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Francis X. Dineen, who helped New Haven’s then-new legal aid organization in the 1960s and was still showing up for work when it made its latest move to an office Orange Street last year, died Wednesday. He was 84 years old.
Following is a release from New Haven Legal Assistance Association:
It is with great sadness share the news that Frank Dineen passed away on Wednesday September 25, 2019.
Executive Director, Alexis Smith, said, “Frank epitomized what was best about the legal profession, and his kind spirit and devotion to his colleagues set him above the rest. His legacy lives in the countless students he taught and mentored and all of us at New Haven Legal Assistance who learned from him what it means to be a legal aid lawyer. We will miss Frank dearly.”
He was born January 6, 1935, to Edythe Sheehan Dineen, a teacher at Prospect Heights High School in Brooklyn, NY and Francis Xavier Dineen, Sr. a New York City attorney.
Frank graduated from Poly Prep County Day school. He attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1956. He was in the Naval Reserves while at Dartmouth and was commissioned as an Ensign in the USNR upon graduation. He served two years at the Pentagon, having been elevated to the rank of Lieutenant jg. Following his service in the Naval Reserves, he attended Yale Law School, graduating in 1961.
Shortly after graduating law school, Frank worked for New Haven Community Progress Inc. (CPI) as a community lawyer in the Wooster Square area, which had been funded by the Ford Foundation. After CPI dissolved the program at Wooster Square, Frank was appointed the head of the Legal Aid Bureau by Mayor Richard C. Lee. Thereafter, the Legal Aid Bureau merged with the newly created New Haven Legal Assistance Program, where Frank served as Deputy Director for many years. Most recently Frank has been Senior Counsel and Deputy Director.
… and recently.
Frank was one of the longest-serving legal services lawyers in the country. He is credited with reinventing landlord/tenant practice in Connecticut and has been involved in many landmark cases, even arguing two cases before the United States Supreme Court.
Frank also taught at Yale Law School Clinic for many years teaching topics such as CT Landlord/Tenant Law, Supreme Court Practice & Procedure, CT Pleadings and CT Appellate Practice. Providing access to the legal system for people who formerly had no means of obtaining representation and who were desperately in need of representation in the defense of their cases was one of Frank’s highest callings.
Frank loved to teach and would say that teaching is an act of love.
Frank received many accolades and awards over his long career including the Distinguished Service Award from Yale University; the Charles Parker Award for Legal Services; the CT Law Tribune Pro Bono Award; the Yale Women’s Teaching Award; and the Access to Justice Award from New Haven Legal Assistance. Frank was designated a James W. Cooper Fellow by the Connecticut Bar Foundation in 1994. Frank is survived by his wife, Renee Goldstein Dineen, his two children, Douglass “Fugan” Xavier (Amy) Dineen and Julie (Shawn) McCannon, 3 grandchildren, Caroline, Alec and Reece and his nephew James (Chip) Dineen Jr.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial Saturday morning at 10:00 in St. Michael Church 29 Wooster Place in New Haven. Burial will follow in Grove Street Cemetary. In lieu of flowers, donation may be made to the New Haven Legal Assistance Asscoaition or a charity of your choice.
Frank was a fine teacher, lawyer, and mentor. I will miss him very much. David Lesser