Kyle McClain

Kyle McClain practice labor, employment, and education law, providing practical and informed legal counsel with my own brand of competitiveness, dedication, efficiency, and wit that I carry with me in all walks of life, whether that be at the negotiating table, speeding down the ski hill, stating my case before a hearing officer, or contributing to the success of various non-profits as an officer and director.

In the areas of labor and employment law, I represent the interests of management, including a broad array of both public and private sector clients, from corporations and individual business owners, to Connecticut municipalities and boards of education.

I provide counsel on a full range of workplace and employment law issues such as hiring, termination, discipline, investigations, employee relations, benefits, wage and hour matters, compliance with state and federal laws, and internal policies and procedures.

My labor practice involves negotiating collective bargaining agreements, contract administration, and labor relations, including defending management in grievance arbitration and unfair labor practice matters.

In the public sector, I often provide advice unique to municipalities, boards of education, and other public agencies including information requests and meeting procedures under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and federal and state constitutional concerns.

A significant portion of my practice is dedicated to education law, advising boards of education and their superintendents and other administrators on both traditional labor and employment law issues within the school context, as well education-specific topics like student conduct and discipline including expulsion hearings, school accommodations matters such as residency determinations, student records, teacher discipline, tenure, and termination, compliance with state and federal education laws, special education matters under the IDEA and Section 504, and board and district policy and governance.

I was born and raised in northern Connecticut where I grew up an avid sports fan, skier, and Boy Scout (and Eagle Scout). After graduating high school, I migrated north to Massachusetts, earning my bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and honored to receive a student leadership award as the top student in my major field of study upon graduation.

Thereafter, I moved a few hours east to Boston to earn my law degree from Boston College Law School. While a law student, I worked as a member of BC Law’s Community Enterprise Clinic, representing non-profit and small business entrepreneurs, and worked in the litigation department of a downtown Boston law firm.

I returned to Connecticut to serve as a judicial law clerk to the judges of the Connecticut Superior Court, performing legal research, advising judges, and writing draft decisions. Prior to joining Zangari Cohn, I practiced labor, employment, and education law for over five years at a Hartford-based law firm.