Debra Reale

Debra Reale
Of Counsel

Debra Reale worked with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service for over 30 years.  She joined the office in 1988 as an attorney in the Los Angeles office.   She was promoted to Associate District Counsel in 1995.  As part of Chief Counsel’s 2000 reorganization, Ms. Reale relocated to the East Hartford office to hold essentially the same position but with a different title, Associate Area Counsel for Small Business/Self-Employed Division.  She served in that position until her retirement at the end of 2018.

Ms. Reale managed litigation in Hartford, Connecticut and Albany, New York for the Small Business/Self-Employed Division. She led a group of several attorneys that represented the Commissioner of The Internal Revenue Service in litigation in the United States Tax Court. Her team also provided advisory support regarding collection and bankruptcy issues to the Internal Revenue Service and litigation support to the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney for the Judicial Districts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

In her role as an attorney, she worked on numerous tax litigation and collection matters.   She also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney representing the IRS in Bankruptcy Court in the Central District of California.  During her career, Ms. Reale was recognized with several awards, including a Lucite Award for her work on the Harbor Bancorp & Subsidiaries case.   In June 2014 Ms. Reale was recognized by the United States Attorney of Connecticut with the Civil Division Unit Award for her work on a wide variety of complex tax-related cases and issues.

On a personal level, Ms. Reale considers Colliers, West Virginia home.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio in 1987.  She is a licensed attorney by the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio.  She is also a very proud “Aunt Deb” to four nephews and a niece.  During football season, she roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers.