Edward Heath is the chair of the firm's Business Litigation Group and leads its Government Enforcement and Corporate Compliance Teams.
For the last 20 years, Ed has helped businesses across the globe resolve their disputes. An experienced trial lawyer, he has pursued or defended numerous nine- and eight-figure cases, which includes obtaining a full defense jury verdict following a multi-month trial for an institutional client facing $100 million in contract and business tort claims. He has been effectively defending companies against class action claims for over a decade and recently secured the dismissal of a proposed nationwide class action brought against an manufacturing company without the need for any payment to the plaintiff, potential class members, or plaintiff's counsel.
Ed routinely advises institutional clients in connection with civil and criminal government investigations and enforcement activities. This work has involved federal agencies such as the United States Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the attorneys general and other administrative agencies in various states. As a result, Ed is often called upon to conduct internal investigations for companies and provide guidance on matters of corporate compliance and litigation risk.
His clients have included technology companies; manufacturers; financial institutions and financial services firms; health care entities; educational, charitable, and religious organizations; professional associations, such as law and accounting firms; municipalities; judges; and media personalities.
Ed has a strong commitment to pro bono work. He is the vice president and a board member of Greater Hartford Legal Aid, and a board member of the Connecticut Bar Foundation. For seven years, he served as chair of Robinson & Cole's Pro Bono Committee, during which time the firm as well as individual lawyers, including Ed, received more than a dozen awards or other forms of recognition for pro bono work. For example, Ed was recognized for co-developing a firm program that for the last several years has provided free legal assistance to victims of domestic violence and harassment seeking restraining orders for protection. Ed also served for several years as a member of the Connecticut Judicial Branch's Pro Bono Committee, and was a founding member of the Hartford Advisory Board of the Pro Bono Partnership, an organization that provides legal service to nonprofit organizations in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.