Creek, Connecticut. He attended Yale University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he worked for two years with legal services programs in Florida and Washington, D.C. He then served with the Public Defender Service in the District of Columbia for four years, ultimately serving as Chief of the Juvenile Court Division. He returned to Connecticut as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut before entering private practice in New Haven.

Willie's practice focuses on criminal and white collar defense in both state and federal courts. He has represented clients in cases ranging from homicide and crimes of violence, drug offenses and theft, to sophisticated white collar litigation. He has defended individuals and organizations in the trial courts and has argued appeals in the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate Courts and the Federal Courts of Appeals in the Second, Third and District of Colombia Circuits.

Willie has been a Lecturer in Trial Practice at the Yale Law School for more than 30 years. For the last ten years he has co-taught a course on Forensic Science at the Quinnipiac University Law School with Drs. Henry Lee and Elaine Pagliaro. He is a Fellow of the America College of Trial Lawyers. He has previously been appointed by the Governor to the Judicial Selection Committee and serves a member of the Connecticut Judicial Branch Criminal Division Task Force. He has been Chair of the Executive Committee of the Section for the Administration of Criminal Justice of the Connecticut Bar Association and was a two-term President of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He has also 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. He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court to the Client Security Fund. For the past 20 years he has co-chaired the annual Criminal Litigation Seminar sponsored by the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

Willie's clients include the former Governor of the State of Connecticut whom he represented in impeachment proceedings before the Connecticut State Legislature and in a federal criminal prosecution; numerous attorneys, judges and physicians in disciplinary proceedings; and corporations and organizations that have been the target of state and federal investigations. Willie also regularly represents college students and university employees accused of crimes or involved in disciplinary proceedings.

Willie has tried to verdict more than 100 criminal cases. He secured a complete acquittal in a high-profile white-collar prosecution brought by the Connecticut United States Attorneys Office. His client, an environmental remediation company, was found not guilty on all eighteen counts of a mail fraud/wire fraud indictment after a three week jury trial in the US District Court in Bridgeport. Early in 2011, together with attorney Rosemarie Paine, Willie secured an acquittal in a murder trial in which the State prosecuted a twenty year old "unsolved" killing based on DNA found on the clothing of the victim. Willie also obtained a not guilty verdict on a charge of sexual assault before a jury in New Haven Superior Court, prevailed on two additional sexual assault claims before disciplinary bodies at a local university, and secured a dismissal on a highly publicized fl

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Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

LL.B. - 1968

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

B.A. - 1963

Major: Political Science

License

State:

Year:

Next Registration: Apr, 2025

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 for more than 15 years

Connecticut Super Lawyer® in Criminal Defense from 2006 to 2015

Associations

American Bar Association, Member

Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Member

Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, President, 1990 to 1992

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member

Federal Bar Council, Member

Connecticut... Read More

Associations

American Bar Association, Member

Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Member

Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, President, 1990 to 1992

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member

Federal Bar Council, Member

Connecticut Bar Association, Member, Federal Judiciary Committee

Superior Court Criminal Division Task Force, Member, 1993

Judicial Selection Committee, Member, 1993 to 1998

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

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

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

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

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

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

Connecticut Bar Association, Secretary, Executive Committee, 1989 to 1991

Connecticut Bar Association, Chair, Executive Committee, 1992 to 1994

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

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

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

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

Connecticut Bar Association,

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Bar Admissions

Florida, 1968

Connecticut, 1969

District of Columbia, 1969

U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 1969

U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, 1969

U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, 1970

U.S. District... Read More

Bar Admissions

Florida, 1968

Connecticut, 1969

District of Columbia, 1969

U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 1969

U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, 1969

U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, 1970

U.S. District Court District of Connecticut, 1974

U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1975

U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1977

U.S. Supreme Court, 1981

U.S. District Court District of Vermont, 1995

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Languages

Spanish