Members of the Hartford Pension Commission had a heated exchange with former Hartford Treasurer Carmen Sierra over her use of Shipman & Goodwin for legal services purportedly outside their scope of contract after Sierra utilized the firm for an opinion on a possible “breach” of Freedom of Information laws and Commission bylaws, according to meeting minutes, video, and a review of pension expenses.

Sierra raised concerns during the January 2026 meeting of the Hartford Pension Commission that two different agendas had been distributed, one that had been filed with the town clerk’s office by her office and another distributed by then-chairman Joshua Gottfried. Video of the January meeting shows Sierra vigorously protesting that a second agenda was circulated on Office of the Treasurer letterhead but had not been printed out by her office.

Minutes from the February 2026 meeting of the Pension Commission are not posted online, but video of the meeting obtained by Inside Investigator shows a heated argument between Sierra and pension commissioners over whether it was appropriate for the treasurer to use Shipman & Goodwin for an FOI opinion after the commissioners claimed they had already received an opinion on the matter from General Counsel Bill Becarro.

“We certainly need to discuss outside counsel engaged, unauthorized by the Pension Commission, spending beneficiary assets on questions that are unnecessary when we have legal counsel, a general counsel, and a city attorney that we can use,” then-Commissioner Shawn Wooden said. “There should not be an engagement letter from Shipman & Goodwin that reflects these type of legal services, and, as a matter of professional ethics, you have to have an engagement letter, as a lawyer, that reflects the scope of services.”

Sierra argued that the Shipman & Goodwin attorney was on retainer with the city, that the firm worked with the city for years, and provided an opinion. Sierra said she wanted to make sure it was in the record that there were two different agendas during the January meeting.

The February meeting became a matter of commissioners and Sierra talking over each other. Attorney Beccaro gave his opinion that the way in which the agenda was altered was within FOI guidelines, although maybe a little shaky on parliamentary procedure. Beccaro said he had discussed the matter with Sierra on the phone, but she questioned whether that discussion had occurred; city corporation counsel said he had not discussed the matter with Sierra.

Sierra read from Shipman’s opinion that the change in agenda was a violation of FOI laws and Pension Commission bylaws, and said if the Commission had questions, they could address them to Shipman & Goodwin.

“We’re not paying unauthorized outside counsel when we have city corporation counsel’s office and we’re paying a general counsel pursuant to city charter that we have the authority to hire and opine on these things,” Wooden said. “This is a waste of pension assets.”

“I have the right to use the budget that was approved to do my obligation of this office,” Sierra said, arguing the previous corporation counsel had approved the use of Shipman & Goodwin.

The argument continued for an extensive length of time, going back and forth over the scope of Shipman & Goodwin’s scope of service and whether it was appropriate to use outside counsel for this issue. Sierra claimed that prior legal contracts with the city were “vague,” and therefore the law firm could be used for a variety of issues.

“You went to a fourth-year real estate associate for an FOI opinion,” Gottfried said to Sierra, claiming it was “forum shopping.” “We can all find an attorney to agree with us Madam Treasurer, especially if we pay them.”

The Pension Commission then voted that any use of outside counsel by the treasurer in the future would have to be approved by the Commission over Sierra’s protest, but the argument continued.

According to posted meeting minutes from the April meeting, the Pension Commission voted to revise the January meeting minutes to properly identify two individuals and remove “language referencing potential Freedom of Information breach, stating the Commission had not formally discussed or determined such a finding during the meeting.”

Shipman’s role, according to meeting minutes, had “primarily involved support for alternative investments (such as private equity and private credit) and specific matters like the Fienemann Road transaction.” 

Pension Commission Chairman Joshua Gottfried was removed from the Pension Commission shortly after the April meeting. Two more commissioners, including Wooden, resigned shortly after Gottfried’s removal, citing concerns over how Sierra was handling Hartford’s pension matters.  

Expenses from 2024 to 2026 charged to the city’s Municipal Employee Retirement Fund (MERF) show, unsurprisingly, a fair amount of money for legal services, which are needed to execute contracts and investments. 

Of the $527,707 charged to the MERF for legal services, half of it came during 2025 when expenses show numerous charges for legal consultants at a time when Sierra and the Pension Commissioners were at odds over creation of a governance board, retaining attorneys that Sierra had previously worked with for years, and disagreement between some of those attorneys and Hartford’s corporation counsel over bylaws.

Conversely, there are no charges or budget for legal services contained the Treasurer’s Office budgets for that same time. 

The pension fund’s legal expenses, however, show only two charges totaling $13,381 that specifically name Shipman & Goodwin, with at least one of those charges related to an investment into Mesirow Financials’ Real Estate Value Fund V, the second investment into a Mesirow fund since Sierra had taken office. 

The Mesirow investments are one of those alternative investments that Shipman was contracted to handle, according to meeting minutes and comments by commissioners on video. The firm has been used extensively by the City of Hartford and the Hartford Board of Education for various services, including bond underwriting and labor issues, for many years.

During a July 1, 2026, special meeting, the reconstituted Pension Commission held an executive session and the Commission decided to “retain Shipman & Goodwin’s labor section on various issues and send a request to Corporation Counsel for review if necessary to be done by July 9, 2026.”

Sierra stepped down from her elected position on July 7, amid swirling rumors and accusations, particularly after she returned to her offices after she had resigned and was subsequently escorted off the property by Hartford police. Pension expenses obtained via FOI show ample charges made by Sierra to the pension fund for expensive food and stays at lavish hotels for investor conferences. 

An investigation by Inside Investigator found Sierra had ties to Mesirow Financial through campaign contributions and a nonprofit where she served as treasurer and through which contracted money managers routed tens of thousands of dollars to support Sierra’s Bilingual Financial Literacy Symposium, creating potentially multiple conflicts of interest, according to the city’s ethics laws.

The Department of Justice has issued subpoenas and is investigating Sierra’s spending and her relationship to contracted money managers. Sierra’s attorney has previously stated that her travel expenses were approved by the Commission.

“It’s very clear that a credible institution provided an opinion based on the documents given to them,” Sierra argued during the February meeting. “The opinion is based on facts.”

“It feels like from a pension piece, this should be something that is a personal expense to you. I don’t know that this is a pension expense that taxpayers and the beneficiaries should have to pay for,” Gottfried said. “That concerns me.”

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