Hartford, CT (January 21, 2009) – Effective February 2, 2009, Kevin J. O’Connor will join Bracewell & Giuliani LLP’s Hartford, Connecticut office as a litigation partner. Until January 20, 2009, Mr. O’Connor served as the U.S. Associate Attorney General (the third-ranking position in the Department of Justice). He has extensive experience in both the federal government and in private practice.

Initially Mr. O’Connor will focus on multi-jurisdictional commercial litigation matters (including those related to corporate restructuring) for Fortune 500 companies and private investment funds. He also will play a significant role in white collar matters handled by the firm’s New York, Washington, D.C., and Texas offices. Mr. O’Connor comes to Bracewell with a high-profile and strong national and statewide reputation, built through his prior service as a United States Attorney, municipal government official, Congressional candidate, and corporate lawyer.

"Kevin’s professional stature, his prior experience in private practice, his extensive contacts in the business community, his experience with the SEC Enforcement Division, and his extensive network of former Justice Department and U.S. Attorney colleagues throughout the country, all combine to make him a superbly qualified addition to our firm’s litigation practice," states Mark C. Evans, managing partner, Bracewell & Giuliani. "He will be a tremendous resource to our market-leading financial restructuring and fund formation groups, and the long-term respect that Kevin has built at the Department of Justice will be of immense value as he plays a key role in our national White Collar Criminal Defense and Special Investigations Group."

"We look forward to the addition of Kevin O’Connor to our team," says name partner Rudolph W. Giuliani. "His dedication to public service and his extraordinary accomplishments over the course of his career will enhance the depth and capabilities of our firm and benefit our clients. Having served as the Associate Attorney General under Ronald Reagan, I am well aware of the challenges Kevin has faced in the same position, and I am extremely pleased that he brings that experience with him to Bracewell."

"With his extensive regulatory and prosecutorial experience, and in-depth corporate and capital markets knowledge, Kevin will be invaluable in helping our firm’s client’s deal with the challenges and the opportunities in today’s financial markets," adds Evan D. Flaschen, partner in Bracewell & Giuliani’s Hartford office and head of the firm’s Financial Restructuring Group. "His litigation, regulation and transactional insight complement and enhance our strong restructuring practice. With Kevin’s help, our clients will be even better prepared to handle litigation and assess legal risks related to financial markets, and deal with the new regulatory environment under the Obama Administration." 

"Adding Kevin to the team is a giant step forward for our White Collar practice," said Marc Mukasey, head of the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Special Investigations Group. " Kevin gives us yet another lawyer who honed his skills at the highest levels of public service and he will be able to use that experience to effectively serve our clients both in Connecticut and nationwide."

Mr. O’Connor has nearly a decade of legal experience with the federal government. With the U.S. Department of Justice beginning in 2002, he served over five years as United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. In this position as the state’s chief federal law enforcement officer, he was responsible for prosecuting all federal criminal violations and civil matters. Beginning in 2007, Mr. O’Connor, progressively held positions as Associate Deputy Attorney General, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, and Associate Attorney General in Washington, D.C. As Associate Attorney General, Mr. O’Connor exercised oversight of the Antitrust, Tax, Environment, and Civil Divisions, among others. Earlier in his career, Mr. O’Connor was senior counsel with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.

A 1992 graduate with high honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Mr. O’Connor has substantial personal and professional ties in Connecticut. Between 1992 and 2002, he served as a law clerk to a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and practiced in corporate litigation at the Connecticut offices of two noted law firms. He also served as corporation counsel for the Town of West Hartford.

"This is a tremendous chance for me to work with Bracewell’s team of skilled litigators, both in Connecticut and elsewhere," says Mr. O’Connor. "Working with such colleagues, in the collaborative environment of a firm that has global reach and resources, is the ideal situation for my return to private practice. Bracewell’s Hartford team, including Evan Flaschen, Financial Restructuring leader, John Brunjes, head of the Fund Formation Practice, and teaming with white collar criminal defense lawyers throughout the firm, provide unsurpassed depth of experience to the clients we will serve."