James P. Henke
Partner
Jim Henke has been a core member of Nuzzo & Roberts’ Workers’ Compensation practice group since 2008. His practice is focused on defending employers, insurers, and third party administrators before the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission at all levels of hearing. He has successfully brought a number of Formal Hearings to verdict. More often, Jim is able to resolve matters amicably including complex, high exposure matters with Medicare issues. He has obtained substantial recoveries for employers and insurers in complex apportionment claims which go back for decades under Connecticut General Statutes § 31-299b. Jim provides attentive customer service and a deep familiarity with the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Act.
Jim has also recovered many thousands of dollars in workers’ compensation liens for his clients in Connecticut Superior Court. He provides a voice for the employer at pre-trial hearings, trial management conferences and in any settlement negotiations involving their Connecticut General Statutes § 31-293 lien rights.
Jim was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers® Magazine and Connecticut Magazine in 2017.
Jim is a member of the Editorial Board of the Compensation Quarterly (CQ), an independent and non-partisan publication which tracks developments in the area of workers’ compensation as practiced in the state of Connecticut. It is the purpose of CQ to foster the goals of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Connecticut Bar Association.
Jim is also a member of the New Haven County Bar Association’s Executive Committee
Prior to joining Nuzzo & Roberts, Jim successfully completed a one year research clerkship for the judges of the Connecticut Superior Court in Hartford and New Britain. While clerking, he regularly crafted in-depth research memos for the judges on diverse areas of tort, contract, criminal, and family law which the judges used to inform their decision making and written opinions. One such opinion was appealed to the Supreme Court and adopted in whole by that court as “well reasoned.”
Jim is an experienced fisherman, a beginner ice fisherman and a novice fly fisherman. His prize catch is a 27 pound King/Chinook Salmon caught out of Lake Ontario. Jim is also an avid reader and film buff. On weekends he enjoys trying new restaurants, exploring historical sites, museums, vineyards, and state parks around Connecticut, the Pioneer Valley, and the Berkshires in Massachusetts. Jim cheers for the New York Giants and the UConn Huskies in football and basketball. He’s also a member of Trout Unlimited and Connecticut Audubon Society.
Education
University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, Connecticut, 2007
State University of New York at Geneseo, Geneseo, New York, 2003
Admissions
Connecticut, 2007
New York, 2008
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 2013
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2013
Supreme Court of the United States of America, 2013
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 2014
Professional Associations and Memberships
CBA Workers’ Compensation Section
New Haven Young Lawyers
The Oliver Ellsworth American Inn of Court Connecticut Bar Association (alumnus)
