About Vegliante ADR
At the conclusion of an active 35-year litigation and arbitration practice, Dave retired from AT&T/Warner Bros. Discovery in December 2023 where he practiced labor and employment law throughout the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Dave established Vegliante ADR in pursuit of a career transition from advocate to full-time labor and employment neutral. He now offers his services as a neutral arbitrator and mediator. Dave completed the FMCS course training in January 2024 and is in the process of becoming certified with the FMCS and the AAA.
Dave possesses a rare combination of traditional labor and employment experience supported by an extensive trial and arbitration practice where he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of civil actions. Dave has represented police officers, municipal employees, and individuals in civil rights, employment, privacy and personal injury claims against state and local governments. Dave successfully represented out of state property owners against a Connecticut based national franchise. The trial did not receive publicity, but the franchise’s deceptive practices were reported on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. The franchise accepted the store owners’ settlement demand after trial; at the time it was the franchise’s first known settlement that did not constitute nuisance value. Dave, prior to representing AT&T, represented plaintiffs in a variety of forums including EEOC, housing, social security and personal injury claims both in court and frequently at arbitration. Dave also worked briefly for an insurance defense firm where he successfully represented major insurance companies and personal injury victims in arbitration and court before joining a large Connecticut firm. In his final year of private practice, Dave tried two plaintiff’s cases to verdict winning both, one of which received considerable attention within the local legal community. Dave’s unique experience representing plaintiffs, defendants, employers and employees in multiple forums makes him well suited to the role of a neutral.
Dave’s trial success led AT&T to recruit him in 1999 where he initially represented the company in state regulatory hearings before assuming his role as the sole labor and employment counsel supporting AT&T’s 9,000-employee Connecticut affiliate, The Southern New England Telephone Company. Dave managed all employment and labor matters at the state and federal DOL, EEOC, CHRO, state and federal court litigation and all collective bargaining negotiations, grievances and arbitrations, the majority of which he personally arbitrated including large contract interpretation disputes and disciplinary issues. Dave always enjoyed a positive relationship with union leadership despite his role as the employer's counsel. He appeared on the Company’s behalf before the Connecticut Supreme Court and with outside counsel successfully appealed an adverse NLRB decision to the D.C. Circuit. Dave’s unique combination of trial experience and labor experience leads Dave to believe he can provide parties with a cost effective, fair and prompt alternative for their arbitration and mediation requirements.
Prior to attending law school Dave enjoyed a brief but successful career in New York with The Chase Manhattan Bank before enrolling at the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1987. He has served as President of the New Haven County Bar Association and is an active member of the state and local bar. Dave also donates his time coaching and judging mock trial for the Wallingford middle school STEP program and the statewide Civics First high school mock trial program. He also volunteered his time coaching boys and girls recreational and AAU basketball, tournament baseball and flag football.