Bridgeport-Based Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder Adds 2 New Associates

Information from Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder:

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, one of Connecticut’s leading personal injury firms, announced two new associate hires today: Ryan Daugherty and Margaret Donovan. Both attorneys bring a wealth of expertise across the firm’s biggest practice areas: personal injury, civil rights and firearm-related litigation.

“Ryan and Margaret are both gifted litigators who bring a wealth of experience in fighting for the rights of those who have been harmed – by gun violence, by racial discrimination in the workplace, by medical negligence and more. With these new additions, Koskoff expands an already deep pool of incredible trial lawyers and ensures the Firm’s ability to tackle big social justice issues long into the future,” said David Bernard, managing partner. “We are absolutely thrilled to have them on board.”

Daugherty was previously a solo practitioner and Managing Partner at Daugherty Law Group, a civil rights and personal injury firm operating in Connecticut and New York. Before that, he clerked for the District Attorney in Forsyth County, North Carolina and the Honorable Judge Willie Lovett in Fulton County, Georgia. Daugherty graduated from Wake Forest School of Law and is originally from Marietta, Georgia. Prior to attending law school, Daugherty worked as a professional basketball player in Germany.

“I became an attorney to change people’s lives for the better. As an African American, lawyers have always been some of our community’s biggest champions, fighting for our rights in the courtroom,” said Ryan Daugherty. “Coming to Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder gives me a chance to work on some of the biggest cases in the state and country and improve people’s lives on a larger scale. I couldn’t do this work just anywhere – there’s only one Koskoff!”

Donovan joins the firm following a six-year stint as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, where she led prosecutions and investigations on national gun control laws and gun trafficking. She was the first prosecutor in that office focused specifically on domestic terrorism. In recent years, she has lectured at Yale Law School on the Russo-Ukrainian War and helped run a federal prosecution clinic at the school. She served in the Armed Forces as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps with multiple combat deployments. She was the primary legal advisor and trial counsel for a Special Forces unit focused on unconventional warfare. Donovan received a number of military honors for her service, including qualification as a paratrooper and the Bronze Star Medal.

“I have devoted my career to public service – from my combat deployments in Iraq and Syria, to serving as a federal prosecutor here in Connecticut and helping teach the next generation of attorneys. I have seen firsthand how the rule of law is necessary to prevail in conflicts abroad and at home,” said Margaret Donovan. “Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder operates according to a strong set of principles and a dedication to the public good that I find deeply resonant. I look forward to contributing to the firm’s highly impactful litigation seeking accountability for mass shootings around the country, as well as supporting medical malpractice cases here in Connecticut.”

Donovan is the incoming Board Chair for the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and a member of the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Editorial Board. She was recently named a fellow at the National Institute of Military Justice. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Federal Practice Section. She received her JD from Fordham University School of Law.

The firm also announced the promotions of Skylar Albertson and Luke Reynolds to Associate Attorney. Albertson joined the firm in 2022 as the Theodore I. Koskoff Trial Advocacy Fellow and since then has been involved in high-profile litigation including the Pam Cooking Spray products liability cases and a recently-filed lawsuit against Smith & Wesson, the gun manufacturer, on behalf of survivors of the Highland Park shooting and families whose loved ones were killed or injured that day. Reynolds began as the Theodore I. Koskoff Public Interest Fellow last year and works on civil rights and medical malpractice litigation, such as a case against a Yale fertility clinic whose negligence resulted in dozens of patients to undergo invasive, painful procedures without pain management.