Dove A.E. Burns

Dove focuses her practice on employment law and professional liability. She has experience defending corporate clients and executives, professional service providers, multibillion-dollar international restaurant chains, hospitals, municipalities, housing authorities, nonprofits, and boards of directors in a variety of high-exposure matters.

Dove is a connector. She is relied upon to connect her clients with people and services that will fulfill their needs and solve their complex issues. A natural problem solver, she is driven to serve and resolve. From counseling on the smallest employment or investment issue to the most complex multi-party litigation, she is the shoulder to cry on, investigator to rely on, and strategist to bet on.

In her free time, Dove loves to cook creative dishes, entertain, and spend time with her husband and children. As a former professional opera singer, she also is a patron of the arts and enjoys attending musical performances. She is an avid dog lover who has two pugs and a German Shepherd.

Dove provides proactive counsel to employers, handles employment and severance agreements, drafts policy manuals and other management documents and conducts training sessions to aide employers in minimizing and the risk of litigation. She has resolved many disputes through arbitration, mediation, and conciliation in addition to trying numerous cases to verdict.

Her experience includes the following:

• Representing executives in matters involving allegations of wrongdoing, including claims of sexual misconduct, racial harassment, and corporate malfeasance;
• Handling complex wage and hour matters;
• Restrictive covenant disputes;
• Securities and antitrust litigation;
• Defending higher education institutions;
• Condominium/co-op law;
• Defending lawyers, mental health professionals, architects, engineers, real estate professionals, property managers, and registered representatives regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority;
• General liability, municipal liability, and commercial matters.

A small sampling of Dove’s more notable cases includes:

• Achieving the dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit brought under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act against a school district and its superintendent;
• Successfully defending a Connecticut city housing authority against alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the ADA;
• Obtaining judgment in favor of a school teacher, social worker, and principal against claims of infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and equal protection violations;
• Achieving the dismissal with prejudice of a suit brought by a towing company against a city police department and its chief, in which allegations included violation of due process, violation of equal protection rights, and First Amendment retaliation;
• Obtaining dismissal on behalf of a multibillion-dollar national fast food chain in a case of first impression involving ADA public accommodation issues;
• Winning EEOC dismissal of a race and national origin claim against an international fast food giant; Obtaining dismissal of a multimillion-dollar sexual harassment employment matter in federal court;
• Earning no-cause findings from the EEOC and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities on numerous matters;
• Successfully defending the board of directors in a condominium/co-op election dispute;
• Obtaining injunctive relief on behalf of employers in non-compete and trade secret/proprietary disputes;
• Earning dismissals of Section 1983 claims on behalf of a school board and a municipality;
• Obtaining dismissal of multimillion-dollar ERISA claims in federal court;
• Winning summary judgment in a multimillion-dollar property dispute and planning and zoning matter;
• Obtained dismissal of $10 million dollar securities and fraud matter involving multi-state and venue complexities.

Dove has been recognized as one of Connecticut’s Super Lawyers ® (2016-2022), and as a New York – Metro Super Lawyers (2020-2024), and Rising Star ® (2015-2019). Her Martindale Peer Review Rating is AV Preeminent.

Dove’s professional affiliations include:

• Professional Liability Underwriting Society Hartford Chapter: Co-Chair, Educational Committee; Secretary, Steering Committee;
• Claims and Litigation Management Alliance;
• Defense Research Institute;
• Professional Liability Defense Federation;
• National Association of Women Lawyers;
• Connecticut Bar Association;
• Fairfield County Bar Association;
• New York City Bar Association; and
• Insurance Federation of New York.

Awards Won*

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