Category Archives: News and Opinion

Marysue Rucci Named Vice President, Editor-in- Chief of Simon & Schuster

We are pleased to share exciting news for a member of our Rucci Law Group Family: Marysue Rucci, Joe Rucci’s daughter, has been named Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster.

From the Press Release:

  • Marysue Rucci has been named Vice President, Editor-in-Chief of the Simon & Schuster adult trade imprint, it was announced today by Jonathan Karp, Publisher of Simon & Schuster. Her appointment is effective April 2.
  • Ms. Rucci comes to Simon & Schuster from Putnam, where since January 2010 she has served as Vice President, Editorial Director. Prior to that, she had worked at Simon & Schuster for 13 years, building a highly-regarded and wide-ranging list of novelists and nonfiction authors.
  • Marysue will be the leader and architect of Simon & Schuster’s fiction list, said Jonathan Karp.She will supervise all our fiction acquisitions, build her own list of authors–both novelists and nonfiction writers — and provide counsel to our editors. Under her guidance we expect to be an industry leader, publishing novels of the highest quality and the greatest appeal. We are all delighted that Marysue is returning to Simon & Schuster and that she will now have a greater role in the management of the imprint.
  • Ms. Rucci is best-known for acquiring Little Bee by Chris Cleave, one of the most acclaimed and beloved novels Simon & Schuster has published in recent years, which spent more than a year on The New York Times bestseller list and has sold over a million copies. She also discovered and edited a series of bestselling novels by Lisa Lutz, beginning with The Spellman Files. Among her many other successes are the Costa Award-winning The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney; Oxygen by Carol Cassella; the memoirs If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus and The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper, which was a Starbucks pick and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. She also edited numerous bestselling authors, from Dr. Hunter S. Thompson to Jeffery Deaver to Lauren Weisberger.
  • At Putnam, Ms. Rucci acquired and published the bestseller If You Ask Me and Betty & Friends by actress Betty White, in addition to the novels Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward, The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney, and The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch. While working at Villard Books Ms. Rucci acquired The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, and as an editorial assistant at Scribner acquired Deja Dead, the first book by bestselling novelist Kathy Reichs.
  • I’m honored and excited to return to Simon & Schuster in the capacity of Editor in Chief, and particularly thrilled to champion the fiction list. I look forward to working with Jonathan Karp and the talented new team assembled since I left S&S, and to reconnecting with the many colleagues I already know and admire. It’s an incredible opportunity and I couldn;t be happier.
  • Ms. Rucci is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied English and Creative Writing, and she attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course.

All of us at Rucci Law Group extend our congratulations to Marysue and wish her the best as she embarks on the next stage of her career!

John Hetherington Won’t Seek Reelection

Our colleague, John Hetherington, released the following statement on March 6, 2012:

I have had the opportunity to serve in the Connecticut Legislature for 10 great years. The chance to help constituents and share the good fight in Hartford has given me an experience for which I will always be grateful. But I believe that we serve best in government when we serve for a time and then return to our private lives. Moreover, I think that this is the right time for me personally to move forward. Hopie and I have concluded that there are things to learn, places to explore and experiences to share that I don’t want to miss. So with thanks and some sadness, but no lack of certainty, I have decided not to seek another term.

For more news on John’s decision, please check out:

The New Canaan Advertiser: Hetherington won’t seek reelection: Local attorney, Republican councilman to seek 125th seat
The Daily New Canaan: Hetherington Won’t Run for Another House Term
Wilton PatchAs Hetherington Steps Down, Tom O’Dea Places Bid

Rucci Law Group Opens Its Doors

Rucci Law Group’s New Office

The partners of Rucci Law Group, LLC are pleased to announce that we have opened our doors at 19 Old Kings Highway South, Darien, Connecticut. You can find us in our new offices on the first floor, Suite 110 (just to the left of the fountain).

We are happy to announce that we are joined by Attorneys Colette Symon Hanratty, James C. Dempsey, Ian R. Crawford, John Hetherington, Alberto N. Moris, C. William Tanzi and Brendan Froehlich.

Please feel free to stop in for a cup of coffee or just to say hello. We look forward to showing you our new space and discussing our modern approach to the practice of law.

Rucci Law Group, LLC Announced

We are very excited to announce that we will be launching a new law firm, Rucci Law Group, LLC this December. Rucci Law Group will be a modern law firm utilizing technology to improve efficiency, control costs and provide better communication with you, our valued clients. Among our innovations is our plan to allow you to access your important documents online through a secure password-protected firm website. We will be located at 19 Old Kings Highway South in Darien.

The partners in this endeavor are Joseph J. Rucci, Jr., who focuses his practice on individual client matters and new business start up and financing, Amy Zabetakis, who focuses her practice on zoning, real estate and land use litigation, and Kathryn (Kate) Diehm, who focuses her practice on business and corporate law and intellectual property matters.

Joining us will be Colette Symon Hanratty, Jim Dempsey, John Hetherington and Ian Crawford, who have worked with us over a number of years providing invaluable client services.

In addition, it is with great pleasure that we introduce to you, C. William Tanzi, who will be joining Rucci Law Group as Special Counsel. Bill’s focus will be on providing our clients with the highest quality trust and estate services. We have personally known Bill and his capabilities for a number of years and look forward to working with him.

In the coming weeks, we will be contacting you to announce the opening of our new offices at 19 Old Kings Highway South, the launch of our website and our new telephone number.

If you have any questions about the new firm, please feel free to contact us.