Margaret Donovan
Margaret M. Donovan is an attorney with Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She joined Koskoff after six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Connecticut. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she served six years in the United States Army as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps.
As an Army officer, Margaret completed two combat deployments as a legal advisor in the fight against the so‑called Islamic State. She advised on more than 1,000 airstrikes and other lethal engagements in Iraq and Syria, as well as military investigations into civilian casualties and alleged law‑of‑war violations. She served with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq and with the 5th Special Forces Group in Syria. In 2017, she became the first female attorney to be assigned directly to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group.
Outside of combat operations, Margaret deployed to Monrovia, Liberia, in 2014 as a lawyer for the military unit that led the United States’ response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak. Prior to that, she completed a 14‑month assignment in South Korea as an attorney‑advisor to Army personnel on the Korean Peninsula.
After leaving the military, Margaret worked as a federal prosecutor in New Haven. Her caseload focused on firearms prosecutions, domestic terrorism, and violent crime. Following January 6, 2021, she investigated multiple Capitol Riot cases linked to Connecticut and later served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s inaugural role for prosecutors dedicated to domestic terrorism cases. She also prosecuted the first federal gun trafficking cases in the district after Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022. After six years prosecuting gun cases for the Department of Justice, she joined Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder to support the firm’s growing firearms litigation practice.
Margaret is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, a legal aid organization focused on veterans’ legal and medical needs in Connecticut. She also co‑chairs the Connecticut Bar Association’s Federal Practice Section, serves on the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Editorial Board, and was recently named a fellow at the National Institute of Military Justice.
An invited lecturer at Yale Law School, Margaret has taught courses on Federal Prosecution, the Russo‑Ukrainian War, and the Rule of Law. Her military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Basic Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, among others. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she was named the 2023 Prosecutor of the Year by the Connecticut Chapter of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators.
Margaret earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, and a Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School in New York City.
