Bayer, Aaron S.

Aaron Bayer is a partner in the firm's litigation department and chaired the firm's appellate practice from 2003-2009. He has briefed and argued numerous cases before state and federal appeals courts, assisted trial counsel on substantive legal motions and post-verdict motions, and advised clients and trial counsel on appellate strategies. He speaks and writes on appellate issues, including a regular appellate column in the National Law Journal. Since 2006, he has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for his work as an appellate lawyer (for more information on the standards for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, please click here).

Drawing on positions he has held in higher education and in state and national government, Mr. Bayer also represents numerous institutions of higher education, advising them on a wide array of issues, and non-profit organizations as well. He also advises corporate and non-profit clients on investigations and other interactions with State Attorneys General and state regulatory agencies, including counseling on data privacy issues and investigations into data breaches, and representation before the State Attorney General's Office, Freedom of Information Commission, and Ethics Office.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Bayer served as the General Counsel and Secretary of Connecticut College from 2000-2003. In that capacity, he coordinated the work of the Board of Trustees, advised the President of the College, oversaw all of the College's legal affairs including litigation, contracts, internal policies and procedures, and compliance with state and federal law. He also taught constitutional law.

Mr. Bayer also served as Deputy Attorney General of Connecticut from 1991-2000, and Counsel to U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman and Counsel to the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee from 1989-1991. As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Bayer oversaw the work of the Office's 200 attorneys, which included advising the Governor, legislature, and all agency heads, representing the State in all civil litigation, and investigating misconduct by state officials. He managed some of the Office's most complex and politically sensitive cases.

Mr. Bayer graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. from Yale University, and received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights -- Civil Liberties Law Review. After law school he was a law clerk to Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.