MICHAEL J. O'CONNOR (AV Rated)
Michael J. O'Connor is a 1973 graduate of Siena College, a 1976 graduate from Western New England College where he earned his J.D., and a 1978 graduate of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland, with a Masters in Business Administration.

Michael is a Board Certified Commercial and Consumer Bankruptcy Specialist (American Bankruptcy Board of Certification). He was admitted to the New York State and federal bars in 1978 and is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Michael is the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award (1976), the Distinguished Service Award from the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (1989), and the President's Award for Pro Bono Services, New York State Bar Association (1989 and 1993). He has frequently lectured on bankruptcy issues for the New York State Bar Association, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustee's Conventions, the New York State Credit Union League and the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute in Atlanta, GA (2003). 

Michael is a Chapter 7 Trustee and was appointed to the Chapter 7 Trustee Panel for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York (1986), the Northern District of New York Local Rules Revision Committee (1993, 1998, 2000), and was chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Committee for the Northern District of New York (1994).

Michael is a contributing editor (N.Y.S. exemptions) of West's Bankruptcy Exemption Manual (2003). 

Areas of Practice

• 60% Consumer Bankruptcy/Reorganization
• 30% Chapter 7 Trustee
• 10% Commercial Bankruptcy/Reorganization
• Real Property Law

Certification/Specialties

• Consumer Bankruptcy, American Bankruptcy Board of Certification, 1992
• Commercial Bankruptcy, American Bankruptcy Board of Certification, 1992

Bar Admissions

• New York, 1978
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1982
• U.S. Tax Court, 1980
• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York, 1978
• U.S. Court of International Trade, 1980
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1998

Education

• Western New England College School of Law, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1976
  J.D.
  Honors: American Jurisprudence Award
  
  
• University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 1978
  M.B.A.
  
  
• Siena College, Loudonville, NY, USA, 1973
  B.B.A.
  Minor: Accounting & Finance
  
  

Representative Cases

• GMAC v. Valenti, 105 F.3d 55 (2nd Circ. 1997)

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Speaker, Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute, Atlanta Georgia, 2003 - Present
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Seminars, New York State Bar Association, 1982 - Present
• Speaker, Annual Conference, Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, 1988 - Present
• Speaker, Annual Conference, New York State Credit Union Association, 1987 - 1992
• Adjunct Faculty, Business Law, College of St. Rose, 1978 - 1991
• Speaker, Capital Region Bankruptcy Bar Association Annual Seminars
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Issues, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustee's Conventions
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Issues, New York Credit Union League
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Issues, Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute. Atlanta, GA, 2003

Honors and Awards

• President's Award, New York State Bar Association-Pro Bono Services, 1989 and 1993
• Best Lawyers in America, 1996 - 2002
• Distinguished Service Award-Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, 1989
• Rensselaer County Bar Association Pro Bono Award, 1988
• American Jurisprudence Award, 1976

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Captial Region Bankruptcy Bar Association, 1991 - Present
  
  
• Captial Region Bankruptcy Bar Association, 1996 - 1997
  President
  
  
• Captial Region Bankruptcy Bar Association, 1992 - 1996
  Director
  
  
• American Bar Association, Consumer Bankruptcy Committee, 1985 - Present
  Member
  
  
• New York State Bar Association, Bankruptcy Committee, 1992 - Present
  Member
  
  
• Northern District of New York, Bankruptcy - Merit Selection Committee, 1995
  Chairman
  
  
• National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys
  
  
• National Association of Chapter 7 Trustees
  
  
• National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees
  
  
• AARP Attorney Reference Program
  
  
• United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of New York
  Appointed Panel Trustee
  
  
• Northern District of New York Local Rules Revision Committee
  Member 1993, 1998, 2000
  
  
• Northern District of New York, 1994
  Chairman, Judicial Merit Selection Committee
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Lee & Leforestier, Partner, 1978 - 1991
• Carter, Conboy, Case & Blackmore, Of Counsel, 1991 - 1993

Ancillary Businesses

• Chapter 7 Trustee Northern District of New York Appointed 1986