Kevin James O'Connor (born May 3, 1967) is an American lawyer who serves as vice president, General Counsel & Government Relations for the

Carrier Corporation Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an indep ...

. Previously, he served as an attorney appointed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and was unanimously confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

’s 48th

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

in 2002. From January to April 2006, O'Connor served as an

associate deputy attorney general Associate deputy attorney general is a position in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice. The number of positions varies widely depending on the staffing discretion of the deputy attorney general, ...

. In 2007, O'Connor served as Chief of Staff to

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

Alberto R. Gonzales. In 2008, O'Connor was unanimously confirmed as Associate Attorney General of the United States, the number three position at the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

(DOJ), a post he held until 2009, when he left the DOJ to join the law firm of Bracewell and Giuliani.

Legal Education

O’Connor graduated in 1992 with high honors from the

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. As ...

and with honors from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1989.

Legal career

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 The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

. From 1993 to 1995, O'Connor was a litigation associate at the law firm of

Cahill Gordon & Reindel Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP is an American law firm based in New York City with offices also in Washington, D.C. and London. Founded in 1919, it is prominent in the practice areas of capital markets and banking & finance. History Cahill opene ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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. Prior to his appointment as

, O'Connor was a partner in the law firm of Day, Berry & Howard. While with Day, Berry & Howard, O'Connor also served from 1999 to 2001 as Corporation Counsel for the Town of

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

. In 1998, O'Connor was the Republican nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Connecticut's heavily Democratic 1st district. He was defeated by

John Larson John Barry Larson (born July 22, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for since 1999. The district is based in the state capital, Hartford. A member of the Democratic Party, Larson chaired the Hou ...

58% to 41%. O'Connor served as an adjunct professor at the

through 2015. From 1996 to 1997, O’Connor served as adjunct professor at the National Law Center at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, O'Connor considered a bid for

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

. In 2015, O'Connor was appointed general counsel at

Steven A. Cohen Steven A. Cohen (born June 11, 1956) is an American hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB) since September 14, 2020, owning just over 97% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Ma ...

Point72 Asset Management Point72 Asset Management is an American hedge fund. It was founded in 2014 by Steve Cohen, after his previous company S.A.C. Capital Advisors pled guilty to insider trading charges. In 2018, the company reopened to external investors after a t ...

. In 2016, he was a member of the Donald Trump's transition planning team. His job was to oversee the hiring process within the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. However, he was let go on November 15, 2016. In late November 2019, O'Connor joined

(formerly a division of

United Technologies Corporation United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

) as General Counsel.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Kevin J. University of Connecticut faculty George Washington University faculty University of Connecticut School of Law alumni University of Notre Dame alumni 1967 births Living people United States associate attorneys general United States attorneys for the District of Connecticut People associated with Cahill Gordon & Reindel