Office: Hartford

Kyle practices labor, employment, and education law, providing practical and informed legal counsel with his own brand of competitiveness, dedication, efficiency, and wit that he carries with him in all walks of life, whether that be at the negotiating table, speeding down the ski hill, stating his case before a tribunal, or contributing to the success of various non-profits as an officer and director. His dynamic legal counsel has earned him recognition on the Connecticut Rising Stars list by Connecticut Super Lawyers and New England Super Lawyers since 2016. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Additionally, Kyle is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. Membership in the Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Kyle is active as a speaker on legal topics and in the Connecticut Bar Association, where he is the Vice Chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section and a Senior Advisor to the Young Lawyers Section Executive Committee.

In the areas of labor and employment law, Kyle represents 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. He provides 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. His 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, Kyle additionally provides advice unique to municipalities, boards of education, and other public agencies including federal and state constitutional concerns and information requests and meeting procedures under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

A significant portion of Kyle’s 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, special education matters, board and district policy and governance, and compliance with state and federal education laws.

As part of his public and private practices, Kyle represents businesses, municipalities, and boards of educations before state courts as well as in administrative proceedings. Such proceedings include special education due process hearings, state agency proceedings like those before the Freedom of Information Commission, State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, State Board of Labor Relations, Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and Employment Security Appeals Division, and federal agencies like the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  He also regularly serves as procedural advisor or hearing officer in administrative hearings and conducts investigations in workplaces and schools.

Kyle was born and raised in northern Connecticut where he grew up an avid sports fan, skier, and Boy Scout (and Eagle Scout). After graduating high school, he migrated north to Massachusetts, earning his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and then east to Boston for his law degree from Boston College Law School. While a law student, he 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. He returned to Connecticut for a one-year judicial clerkship as a judicial law clerk to the judges of the Connecticut Superior Court.  Prior to joining Zangari Cohn, Kyle practiced labor, employment, and education law for over five years at another Hartford-based law firm.

Education:

• University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Isenberg School of Management, B.S., summa cum laude
• Boston College Law School, J.D.

Bar Admissions:

• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
• U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit

Professional Associations & Memberships:

• National School Boards Association, Council of School Attorneys
• Connecticut Council of School Attorneys
  • President, 2018-2019
  • Secretary, 2017-2018
• Connecticut Bar Association
  • Labor & Employment Law Section
    • Executive Committee Member 2016-2017, 2020-Present
    • Chair, 2023-2024
    • Vice Chair, 2022-2023
    • Secretary, 2021-2022
    • Treasurer, 2020-2021, 2021-2022
  • Young Lawyers Section
    • Executive Committee Member 2016-2023
    • Senior Advisor, 2021-2022, 2022-2023
    • Public Service Director, 2019-2020, 2020-2021
    • CLE Director 2017-2018, 2018-2019
    • Labor & Employment Law Committee Chair 2016-2017
• American Bar Association
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow
• Hartford County Bar Association

Awards & Recognition:

• Rising Star, Connecticut Super Lawyers, 2016-Present
• New Leader in the Law, Connecticut Law Tribune, 2022
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow, elected 2022
• Vanguard Award, Connecticut Bar Association, 2021
• Star of the Year, Connecticut Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, 2019
• Outstanding Achievement, Connecticut Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, 2018

Seminars & Speaking Engagements:

