Briana S. Fernald

Associate

Practices

• Commercial Litigation

Attorney Biography

Experience

• Served as a New York Pro Bono Scholar for the Connecticut Psychiatric Defense Unit. Represented indigent NGRI clients as a certified legal intern in several administrative and superior court hearings to preserve due process rights and secure conditional release status.
• Served as a law clerk in the Public Health and Education Section of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General, drafting various documents, including position statements, motions, and memoranda, to support and defend state-managed public health entities and educational institutions throughout Connecticut.
• Served as a legal intern for the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Connecticut. Assisted in the representation of several clients charged with federal crimes by developing mitigating tactics, compiling social histories, and drafting sentencing memoranda.
   

Education

J.D., University of Connecticut School of Law, 2023 

• Connecticut Moot Court Board Executive Director, 2022-23, Secretary, 2021-22
• CT Public Interest Law Journal Articles Editor, 2022-23, Associate Editor, 2021- 22
• Alva Loiselle Moot Court Champion, Spring 2021
• New York Pro Bono Scholar, Spring 2023
• 2023 CLEA Outstanding Student Externship Award
• CALI Recipient for Trial Advocacy
• CALI Recipient for Law and Forensic Science
• CALI Recipient for Criminal Law
• Law School Merit Scholarship Recipient
• Peter & Eileen Litwin Scholarship Recipient 

B.A., English Studies/Creative Writing, Fairfield University, with honors, 2017

• American Studies minor