Laura Howard named General Counsel of Department of Public Safety

RALEIGH - Department of Public Safety Secretary Eddie M. Buffaloe Jr. has named Laura Howard as DPS general counsel. Howard will begin her new position on Jan. 24. As general counsel, she will lead the DPS legal team.

“Laura’s experience with the U.S. Department of Justice and in civil ligation will be a great benefit to our department,” said Buffaloe. “I look forward to the energy and vision she will bring to DPS senior leadership.”

Howard comes to DPS from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina where she served as an assistant U.S. attorney since June 2015. She was a senior civil litigation associate with the law firm of Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C, from 2009-15 and a law clerk for Judge David Alan Ezra of the U.S. District Court in Hawaii.

She earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“I am thankful to Secretary Buffaloe for this opportunity,” Howard said. “The department has a strong legal team in place, and I look forward to working with them.”