• Kyle McClain, Interpreting and Enforcing the CBA: Lessons Learned from Recent Grievance Arbitration Decisions, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), Collective Bargaining Workshop 2023, May 9, 2023.
• Paula Anthony, Heidi Lane, Nicole Rothgeb, & Kyle McClain, Untangling Federal FMLA, CT FMLA, and CT Paid Leave, Connecticut Bar Association (CBA), Annual Advanced Labor and Employment Law Symposium, March 30, 2023.
• Kyle McClain, They Said What? Free Speech Rights and Limitations in Public Schools, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) / Connecticut Association of School Superintendents (CAPSS), 2022 CABE/CAPSS Convention, November 19, 2022.
• Glenn A. Duhl, Adam Lyke, & Kyle A. McClain, Connecticut Employment Law 2022, National Business Institute (NBI), July 15, 2022.
• Multiple presenters, School Law: Mental Health Issues, National Business Institute (NBI), October 7, 2021.
• Cindy Cieslak, Amanda DeMatteis, & Kyle McClain, The American Rescue Plan Act: Key Provisions Impacting Employees and Employers, Connecticut Bar Association Labor & Employment Section Meeting, May 13, 2021.
• Kyle A. McClain & Sara C. Saucier, Digital Accessibility: Equal Access for All, Connecticut Council of Municipalities (CCM) Virtual Convention, December 2, 2020.
• Multiple presenters, Special Education Law Toolkit, National Business Institute (NBI), April 14, 2020 [Cancelled due to COVID-19].
• Multiple presenters, Special Education Law Made Simple, National Business Institute (NBI), May 2, 2019.
• Multiple presenters, School Law: Social Media and Apps, Cyberbullying, Privacy and Other Technology Issues, National Business Institute (NBI), February 12, 2019.
• Glenn A. Duhl, Adam J. Lyke, Kyle A. McClain, & Nicholas J. Grello, Top Ten Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Labor and Employment Law, Hartford County Bar Association (HCBA), November 7, 2018.
• Beverly Hodgson, JR Lederer, Kyle McClain, & Christine Newhall, Designing and Implementing Mandatory ADR Programs, Connecticut Bar Association (CBA), Annual Advanced Labor and Employment Law Symposium, March 15, 2018.
• Kyle A. McClain, The Future of School Field Trips: Warnings, Waivers, and Ticks, Oh My, Connecticut Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), Timely Topic Workshop, February 2, 2018.
• Kyle A. McClain, Vincent Mustaro, & Mark Sommaruga, The Future of School Field Trips: Warnings, Waivers, and Ticks, Oh My, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), Legal Issues Workshop 2017, October 17, 2017.
• Amanda M. DeMatteis, Glenn A. Duhl, Joshua R. Goodbaum, & Kyle A. McClain, CHRO: How to Bring or Defend an Employment Case, Connecticut Bar Association (CBA), April 4, 2017.
• Glenn A. Duhl & Kyle A. McClain, Top Ten Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Labor and Employment Law, Hartford County Bar Association, March 7, 2017.
• Kyle A. McClain & Angelica Wilson, Harassment in the Workplace, January 2017. Various dates and locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts for private sector client.
• Kyle A. McClain, Ready, Set, Action! Video Recording Systems and Body Cameras in Schools. What You Need to Know and Action You May Want to Take, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), Legal Issues Workshop 2016, October 13, 2016.
• Nicholas J. Grello & Kyle A. McClain, Contract Negotiations for School Business Officials, Connecticut Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), Mentorship Academy, May 6, 2016.
• Nicholas J. Grello & Kyle A. McClain, Building Civic Synergy: Working With Municipal Officials to Achieve a Common Goal, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) / Connecticut Association of School Superintendents (CAPSS), 2014 CABE/CAPSS Convention, November 14, 2014.
• Glenn A. Duhl, Nicholas J. Grello, Kyle A. McClain, & Angelica M. Wilson, Top Ten Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Labor and Employment Law, Hartford County Bar Association, January 14, 2014.

Published Works:

• Edward F. “Bud” O’Donnell, Jr. & Kyle A. McClain, Common Misconceptions Infect Sick Leave Law, Conn. L. Trib., Oct. 31, 2011, at 19.
• Glenn A. Duhl & Kyle A. McClain, The National Labor Relations Board’s Approach to Social Networking, Conn. B. Ass’n Lab. & Emp. L. Sec. Q., Summer 2011, at 11.
• Contributing Editor: Brian M. Malsberger, Trade Secrets A State-by-State Survey (4th ed. 2011).
• Contributing Editor: Brian M. Malsberger, Covenants Not to Compete A State-by-State Survey (7th ed. 2011).
• Contributing Editor: Brian M. Malsberger, Tortious Interference in the Employment Context A State-by-State Survey (3rd ed. 2011).
• Contributing Editor: Brian M. Malsberger, Employee Duty of Loyalty A State-by-State Survey (4th ed. 2011).

Community & Personal Activities:

• Sundown Ski Team, Coach, 2002-Present, Head Coach, 2015-2020
• Connecticut Youth Ski League, President and Director, 2016-2021
• Tri-State Alpine Ski Racing Association, Connecticut Subdivision Chair and Director, 2016-2021
• Connecticut Industrial Ski Council, Vice President and Director, 2014-2020
• Downtown YMCA (Hartford), Board of Advisors, 2016-2017
• Connecticut Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America, Adult Volunteer (and Eagle Scout)
  • Enterprise Risk Management Committee member, 2017-2019