Mayor Simmons Announces New Stamford Director Of Legal Affairs

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons this week announced that she has chosen Tom Cassone to be the city's new director of legal affairs.

The position won't be new to Cassone, however. He previously served as the city's director of legal affairs from 1995 to 1999 and 2002 to 2009.

Cassone will now replace Doug Dalena, who left Stamford earlier this year to become general counsel in the office of the state treasurer.

"I am grateful to Mayor Simmons for this exciting opportunity," Cassone said in a news release. "During the Malloy administration, I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside our dedicated city employees on behalf of our fellow Stamford citizens and I look forward to the chance to do so again."

Simmons said she was pleased to have Cassone join her administration.

"Tom has decades of experience serving the City of Stamford and our community and his vast legal expertise will be instrumental in moving forward my administration’s vision of creating a more equitable, inclusive, and thriving city," she said.

Cassone currently serves as managing partner of Meister Seelig & Fein’s Stamford office, a position he's had since 2014. The firm is based in Manhattan.

In this role, Cassone concentrates in litigation in state and federal courts, including court and jury trials and appeals in construction, personal injury, contract, employment, commercial, products liability, patent infringement, municipal liability, professional malpractice, and land use.

As the previous director of legal affairs for Stamford, Cassone acted as counsel to all city boards, commissions, departments and agencies, as well as the Board of Education. In this capacity, he oversaw the drafting of local legislation and prepared and approved all city contracts, which numbered 300 to 400 annually.

Cassone received his doctor of law from the Western New England College School of Law. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Fairfield County Bar Association. He is also an active volunteer in the Stamford community, including having served as the chairman of the Ferguson Library Board of Trustees, a member of the Board of Directors of St. Lukes Lifeworks, and as a trustee of the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.

He currently serves as director and secretary of the Stamford Veterans Park Partnership and a Board Member of the Stamford Citizen of the Year Organization.