Clerks of the Court (Historical)

John W. McConnell

Clerk of the Court: 2007 - 2009
Born: 1959

John W. McConnell was born in Brooklyn, attended public schools and Regis High School, earned an A.B. (magna cum laude, Social Studies) from Harvard College in 1982, and studied language and history in the Federal Republic of Germany after college on a Fulbright-Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst grant. He received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1986 and an M.A. (Sociology) from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1988.

In August 1988 Mr. McConnell was appointed Assistant to the Senior Deputy Secretary to the Governor of New York (Mario M. Cuomo). In 1990 he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General in the Appeals and Opinions Bureau of the New York State Department of Law, and in January 1996 was appointed Executive Assistant to Presiding Justice Francis T. Murphy of the Appellate Division, First Department. In May 1997 he was named the downstate Deputy Solicitor General of the Appeals Bureau of the New York State Department of Law. Between 1999 and 2007, he worked in private practice as a commercial litigator.

In October 2007, Mr. McConnell was appointed Clerk of the Court of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, by Presiding Justice Jonathan Lippman. He held that post until December 2009, when he departed to serve as Chief Counsel to the Office of Court Administration.

Mr. McConnell is admitted to practice law in various state and federal courts, and has served on various court committees and working groups, including the Character and Fitness Committee and the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the Appellate Division, First Department. He is married and has two sons.

Sources:

• “New Clerk Appointed at First Department,” New York Law Journal, October 18, 2007, p. 1, col. 1
• Press Release of the New York State Unified Court System, John W. McConnell Appointed Clerk of the Court, Appellate Division, First Department, October 17, 2007.

* This biography was written by Zhazil Noel and Leslie Guevara.