Incoming Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has tapped longtime litigator Margaret Chapple to be the state's next deputy attorney general.

Chapple, who joined the Attorney General's Office in 1985 and has served in various capacities for four different attorneys general, will take over the helm as the office's No. 2 after she is sworn in on Jan. 9. Chapple will succeed Perry Zinn Rowthorn, the current deputy attorney general. Tong made the announcement on Friday.

“Our first priority will be to ensure a smooth transition from the [George] Jepsen administration to the Tong administration,” the 66-year-old Chapple told the Connecticut Law Tribune Wednesday. “Initially, there will be some team building going on. It's important that everyone on the administrative team understand their role and then we need to become oriented to the many things the Attorney General's Office is involved in right now.”

Chapple, who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the office, which has about 200 attorneys, said she will be very involved with the Litigation Management Committee, which reviews significant cases and decides how to proceed with them.

Chapple said “William has a pretty ambitious agenda” and said the Tong administration does plan on continuing most, if not all, of the work and pending litigation that was started during Jepsen's tenure.

“For example, the attorney general [Jepsen] recently brought a lawsuit against Perdue Pharma [for its alleged deceptive marketing of opioids],” Chapple said. “We need to take a look at that. There is no question we will proceed with that. There is also litigation involving the ACA [Affordable Care Act] that we need to continue. The environment also is clearly a priority.” Under Jepsen, the Attorney General's Office filed numerous lawsuits and briefs supporting other lawsuits against numerous environmental policies put forth by the Trump administration.

In addition, Chapple noted, her role will also encompass “defending state agencies in litigation. We will be working with other department heads to make sure we are aware of what is going on at the defense side. We will be discussing various strategies and deciding when to try cases and when to settle cases.”

Chapple's first job in the office was under then-Attorney General Joe Lieberman in the mid-1980s. Chapple was with the office's Public Safety Department, where she represented the Connecticut Department of Correction and Department of Public Safety in civil rights and employment litigation issues. Since that time, the  Waterbury native and Granby resident has also served as head of the Employment Rights Department and as associate attorney general, among other roles.

Most recently, Chapple has spent the past three years working part time for the office overseeing the implementation of the class action settlement in the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition's suit against former Gov. John Rowland. That case revolves around about 2,400 class members who were entitled to recover economic damages as a result of Rowland's layoffs and demotions.

“SEBAC v. Rowland is a very complicated process, and I have been implementing the damages part since 2015,” Chapple said. “We are pretty close to finishing up on the matter.”

While Chapple knew Jepsen for a period of time and called his style “very low-key and practical,” she hasn't known Tong for long. “I knew of him because of his role on the judiciary,” she said. “I saw him chair some meetings and he's very intelligent and a people's person.” Tong was previously co-chairman of the House Judiciary in the state Legislature.

Chapple and her husband Wayne have four children and seven grandchildren. Chapple graduated law school in 1985 from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

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