New London attorney Dan Horgan ended his term as president of the Connecticut Bar Association last month, hoping to have left a lasting impression in the region.

Margaret I. Castinado was installed as the CBA’s 100th president during a June 5 conference in Hartford. Castinado is a senior assistant public defender at the Office of the Public Defender in New Haven

Horgan, owner of the Horgan Law Firm, said he can now look back on his time as CBA president as one of the highlights of his career, despite his initial reluctance to take on the added responsibilities. The nonprofit association boasts more than 8,800 members, a mix of attorneys, judges, paralegals and law students and produces hundreds of programs every year.

One of the reasons Horgan said he agreed to become president was to honor of his friend and colleague, attorney Ralph Monaco, a past president of the CBA who died suddenly in 2021 at the age of 54.

“Ralph’s passion for the CBA was contagious, and I wanted to make him proud through my efforts as president,” Horgan said.

Among other accomplishments during his time as president was work with the Judicial Branch to help implement a civics education program where judges and lawyers team up and go into elementary school classrooms to provide a civics education.

With civil discourse on the decline, Horgan said he thinks it is important to catch kids while they are young and help instill in them “the lessons of civility and respect for authority and the rule of law through civics education,.”

Horgan also led expansion of the CBA’s free legal services program for people in need.

“The pandemic and rising legal costs have created huge access to justice problems for many people in Connecticut,” Horgan said. “Over 70% of litigants in Family and Housing Court represent themselves, because they cannot afford legal representation.”

He helped create and run the Lawyers in Libraries program, which offers monthly sessions at Otis Library in Norwich and Public Library of New London, among other libraries across the state. Library patrons sign up for free 30-minute sessions on an array of legal problems.

Julie A. Menders, the adult programming coordinator for Otis Library, said over the past two years more than 150 patrons have received legal advice from the volunteer attorneys in the program. Menders said the subjects range from landlord/tenant disputes to family law to immigration issues.

“Whatever the issue, our patrons and our staff are grateful for this free service,” Menders said.

Horgan said he he will continue to advocate for free and reasonably priced representation for those who cannot afford lawyers.

“I hope I served the members of the Connecticut Bar Association well and I am very proud to call myself a New London County Lawyer, as I believe they are the brightest, generous and courteous group of lawyers in the state,” Horgan said.

g.smith@theday.com