Jan. 11, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Just days after the swearing in of Attorney General Michael Mukasey, President Bush Nov. 15 announced several nominations to top Justice Department posts.
In a statement released by the White House, Bush said he would nominate Mark R. Filip, a federal judge in Illinois, to be deputy attorney general, the No. 2 position. He will also nominate Kevin J. O’Connor, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, to be associate attorney general, the No. 3 position.
O’Connor joined the Monogram Club Board of Directors as an advisor for the 2007-08 year. He graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1989. O’Connor earned monograms in each of his four seasons with the Irish (’86-89) and saw action in 41 career games. The defenseman, who was a full-time starter as a junior and senior, served as the Notre Dame team-captain in ’89.
O’Connor was appointed by Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate as Connecticut’s 48th United States Attorney in 2002. From April to November 2007, he also served as Chief of Staff to the United States Attorney General, and from January to April 2007, O’Connor served as Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
Prior to his appointment as United States Attorney, O’Connor was a partner in the law firm of Day, Berry & Howard. While with Day, Berry & Howard, he also served from 1999 to 2001 as Corporation Counsel for the Town of West Hartford, Connecticut.
From 1995 to 1997, O’Connor served as a Staff Attorney and Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement of the United States Securities & Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. From 1993 to 1995, he was a litigation associate at the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York City. From 1992 to 1993, O’Connor served as a law clerk to the Honorable William H. Timbers of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
O’Connor currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. From 1996 to 1997, he served as Adjunct Professor at the National Law Center at George Washington University.
O’Connor graduated with high honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1992.
The nominations came one day after the ceremonial swearing in of Mukasey as attorney general, who has said filling the numerous vacancies at the department will be one of his highest priorities. Mukasey was officially sworn in and assumed the office on Nov. 9.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the Senate “will act purposefully under its constitutional role to evaluate these nominations when we receive them to ensure that these vacancies can be filled, but also that they will be filled with nominees who are committed to restoring the independence and mission of the Justice Department.”
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