About Dan

Daniel J. Klau is a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court. He received his J.D., summa cum laude, from Boston University School of Law, and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego. Before entering private practice in 1991, Dan clerked for Chief Justice Ellen Ash Peters of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated Dan to become a judge of the Superior Court in April 2018.  The General Assembly confirmed his nomination on May 3, 2018.

While in private practice, Dan’s practice focused on appellate, First Amendment and freedom of information matters. He was frequently quoted on First Amendment and open government issues, is the author of numerous articles and columns on appellate practice and First Amendment issues, and is a frequent lecturer on these topics. He is the author of The Little Book of Big Appellate Tips (Or How to Write Persuasive Briefs and Excel at Oral Argument), which was published in the fall of 2015.

Since 2003, Dan has also been an adjunct professor at UConn School of Law, where he teaches courses on privacy law and the First Amendment.  Dan has also taught media law to UConn undergraduate journalism students.

Before his appointment to the bench, Dan was the president of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.  He is also a past president (and current board member) of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government. He has received multiple awards for his efforts to promote open government, including the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information’s Outstanding Service Award (2018) and Stephen Collins Award (2007), the Society of Professional Journalist’s Helen M. Loy Freedom of Information Award (2009 and 2015), and the Connecticut Bar Association Pro Bono Award (2007).

When Dan is not on the bench, he can often be found at his piano writing songs about the law. In 2004, Dan released The Billable Hour Blues, a CD of musical parodies about the trials and tribulations of being a lawyer. In September 2015, Dan released his second album of equally ridiculous lawyer songs, The Lawyer Is A Tramp Champ. He has been known to perform his songs for legal audiences, including on Facebook Live.

Dan was born in Hartford and raised in Bloomfield, Connecticut, graduating from Bloomfield High School in 1980. He lives in West Hartford with his wife, Dr. Jennifer Klau. They have three children, none of whom exhibit any desire to become lawyers.