About Dean
Dean Hanafin began his legal path at Sacred Heart University where he earned a bachelor of science. He continued to Roger Williams University School of Law and left with a J.D. He arrived in practice with courtroom experience already on his résumé, a product of clinical work and trial preparation during law school.
Early in his legal training he served as a certified legal intern in the Office of the State's Lawyer in 2012 and then worked as a student lawyer in the Roger Williams University School of Law Criminal Defense Clinic in 2013. Those roles placed him inside criminal defense files and helped him learn file management, client interviewing and courtroom procedures firsthand.
After graduation he moved into public service. In 2014 he served as a Special Deputy Assistant State's Lawyer at the Division of Criminal Justice. That position exposed him to prosecutorial practice, evidentiary hearings and motion work. The experience provided a view of the criminal justice process from the other side of the aisle.
Hanafin later shifted to private practice. He worked as a lawyer at Fazzano & Tomasiewicz in 2016 and joined Aeton Law Partners LLP as a lawyer in 2017. Those roles expanded his trial and litigation work and involved handling motions, discovery disputes and client counseling in contested matters.
He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. He maintains memberships in the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and the State Bar of Connecticut. Those affiliations reflect regular engagement with the state’s trial bar and the criminal defense community.
Colleagues describe him as pragmatic in court and direct with clients. He tries to build files methodically and to keep clients informed about realistic outcomes. His background includes both prosecutorial and defense perspectives, which he uses when preparing cross-examination strategies, suppression motions and plea negotiations.
Hanafin’s practice centers on criminal defense and trial litigation. He works on cases in state court and in federal district court, handling hearings, pretrial motion practice and bench and jury trials. He currently focuses his practice on criminal defense and trial litigation in Connecticut and in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
