Attorney Mallori Deanna Thompson is a judicial law clerk for Judge Victor A. Bolden of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Prior to clerking, Mallori was an associate attorney in the Business Litigation Group at Robinson+Cole and a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Mallori has also been in the United States Army Reserves for ten years and is currently a Captain in the Medical Service Corps. 

She received her B.A. in Comparative Women’s Studies from Spelman College and her J.D. & Human Rights Certificate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. During law school, Mallori was a student representative in the Asylum & Human Rights Clinic and successfully  represented an asylum seeker in a removal proceeding. She was also a Community Justice Fellow at Greater Hartford Legal Aid. Mallori served as the Editor-in-Chief of Volume 53 of the Connecticut Law Review, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Student Bar Association, and as a member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Mallori served as the Vice President of the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association from 2021 to 2023 and the President-Elect and Chair of the Judicial Diversity Committee from 2023 to 2024.

Attorney Trisana N. Spence is an associate attorney in the Hartford, Connecticut, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. where she represents employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling. Trisana also conducts internal investigations of publicly traded, privately held, and not-for-profit organizations, police departments, and educational institutions in relation to allegations of fraud, financial impropriety, conflicts of interest, code of conduct violations, Procurement Integrity Act violations, and whistleblower claims under Dodd-Frank, SOX and other federal, state and local laws. Trisana entered the legal profession at 16 after being selected to intern at a local Connecticut law firm and serving as a paralegal for this firm for approximately five years. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Trisana served as a Legal Research and Writing Clerk for the Connecticut Superior Court.

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Trisana is the current President-Elect for the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association after serving as Secretary during the 2023-2024 term. Trisana also serves as the Secretary for The RiseUP Group, a Connecticut non-profit focused on youth empowerment and development through art and other community-based activities. Trisana has been named a National Black Lawyers©, “Top 40 Under 40” Honoree from 2022 through 2024 and was also recognized in the 2024 Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the categories of Labor and Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment. In addition, in May of 2024, Trisana was one of only 30 attorneys nationwide selected for the prestigious National Employment Law Council (NELC) Academy fellowship.

Attorney Ashley T. Foreman. currently serves as Assistant Counsel and Deputy Communications Director to the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. Previously, she served as Policy Counsel to the House Majority Leader. Attorney Foreman began her tenure at the Connecticut General Assembly as Sessional Legal Counsel to the Majority Leader of the House. In her roles at the CGA, Ashley has contributed to a diverse range of legislation covering topics such as housing, cannabis, and planning and development. Prior to joining the Connecticut General Assembly, she served as a Public Defender in the Meriden G.A.

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In addition to her role with Crawford, she is a Commissioner on the CT Judicial Selection Commission and an active member of St. Catherine of Siena in West Simsbury. Ashley graduated summa cum laude from Quinnipiac University, earning her B.A. in Criminal Justice. She then pursued her J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Attorney Kaydeen M. Maitland is a corporate associate in the firm's Hartford office. Ms. Maitland focuses her practice on general corporate matters and healthcare law from a business and regulatory perspective.

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Ms. Maitland joined the firm in the spring of 2022 after earning her Juris Doctorate, graduating cum laude, from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Ms. Maitland concentrated in Health Law and received a Health Law Certificate with honors. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Maitland earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, from the University of Connecticut.

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While in law school, Ms. Maitland interned for the Honorable Victor A. Bolden at the United States District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the Honorable Richard F. Braun at the New York Supreme Court, Civil Branch, in New York, New York. Ms. Maitland also interned for the State of Connecticut Department of Health in Hartford, Connecticut, as well as the general counsel’s office at a large Federally Qualified Health Center based in Connecticut. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Maitland worked as a law clerk for Maurice Maitland, LLP and as a registered nurse in a variety of roles.

Attorney Talaiya Buffaloe serves as Staff Counsel for Travelers Insurance at the Law Offices of Cynthia M. Garraty. Talaiya specializes in trial litigation defense for personal injury and property damage cases. She also handles workers compensation subrogation cases by representing employers in an attempt to recover workers compensation benefits paid out on behalf of an injured employee.

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As a New York native, Talaiya graduated Cume Laude from Long Island University at Southampton College, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in psychology. She began her legal career as a paralegal at Anderson, Kill & Olick, P.C. in Manhattan, New York. She also worked as a legal assistant at Cravath Swaine and Moore, LLC before attending law school. She went on to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctorate Degree. During Law School, she served on the executive board of the Black Law Students Association.

