Obituary of James F. Byrne

Essex – James Francis Byrne, 77, died Tuesday, 12 December, 2017 following a short illness. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Christina Storm, his daughter Elizabeth Byrne, two sons, Preston J. Byrne and James R. Byrne, his sister, Katherine O'Keefe, three grandchildren, several nieces, nephews, and loving in-laws Leslie Cerio, Al Marulli, and Christopher and Matthew Jordan Storm. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Scottish immigrant parents, James obtained his B.A. from Long Island University, J.D. from Fordham Law School, and read an LL.M. in tax at NYU Law School. After graduating near the top of his class at Fordham, he began a long and successful career in commercial law starting as an associate attorney at the New York office of Cravath, Swaine, and Moore. In 1973, he moved to Connecticut to join Ribicoff & Kotkin as a partner. In 1982, he was a founding member of Byrne, Slater, Shulman, Shecter & Rouse. Thereafter, in 1991, he and his wife founded the firm where he practiced until the day he died, Byrne & Storm, P.C. He was a member of the Connecticut, New York, and Texas state bars, and was up to date on all his CLE for all three states. His life outside of the law was as varied as his career in it; a British-American dual citizen, he was a member of the Lansdowne Club in London, UK, the Madison Beach Club, the Madison Lions Club, and the Knights of Columbus. His life reflected unbridled passion for the New York Yankees, the study of history, and the game of golf. He was a voracious reader and was rarely separated from the twin iPads that he "didn't need, didn't want, and didn't know why we bought" filled to capacity with his books. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme on Saturday, December 16 at 1pm . Interment will be private at St. Joseph Cemetery in Bristol, CT. To share a memory or condolence please visit www.rwwfh.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity he helped found: Lawyers Without Borders, 59 Elm Street, New Haven, CT, 06510.