Shortly after Gov. Ned Lamont announced several staff changes Tuesday, Hartford law firm Cowdery & Murphy said the governor’s former general counsel, who previously worked as a high-ranking federal prosecutor, will become a named partner.
Nora Dannehy will lead the firm’s long-standing independent and internal investigations practice, the announcement says.
Starting Jan. 1, the firm’s name will change to Cowdery, Murphy, Dannehy & Healy.
Dannehy worked in federal law enforcement for 20 years, focusing on investigations of white-collar crime and public corruption.
She was the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut for two years, the first woman to hold the office. In 2008, she supervised an investigation of the firing of nine U.S. attorneys.
Dannehy began her career as a law clerk to Senior U.S. District Judge T. Emmet Claire and after that worked as an associate with Day, Berry & Howard.
She also served as deputy attorney general of Connecticut for about three years, and in the private sector for six years, as associate general counsel and chief compliance officer for United Technologies Corp.
Dannehy graduated from Harvard Law School and Wellesley College.
Cowdery & Murphy was founded in 1984 as Chatigny & Palmer by Robert N. Chatigny and Richard N. Palmer.
The firm’s alumni include Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Steven D. Ecker and former Attorney General George C. Jepsen, who served as “of counsel” to the firm until he was elected to state office.
The current name partners are James T. Cowdery, former chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Thomas J. Murphy, who joined the firm in 1997 after serving as an assistant U.S. attorney.
The firm represents individuals and businesses in civil, regulatory and criminal investigations and litigation, along with state and federal trials.
Lamont announced Tuesday that Natalie Braswell, the state’s comptroller, would take over as his general counsel.
