Andrew J. McDonald represents individual and institutional clients in commercial litigation matters at both the trial and appellate levels. He litigates a wide variety of contractual, statutory and common law claims including trade secret, fraud and unfair trade practices claims, and his experience extends to municipal, employment, banking and land use matters as well.

Andrew chairs the firm’s Appellate Practice Section and is a member of the firm’s Property Valuation Department where he litigates ad valorem matters before municipal boards of assessment appeals and in Connecticut courts.

In addition to practicing law, Andrew serves as a state Senator representing Stamford and Darien in the 27th District. He is the deputy majority leader of the senate and is the senate chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He also is a member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, the Transportation Committee and the Education Committee of the General Assembly. In his capacity as senate chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Andrew serves on numerous boards and commissions including the Criminal Justice Information Systems Governing Board, the Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and the Connecticut Select Committee on Children.

Andrew served as the director of legal affairs and corporation counsel for the city of Stamford from January 1999 through June 2002, when he resigned to begin his campaign for state Senate. As Stamford’s chief legal advisor, he oversaw all legal, human resource and labor relations functions of one of Connecticut’s largest communities. Prior to his appointment to the mayor’s Cabinet, he was elected to the Stamford Board of Finance, where he served for three years (1995 to 1998) including one year as its chairman and two years overseeing its Audit Committee. He previously served as an elected member of Stamford’s Board of Representatives from 1993 to 1995.

Andrew has served as campaign manager for the last three successful mayoral campaigns in Stamford in addition to numerous other state and local campaigns.

Representative Experience

• Negotiated a favorable settlement to a $29 million municipal tax appeal on behalf of a major health maintenance organization
• Successfully defended an out-of-state corporation in a $80 million fraud lawsuit
• Assisted in the favorable settlement of a high profile Medicaid fraud case brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
• Appealed, successfully, a civil forfeiture claim on behalf of a large financial institution before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• As Connecticut counsel, helped defeat a $185 million property insurance claim related to Y2K losses

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association - Litigation Section
• Connecticut Bar Association - Litigation Section
• Fairfield County Bar Association - past chair, Municipal Law Section
• Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association 

Community Involvement

• Women's Business Development Center - director
• Stamford School Readiness Council - director
• CTE, Inc., Stamford's anti-poverty agency- board of directors 
• Stamford chapter of the American Red Cross - board of directors
• The HealthCare Connection - board of directors