Robinson+Cole lawyer Britt-Marie K. Cole-Johnson has been elected by the firm’s partners to serve on its Managing Committee. Cole-Johnson was also recently appointed by Governor Ned Lamont to serve on the board of the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority and elected to the UConn Health Board of Directors. In addition, Cole-Johnson has recently been chosen as one of the honorees for The 100 Women of Color Gala & Awards and selected by the Connecticut Law Tribune for recognition as a Distinguished Leader during the annual Connecticut Legal Awards.
“Britt-Marie is a highly -respected lawyer in the firm and among her peers in the legal community,” said Rhonda J. Tobin, Robinson+Cole’s Managing Partner. “She is well-known for her talents as a legal advisor but also for her deep commitment to community organizations. She joined the firm thirteen years ago after law school and has been a true and constant champion for equitable and inclusive business practices within the firm, with her clients, and within the community. I look forward to her bringing that leadership and perspective to our Managing Committee.”
As a member of Robinson+Cole’s Managing Committee, the firm’s main governing body, Cole-Johnson participates in decisions related to strategic planning development and execution of firm policies, finance, talent management and practice planning.
As a former board chair of a multi-million-dollar organization and counselor to the boards of significantly larger organizations, Cole-Johnson offers insightful, forward-thinking, and practical counsel. She is well-versed in the key responsibilities of directors and the critical need for boards to seek governance, risk, and strategy guidance and supports a number of clients’ boards of directors in this regard. She counsels companies and HR professionals in many areas of employment law, including discharge and discrimination issues, workplace investigations, affirmative action compliance, family and medical leave, individual terminations and reductions in force, and workplace health and safety issues.
The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority was formed to administer the paid leave program established by Connecticut Public Act 19-25 in 2019. The Authority’s mission is to provide employees pathways to accessible paid family leave benefits, to empower employers, administrators and health care providers by offering helpful tools for understanding their vital roles, and to provide support to navigate paid leave. During the past year, Cole-Johnson has also worked with multi-state employers regarding COVID-19 implications and various paid leave laws, including the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Act.
UConn Health is Connecticut’s public academic medical center and has an operating budget of over $1.3 billion. Its operations include the UConn School of Medicine and Dental School as well as patient care and research. UConn Health is dedicated to helping people achieve and maintain healthy lives and restoring wellness/health to maximum attainable levels.
Recipients of the Distinguished Leader Award are recognized for achieving “impressive results in 2021 and demonstrating clear leadership skills that helped achieve those results.” The honor will be presented to Cole-Johnson during the Connecticut Law Tribune’s annual Connecticut Legal Awards on May 11, 2022 at the Aqua Turf Club.
The 100 Women of Color Gala & Awards Ceremony will celebrate the contributions that Women of Color in business, education, entrepreneurship, entertainment, athletics, government, public service and the impact they have made on the lives of the people throughout the State of Connecticut, Western Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities. The awards will be presented on June 24, 2022 at the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center.
Among her professional affiliations, Cole-Johnson is a James W. Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation (2016-present) and a member of the Board and faculty member of the Association of Workplace Investigators (2017-present). She is also a member of the American Employment Law Council, the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, and the Human Resource Association of Central Connecticut.
Cole-Johnson’s community involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors at Oak Hill; the YWCA Hartford Region, where she served on the Board of Directors for many years and was Chair from 2015-2016; the Board of Directors of Teach for America – Connecticut since 2017; and an Ambassador of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and a Scholarship Committee member. She also teaches employment law to graduate students at the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Cole-Johnson has been ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the State of Connecticut in the area of Labor & Employment since 2019 and was selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers list for 2020 and 2021 after being recognized as a Rising Star from 2013 to 2018.
About Robinson+Cole
Robinson+Cole is an AmLaw 200 law firm established over 175 years ago, with a deeply-rooted culture of collaboration, civility and inclusion. The Mansfield Rule Certified-firm has more than 230 lawyers in ten offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California, serving regional, national, and international clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Robinson+Cole is a service mark of Robinson & Cole LLP. For more information, please visit www.rc.com.