Santa Clara Law alumnus Douglas Moylan ‘91, Guam’s first elected attorney general, has been sworn in for a second term as Attorney General of Guam.
Moylan graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1991. After graduating, Moylan served as a law clerk to Presiding Judge Alberto C. Lamorena III, Superior Court of Guam (1991) and as the Staff Attorney for the Superior Court of Guam (1991-1993). He later worked as a Small Claims Court Referee, Superior Court of Guam (1995-1997, 2002) and delved into private practice in the Law Offices of Robert J. Torres, P.C. (1993-1996) and in Moylan & Vandeveld (2001-2002). Moylan has also had ample experience in the public sector, having served as Legislative Counsel to the 24th, 25th, and 26th Guam Legislatures. He also had the distinction of serving as a member of the Guam Election Commission Board (1996-2000).
In 2003, Moylan became the first-ever elected attorney general of Guam since the territory began appointing an attorney general in 1971. He commented that “unlike many other states, our A.G. is the Chief Legal Officer of the Government of Guam, and is both the public prosecutor and handles all civil legal representation. We are the largest law firm on Guam.”
On January 2, 2023, Moylan took the oath of office as Guam’s attorney general for the second time, having run a tough-on-crime platform. In the first nine months of his second term, Moylan has doubled the number of prosecutors, setting them to work on shoring up Guam’s prosecution and government corruption divisions. He has also prioritized morale at the office to rebuild a unified sense of purpose among staff.
“Guam is suffering from a lack of attorneys to provide legal services to the public and private sectors,” Moylan comments on his ongoing work. “Our Supreme Court of Guam […] increased the temporary license to practice law for the government from 5 years to 8 years before an off-Guam licensed attorney would need to pass the Guam bar examination.”
Moylan aims to continue recruiting attorneys from off-island—including Santa Clara Law graduates—to further his current work as attorney general in deterring crime.
