Press Releases

07/30/2018

Gov. Malloy Appoints Doug Dalena as General Counsel

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he is appointing Doug Dalena to serve as General Counsel in the Office of the Governor. Dalena currently works in the office as Deputy General Counsel. He joined the Office of the Governor in 2015.

“Doug has served in our office for several years now and has extensive knowledge of the needs and business of our state government,” Governor Malloy said. “From serving in our nation’s military, to working as a journalist and then embarking on a legal career, he has an impressive work ethic and skill set that will serve our office very well as General Counsel.

I look forward to having him with us in this new capacity.”“I am honored to continue to serve Governor Malloy in this new role and I appreciate his confidence in me,” Dalena said. “I am especially grateful for the opportunity to serve the State of Connecticut alongside dedicated and talented fellow staff members and a governor who has consistently shown leadership and integrity in making the hard choices required to make Connecticut a better place for all of its people.”

Before joining the Office of the Governor, Dalena worked at the law firm of Brown Rudnick LLP in Hartford, where he practiced energy and environmental law. Preceding that, he clerked at the Connecticut Appellate Court for the Honorable William J. Lavery, former chief judge of the Appellate Court, and the Honorable William J. Sullivan, former chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Prior to embarking on his legal career, Dalena was a naval officer and then a newspaper reporter. He served more than eight years on active duty in the U.S. Navy and continues to serve as a Commander in the Navy Reserve. He has recently traveled to Japan and Korea as a member of the staff of Commander, 7th Fleet, and in his naval career has deployed to the Persian Gulf twice, commanded a detachment of patrol boats near the coasts of Iraq and Iran, and spent two years serving on a British frigate.

Following his active duty service, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and reported on local and state politics and government in Connecticut.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University and his juris doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

He will begin in the new position on August 3 when the office’s current General Counsel, Karen Buffkin, departs the role to begin a new professional opportunity.