Michael J. O'Connor

Albany, New York
Partner

Phone: (518) 465-0400 :: Fax: (518) 465-0015
Email: moconnor@1stlaw.com

Michael is a board certified commercial and consumer bankruptcy specialist (American Bankruptcy Board of Certification). He is admitted to the New York State Bar, as well as the United States District Court for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. His concentration of practice is in the representation of debtors and trustees in bankruptcy liquidations and reorganizations.

Michael is the recipient of the President's Award for Pro Bono services, New York State Bar Association (1989, 1993 and 2007), and the Distinguished Service Award from the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (1989). He is also a member of the Empire Counsel Group of the New York State Bar Association. Michael is also the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Counsel Award from the United State District Court for the Northern District of New York and the Federal Bar Association for providing pro bono services. He has lectured frequently on bankruptcy issues for the New York State Bar Association, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, and other regional and national bar associations.

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 in 1986. He served on the Local Rules Revision Committee for the Northern District of New York (1993, 1998, and 2000) and was Chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Committee for the Northern District of New York (1994). Michael is a contributing editor for the West Bankruptcy Exemption Manual (2003-2008). He is a member, past president, and past director of the Capital Region Bankruptcy Bar Association, as well as a member of the American Bar Association, Consumer Bankruptcy Committee and the New York State Bar Association Bankruptcy Committee. He is a member of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees and Associate Member of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

• Consumer Bankruptcy/Reorganization
  
• Chapter 7 Trustee
  
• Commercial Bankruptcy/Reorganization
  
• Real Property Law

• 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

• 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
  

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

• 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

• 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
  

• 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
  

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

• Chapter 7 Trustee Northern District of New York Appointed 1986