Jacobs, Grudberg, Belt, Dow & Katz P.C.

At Jacobs, Grudberg, Belt, Dow & Katz, P.C., our motto is Excellence. You are never just another claim or case file. We limit the nature and number of cases we accept to insure that we are able to spend time working one-on-one with all our clients. We view our representation of you as a relationship, rather than just a "transaction."

Whatever the legal problem you are facing, we are here to advise you, advocate for you, and protect your rights and interests.

JGBD&K is committed to understanding our clients’ needs and serving those needs with excellence. The firm has a long tradition of service to the people and businesses of Connecticut, and continues in that tradition today. We pride ourselves on our contributions to communities in the New Haven, CT area and on being known and respected in those communities. Our lawyers appear in court every day, in the courts of New Haven and throughout the state. We know how to prepare a case for trial, and how to try it, a rare skill. Unlike many smaller specialized law firms, JGBD&K believes in mixing criminal defense work, family law work, a personal injury practice, and business work under one roof. We believe this mix of clients and disciplines keeps us sharp, and benefits our clients – people’s lives are never so simple that they can be reduced to any one legal formula.

About Alinor C. Sterling

Alinor Sterling received her A.B. degree from Princeton University in 1989 after which she received a graduate fellowship for study at Moscow State University. She received her law degree from the UCLA School of Law where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, Ms. Sterling was an editor of the UCLA Law Review and an Executive Articles Editor of the UCLA Women's Law Journal. She is the author of "Undressing the Victim: The Intersection of Evidentiary and Semiotic Meaning of Women's Clothing in Rape Trials," 7 Yale J.L. & Fem. 87 (1995). After graduating from law school, Ms. Sterling served as a law clerk to Judge Lourdes G. Baird of the Untied States District Court for the Central District of California. She speaks Russian and French.

Ms. Sterling is admitted to practice before the courts of the States of Connecticut and New York, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She has argued before the Connecticut Supreme Court.

She has done significant pro bono work for Life Haven, Inc., a New Haven shelter for homeless women and children, and the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union.  She and the firm were recently recognized at the annual fundraiser for Life Haven, Inc.  She is willing to draft amicus curiae appellate briefs for worthy causes.

Current Employment Position(s):

Associate

Areas of Practice:

Appellate

Personal Injury Litigation

Probate Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Connecticut, 1996

New York, 1997

U.S. District Court District of Connecticut, 1997

U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1999

Education:

UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, California, 1995
J.D.
Honors: Order of the Coif
Law Review: UCLA Law Review, Editor, 1994 - 1995
Law Journal: UCLA Womens Law Journal, Executive Articles Editor

Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton, NJ, USA
B.A.

Published Works:

"Undressing the Victim: The Intersection of Evidentiary and Semiotic Meaning of Women's Clothing in Rape Trials", 7 Yale J.L. & Fem. 87 (1995)

Representative Cases:

Erickson v. Erickson, 246 Conn. 359, 716 A.2d 92 (  1998)

Feen v. New England Benefit, 81 Conn. App. 772, 841 A.2d 1193 (  2004)

Coregis Ins Co. v. Goldstein, 32 F. Supp. 2d 508 (D. Conn. 1998)

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Connecticut Bar Association

Member

Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association

Member

New Haven County Bar Association

Member

American Bar Association

Member

Past Employment Positions:

Hon. Lourdes G. Baird, U.S. District Court Judge, Central District of California, Law Clerk, 1995 - 1996

Languages:

French

Russian

Birth Information:

May 16, 1967, San Francisco, California