Charles D. Ray | McCarter & English, LLP

Clients benefit from Charlie Ray’s writing and advocacy skills and his intimate knowledge of appellate practice and procedure. They also value Charlie’s common sense approach to litigation, his concern for their interests and his ability to present their case in the best possible light.

Charlie has 30 years of experience representing clients in both trial and appellate litigation. He appears regularly in the Supreme and Appellate Courts of the State of Connecticut and has participated in numerous appeals before the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Ninth, and Federal Circuits. Over the course of his career, Charlie has argued or assisted in more than one hundred appellate cases covering a broad spectrum of subject matter, from commercial business litigation to criminal and high-value matrimonial matters.

Charlie’s practice also extends to trial litigation in both state and federal court. He has first-chaired a number of trials, including a successful breach of contract claim on behalf of a national retailer, matters concerning the valuation of property for purposes of local taxation, defending a number of land use appeals on behalf of a national retailer, as well as several tax related actions challenging decisions made by the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.

Charlie is a member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and coordinates and supervises a number of pro bono matters for the firm’s Hartford office. In this capacity, Charlie has represented individuals and charitable organizations in a wide variety of cases. His work with the Innocence Project, the Connecticut Innocence Project, and several exonerees has been particularly satisfying for Charlie.

Charlie is a member of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules for the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate Courts and is also a member of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Habeas Corpus Matters Task Force.

An active writer, Charlie co-authors a column entitled Supreme Deliberations, which highlights and examines decisions issued by the Connecticut Supreme Court. These articles appear in Connecticut Lawyer magazine, which is published by the Connecticut Bar Association.

Successfully defended the district court’s reduction of a relator’s attorneys’ fee request in a qui tam action. United States, ex rel. Donald Palmer v. C&D Technologies, Inc., 897 F.3d 128 (3d Cir. 2018).

Successfully defended the trial court’s decision to confirm an arbitration award in a matrimonial matter. Toland v. Toland, 179 Conn. App. 800, cert. denied, 328 Conn. 935 (2018).

Teamed with Greater Hartford Legal Aid in a pro bono matter in which our client sought predicate findings to be used in an application for special immigrant juvenile status. The probate court and trial court refused to consider our client’s requests because he had turned 18 during the proceedings. The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed those rulings. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed and ordered further proceedings on our client’s application. In re Henrry P.B.P., 327 Conn. 312 (2017)

Successfully defended the trial court’s decision not to treat a significant trust created by our client’s father as a marital asset in a dissolution action, as well as the trial court’s decision not to require our client to undertake litigation in order to resist actions of the trustees in decanting the original trust. Powell-Ferri v. Ferri, 326 Conn. 457 (2017).

Successfully defended the state’s claims that its action against a contractor for defective construction was not barred under the doctrines of issue or claim preclusion. State v. Bacon Construction Co., Inc., 160 Conn. App. 75, cert. denied, 319 Conn. 953 (2015).

Appeared as pro bono amicus curiae on behalf of the Innocence Project, Inc., also known as the Connecticut Innocence Project, in a series of cases involving procedural issues related to identifications made in criminal prosecutions. State v. Dickson, 322 Conn. 410 (2016), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 137 S.Ct. 2263, 198 L.Ed.2d 713 (2017); State v. Artis, 314 Conn. 131 (2014); State v. Johnson, 312 Conn. 687 (2014); State v. Sanchez, 308 Conn. 64 (2013); State v. Guilbert, 306 Conn. 218 (2012).

Obtained reversal of the Connecticut Appellate Court’s affirmance of the trial court’s order increasing our client’s alimony obligation based solely on his post-dissolution increase in income. Dan v. Dan, 315 Conn. 1 (2014).

Obtained reversal of the trial court’s post-judgment orders modifying our client’s child support obligation, ordering the payment of attorneys’ fees, imputing a rate of return on our client’s investments, and terminating certain provisions in a separation agreement. Fox v. Fox, 152 Conn. App. 611, cert. denied, 314 Conn. 945 (2014).

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