ON THE MOVE

I started my solo practice three years ago when I moved into an office share in New Haven with my friend and colleague Kevin Smith. We originally shared suite 300 at 129 Church St. before moving one floor up to the larger suite 400. Downtown New Haven is a good place to be but we decided to leave as our lease wound up and our practices changed. I have rented a new office at 2911 Dixwell Ave. in the center of Hamden and will be moving there in the coming weeks. I encourage all of you in to drive by my building next time you are in Hamden. The less-urban locale will likely be a welcome change for everyone who had trouble finding and then having to pay for parking in New Haven. We have a parking lot in Hamden and the office is close to both I-91 and Rt. 15. I will also be closer to the courts I most frequent–Middletown, Meriden and Waterbury–while still being close to New Haven. I am on the move most of the time anyway, often going to multiple courts in a day and visiting clients all over the place.

My practice will have the same focuses: criminal defense, juvenile law and civil collections. I plan to do more probate work and also some family court matters. As my practice has become busier in the recent months, I plan to hire a law clerk and make DeMatteo Legal Solutions a team.

Dixwell Avenue is named after John Dixwell, who was an English politician and judge during the English Civil War. He was one of the commissioners of the High Court of Justice which tried, convicted and condemned King Charles I in 1649 and later signed his death warrant. The regicides, as the commissioners became known, were hunted by the crown after it was restored in 1660. Dixwell, Edward Whalley and William Goffe fled to New Haven. Dixwell lived under an assumed name while Whalley and Goffe hid in a cave on West Rock, now known as Judges’ Cave. Whalley Ave., Dixwell Ave. and Goffe St. all meet in New Haven. In tribute to the three judges as well as its subterranean location, I have nicknamed my new office the “Justice Cave.” If you or someone you know are charged with regicide, please call me.