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Talaiya is an active member of the National African American Insurance Association and American Bar Association.

Attorney Ashley McWilliams-Davis is in-house legal counsel at the Travelers where she counsels and advises on complex coverage disputes involving directors and officer liability, professional liability, employment liability, cyber, and bond & surety. Ashley also provides litigation assistance for defense of claims involving said policies.

Prior to her role at the Travelers, Ashley was an associate attorney in private law practice. Ashley graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she was an active member of the Connecticut Moot Court Board. She served as President and Skills Development Chair for the Negotiation Dispute Resolution Society (NDRS) and was a member of the Mediation Clinic where, under the supervision of the clinic's attorneys, she mediated live employment discrimination cases brought before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).

Attorney Olaleye A. Onikuyide is a West Hartford native and term clerk for Magistrate Judge Robert Richardson. He received his B.A. in Economics and Politics & Government with a minor in Complexity from the University of Hartford and his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. During law school, Olaleye was in the Housing and Eviction Defense Clinic for two semesters. He also served as the Academic Chair of the Black Law Students Association, Articles Editor of the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal, and a member of the Connecticut Moot Court Board.

Attorney Tamara J. Titre serves as an Assistant General Counsel for the State Board of Labor Relations (the Labor Board), a quasi-judicial board within the State of Connecticut Department of Labor that handles collective bargaining disputes between unions and employers. As Assistant General Counsel Tamara serve as legal advisor to the Labor Board which includes drafting the board’s decisions and defending the board’s decisions before all courts. Prior to that she served as Senior Labor Relations Officer (2020-2022) and as an Assistant City Attorney (2016-2022) for the City of Bridgeport. 

Tamara received her B.A. from the Fairfield University, and her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. Her professional affiliation includes service on the Board of Directors for Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County (where she also serves on the board's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and on the Governance Committee) and membership with the Connecticut Bar Association and the Greater Bridgeport Bar Association.

Tamara serves as a Commissioner for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and is an attorney faculty member of the Judicial Branch Civics Academy.

Attorney Bryce Simmons serves as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Judge Thomas O. Farrish at the U.S. District Court in Hartford. After her term she will be joining the firm of Robinson+Cole as an associate in their Labor and Employment Group.

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 She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. During law school, she served as the President of the Black Law Students Association. She also served as a fellow for the school’s Center on Community Safety, Policing and Inequality.

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 A proud double husky, and Connecticut native, Bryce looks forward to doing her part to enhance and uplift the community of Black attorneys in this state.

Attorney Karrol-Ann Brown will be starting a new position this month as Chief of Staff at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Karrol-Ann began her legal career at the Law Firm of Esposito & Volza in New Haven as an Associate Attorney, where she gained extensive experience in child protection, juvenile justice, criminal law, divorce, custody, and real estate. In 2002, she became an Assistant Attorney General in the Child Protection Section of the Office of the Attorney General, representing the Department of Children and Families for 19 years in child protection and juvenile justice matters across Connecticut. In 2022, she took on the role of Director of the Racial Justice Project at the Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA), the largest children’s rights non-profit in New England, dedicated to enforcing the legal rights of low-income children in Connecticut. Karrol-Ann has served as an adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice from 2011 to 2017.

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Her professional affiliations past and present are extensive and include membership on the Committee on Representation of Children and Families in Juvenile Court, executive board member of the Elm City Youth Board, executive board member of the ACLU Connecticut, and member of the George Crawford Law Association. She has also contributed to the Governor’s Task Force on Justice for Abused Children, and the Human Anti-Trafficking Response Team. Currently, she is involved with the Connecticut Bar Association’s Child Welfare and Juvenile Law and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committees.

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For over 20 years, Karrol-Ann has been an integral part of the Greater New Haven Branch of the NAACP and the CT State Conference of NAACP Branches. She served as Chair of the Legal Redress Committee and as the elected Greater New Haven NAACP Youth Council Advisor. Since 2009, she has co-advised the CT NAACP Youth and College Division. Additionally, she has held the roles of Second Vice President and Co-Chair of the Women in NAACP for the Greater New Haven Branch since 2022. Karrol-Ann is also an active member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. New Haven Metropolitan Chapter (NCBW-NHMC), where she has served in multiple leadership positions including First and Third Vice President.

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Karrol-Ann received her B.A. in General Arts and Sciences and a minor in Legal Studies from Pennsylvania State University and J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law.