Cohen and Wolf Names Three New Principals

BRIDGEPORT, CT –The law firm of Cohen and Wolf, P.C. is pleased to announce that Rachel A. Pencu, Gary Phelan, and Barbara M. Schellenberg, have become principals of the firm, effective January 1, 2012.

Rachel A. Pencu joined Cohen and Wolf in 2004, upon graduation from law school. She will continue her practice as a principal in the firm’s Family Law and Litigation Groups. She also serves as a Special Master, appointed by the Superior Court, to mediate divorce disputes in the judicial district of Bridgeport. In the Spring of 2011, she completed the Connecticut Judicial Branch Attorney for the Minor Child / Guardian Ad Litem Training, and recently was appointed by Governor Malloy to serve on the Commission for Child Support Guidelines. Ms. Pencu has been recognized by Connecticut Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star.

Ms. Pencu received her B.A in 2001 from Washington University and her J.D. in 2004 from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she served on the editorial board of the Connecticut Journal of International Law.

Gary Phelan joined Cohen and Wolf as Special Counsel in September of 2010, after practicing law with other prominent firms, handling employment-related cases of many types. He is a member of the firm’s Employment & Labor and Litigation Groups. He represents employees as well as employers in a wide range of matters, including age and disability discrimination, wrongful termination, employment contracts and severance negotiations. He litigates discrimination claims before the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and in federal and state courts in Connecticut and New York.  Mr. Phelan has been recognized in the 1995-2012 editions of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Labor and Employment Law. He was also designated by Super Lawyers magazine as a Connecticut Super Lawyer, in the category of Employment & Labor Law (2006-2012).

Mr. Phelan has lectured and written extensively on the subject of workplace discrimination, co-authoring Disability Discrimination in the Workplace, one of the leading treatises on disability law. He serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Work Life Law and the Board of Directors of A Better Balance and on the New York Advisory Board to Disability Rights Advocates.

Mr. Phelan received his B.A. from Siena College in 1982 and his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1987.

Barbara M. Schellenberg has been with Cohen and Wolf since 1999, and will continue practicing as a principal in the firm's Appellate, Land Use & Zoning, and Litigation Groups. Ms. Schellenberg has handled numerous appeals in the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In her appellate practice, Ms. Schellenberg represents clients in a broad range of matters including administrative appeals, securities law, family law, probate law, commercial and contract law, foreclosures and other real property disputes.

Ms. Schellenberg has written articles on Connecticut appellate practice, and has lectured on this subject, as well as Connecticut land use law. In 2004, she completed the Connecticut Bar Association’s intensive professional training program for appellate advocacy, and will serve on the faculty for the CBA’s Appellate Advocacy Institute in the Spring of 2012.

Ms. Schellenberg received her B.S. in 1981 from Cornell University and her J.D. in 1986 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as senior editor of the Journal of Comparative Business and Capital Market Law.

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