Steven J. Stafstrom Jr.

Steve Stafstrom is vice chair of Pullman & Comley’s Litigation Department and leads its Real Estate and Environmental Litigation team. As a politically experienced commercial litigator, he has a proven track record of helping clients navigate their most complex legal challenges.

Steve represents a diverse client base, including property owners, landlords, commercial tenants, banks, developers, and energy companies, in a wide range of real estate and environmental litigation. In his environmental litigation practice, he handles controversies involving emerging contaminants like PFAS, regulated substances such as benzene and dry-cleaning chemicals, and compliance with the Connecticut Transfer Act. His real estate experience covers breach of contract and lease disputes, commercial evictions, lien discharges, foreclosures, and claims involving boundaries, trespass, and nuisance. Steve also manages zoning and land use appeals before municipal agencies and in Connecticut Superior Court.

Steve also has substantial experience in partnership and commercial business disputes, handling matters involving the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), unfair trade practices, trade secret misappropriation, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfers, and corporate veil piercing. He also represents investment advisors, broker-dealers, and investors in securities litigation and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration.

Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Connecticut Superior Court procedure and his strong statewide professional network, Steve is often sought after to serve as local counsel in high-profile and multifaceted cases. He has acted as local counsel for some of the nation’s largest law firms in complex environmental litigation, multi-million-dollar insurance claims, “bet-the-company” business disputes, and intellectual property litigation.

He has represented clients across a variety of industries, including cannabis, education, energy, financial services, farming, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing, real estate, and the public sector. He has also served as outside general counsel for closely-held businesses and as town counsel.

Steve serves as co-chair of the Associate Recruiting Committee.

In addition to his practice at Pullman, Steve is a member of the Connecticut General Assembly representing the 129th Assembly District (Bridgeport). In that role, Representative Stafstrom serves as House Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. He has authored and help pass many significant pieces of legislation affecting the Connecticut business community, including the business corporations act, the limited liability company act, the veil piercing statute, the special motion to dismiss statute, workplace protections, changes to CUTPA, the legalization of recreational cannabis as well as working on criminal justice reform and immigration issues.

Steve is routinely quoted in media reports on leading edge Connecticut legal issues and is a frequent speaker at seminars and legal education programs.

Office

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association - Litigation Section, Securities Litigation Committee

Connecticut Bar Association - Litigation Section; Federal Practice Section; former member, Young Lawyers Section Executive Committee

Federal Bar Council

Greater Bridgeport Bar Association - past-chair, Young Lawyers Section

Raymond E. Baldwin Inn of Court

New York Bar Association – Environmental & Energy Law Section

Community Involvement

City of Bridgeport - former member, City Council; member, Black Rock Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Board of Directors

Fairfield University - former vice-president, Alumni Association; alumni representative, Board of Trustees academic affairs and prep school committees

Bridgeport Regional Business Council - Graduate of Class of 20 of the Leadership Greater Bridgeport Program and former member, board of directors

Saint Ann Roman Catholic Church - Trustee

Alpha Community Services YMCA - former vice chair, board of managers

City Lights Gallery - past president

Honors & Recognitions

Moffly Media Top Lawyer in Fairfield County, 2021 - Commercial Litigation, 2023, 2024 and 2025 - Government and Administrative

American Law Media 2024 New England Social Impact Award Winner

Connecticut Super Lawyers "Rising Star" business litigation, 2013 - 2022

Bridgeport Regional Business Council Legislator of the Year Award, 2016

Connecticut Law Tribune's "2015 New Leaders of the Law"

Fairfield County Business Journal's "40 Under 40" award for 2014

Real estate, environmental and land use litigation

• Connecticut Transfer Act: Guided property owners and businesses through all stages of Connecticut Transfer Act litigation, from investigation to enforcement, ensuring compliance and mitigating liability.
• Trespass & Nuisance: Represented clients in claims involving trespass, nuisance, and property contamination under the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Secured a key defense verdict for a solar farm developer in a stormwater runoff dispute.
• Environmental/Soil Contamination: Specific experience includes litigating matters related to contamination from oil spills, benzene, asbestos and chemicals from dry cleaning facilities.
• Clean Water Act: Defended multiple Connecticut municipalities in Clean Water Act Enforcement actions
• PFAS Contamination: Serves as local counsel for a major water utility in a high-profile PFAS ('forever chemicals') contamination case involving complex, cutting-edge environmental litigation.
• Boundary Disputes: Litigated adverse possession and partition of land claims; Negotiated resolution to easement dispute between neighboring condominium associations
• Housing Court Matters: Represented commercial landlords and tenants in disputes involving evictions, foreclosures, and pre-judgment remedy attachments.
• Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities (CHRO): Defended landlords and condominium associations in fair housing discrimination claims before the CHRO.
• Land Use Appeals: Represented both private litigants and municipal agencies in administrative appeals of land use decisions.
• Property Disputes: Secured dismissal of criminal charges stemming from residential neighbor property dispute

Commercial and business disputes

• Contract Disputes: Litigated dozens of complex Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and contract disputes for businesses involving customers, suppliers, consultants, and agents.
• Product Liability: Defended product manufacturers and sellers in complex product liability litigation involving claims of breach of warranty, negligence, and strict liability.
• Unfair Competition: Leveraging his experience helping to author legislative changes to the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), represented numerous clients in CUTPA cases, including defending a major university against unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation claims.
• Membership Disputes: Litigated numerous disputes between business partners, members, and shareholders, including claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent non-disclosure, and corporate dissolution. Defended a shareholder derivative action and a member dispute for a holding company of a skilled nursing facility.
• Corporate Veil Piercing: Author of Connecticut's corporate veil piercing statute; Defended a real estate development company in a $22 million lawsuit involving claims of veil piercing, successor liability, and fraudulent transfer.
• Intellectual Property: Served as local counsel for an international nonprofit in a trademark infringement lawsuit, defended a product re-seller against false endorsement and advertising claims under the Lanham Act, and negotiated a favorable resolution to a trademark dispute between a brewery and a winery.
• Insurance Disputes: Represented an independent power producer in complex insurance coverage litigation following a major construction accident involving multiple fatalities and significant property damage. Also represented insureds in bad faith and 'hammer letter' disputes with insurers.

 Securities and banking

• Successfully defended clients, including investment advisors and broker-dealers, in lawsuits alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act, including Section 12 claims, Rule 10b-5 claims, control person claims, and related state law claims.
• Represented registered representative in FINRA Rule 8210 investigation and sworn interview
• Represented a leading college in a FINRA arbitration, recovering nearly 100% of losses that resulted from a broker's failure to execute trades in accordance with a long-standing agreement.
• Successfully defended a financial advisor in a lawsuit brought by an investor who claimed significant losses during a market crash and alleged the account agreement was a contract of adhesion.
• Secured a favorable arbitration award for a broker-dealer in a dispute where the FINRA panel rejected the bulk of an investor's claims and limited the award to out-of-pocket costs.
• Defended registered representative in suitability mediation with former client which settled for nominal amount
• Represented advisor in FINRA mediation where client alleged that the advisor recommended an unsuitable concentration of retirement assets into illiquid and speculative investments. Negotiated favorable settlement for advisor whereby brokerage firm covered majority of settlement amount and costs, and minimized U4 disclosure

 Town governments

• Town counsel to Redding, Connecticut
• Advises several land use agencies throughout Connecticut on planning and zoning law.
• Secured dismissal of Section 1983 Federal civil rights claim for eastern Connecticut city

News

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Press Releases