Sam Gurwitt file photo / contributed photo / Paul Bass file photo
D'Agostino, Wilson, and Zamir: Going up.
Gov. Ned Lamont has nominated New Haven’s Judge Robin Wilson to rise the ranks to the state Appellate Court — while also picking a New Haven legal aid lawyer and a former Hamden state representative to join the judicial bench.
Lamont’s office announced those judicial nominations in a Monday morning press release.
The governor has nominated Judge William Bright, Jr., who is currently the chief judge on the state Appellate Court, to join the state Supreme Court. Lamont then nominated Wilson to fill Bright’s seat on the Appellate Court upon his confirmation for the Supreme Court.
Lamont also nominated 13 lawyers to help fill 22 judicial vacancies on the Superior Court: two of those nominations include Michael C. D’Agostino of Hamden and New Haven Legal Assistance Association staff attorney Yonatan Zamir of Woodbridge.
Wilson, 64, has served on the Superior Court since 2003. Currently, she is assigned to the Waterbury Complex Litigation Docket, where she presides over civil cases. Before that, she served in the Civil Division of the New Haven Judicial District for 15 years, “also presiding over complex civil cases, including medical and legal malpractice cases, motor vehicle accident cases involving catastrophic injuries, and commercial contract disputes.”
“I am deeply honored and humbled by Governor Lamont’s nomination to serve as an Appellate Judge for the State of Connecticut,” Judge Wilson is quoted as stating in Monday’s press release. “It is an absolute honor and privilege to have this opportunity. If confirmed by the legislature, I am committed to upholding the principles of fairness, justice, and integrity as I take on this important responsibility and will work hard every day to prove myself worthy of the governor’s trust. Thank you, Governor Lamont, for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve our great state.”
Wilson has been honored as one of the NAACP’s “100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut” and as one of Connecticut’s “100 Women of Color Leadership.”
NHLAA staff attorney Zamir focuses on housing law and eviction prevention. He also co-teaches the Reentry Clinic at Yale Law School. Read more about his work in the Independent here and here.
D’Agostino served the 91st Assembly District of Hamden in the state House of Representatives from 2013 to 2025. He is currently a partner at Morgan Lewis and Bockius. Read more about D’Agostino here, here and here.
Read the full bios of these three nominations below.
Judge Robin Wilson
Judge Wilson, 64, of New Haven, is currently a judge of the Superior Court, where she has served since 2003. She is being nominated to fill the seat on the Appellate Court that will become vacant following the confirmation of Judge Bright to serve on the Supreme Court.
Judge Wilson is presently assigned to the Waterbury Complex Litigation Docket, presiding over complex civil cases. Prior to this, she served in the Civil Division of the New Haven Judicial District for 15 years, also presiding over complex civil cases, including medical and legal malpractice cases, motor vehicle accident cases involving catastrophic injuries, and commercial contract disputes.
Immediately prior to her nomination to the Superior Court, she served as an administrative law judge on the Workers’ Compensation Commission from 1994 to 2003. She also worked from 1986 to 1994 as an assistant attorney general in the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General, serving in both the Child Support Department and the Workers’ Compensation Department.
In recognition of her influence and leadership, Judge Wilson has been honored as one of the NAACP’s 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut and as one of the 100 Women of Color Leadership in the State of Connecticut.
Judge Wilson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government, with honors, from Connecticut College, a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law, and a Master of Laws degree in labor relations from New York University School of Law.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by Governor Lamont’s nomination to serve as an Appellate Judge for the State of Connecticut,” Judge Wilson said. “It is an absolute honor and privilege to have this opportunity. If confirmed by the legislature, I am committed to upholding the principles of fairness, justice, and integrity as I take on this important responsibility and will work hard every day to prove myself worthy of the governor’s trust. Thank you, Governor Lamont, for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve our great state.”
Michael C. D’Agostino, 53, of Hamden: D’Agostino graduated from the University of Virginia and obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is currently a partner at Morgan Lewis and Bockius, residing in its Hartford office, where he handles a wide range of commercial litigation matters for clients in Connecticut’s courts, as well as courts across the country. From 2013 to 2025, he served the 91st Assembly District of Hamden in the Connecticut House of Representatives, and in this capacity severed for several years as the House chair of the General Law Committee.
Yonatan Zamir, 48, of Woodbridge: Zamir graduated from University of Illinois and received his Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law. He is currently a staff attorney at New Haven Legal Assistance Association, where his focus is on housing law and eviction prevention. He also co-teaches the Reentry Clinic at Yale Law School, through which he supervises students in serving clients facing barriers to reentry in areas such as housing and employment, as well as in assisting those clients’ seeking pardons or criminal conviction erasure. Prior to coming to Connecticut, he served as counsel to a member of Congress and a Congressional committee. He started his legal career at the Legal Aid Society of New York.