Connecticut Divorce Mediator and Family Law Attorney Paul McConnell is a former Judge, Marine Corps infantry officer, and federal prosecutor with extensive grand jury, trial, and appellate experience. Paul was educated in mediation and jurisprudence by the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada and by the Connecticut Council for Non-adversarial Divorce (CCND). He is a highly skilled mediator, trial lawyer, advocate, and negotiator. He has been the lead counsel or presiding judge in hundreds of matters including over 55 jury trials. Following 18 years of public service, Paul started his own firm in 2014 to focus on one thing: representing individuals with passion and purpose. Presently, Paul limits his practice to divorce and family law while occasionally accepting federal criminal defense matters and/or prospective claims under the Federal Tort Claim Act. He is involved in strategically planning for nearly all cases in his firm and routinely represents clients in Fairfield and Hartford counties.
Throughout his career, Paul has developed a reputation as being a “go-to guy” for challenging, high profile cases. A few representative examples include;
• two U.S. Army Abu Ghraib trials
• a case involving parachute sabotage that formed the factual predicate for the second episode of “NCIS”; a $7.2 million armed robbery; several counter-terrorism matters
• an extortion case involving a billionaire philanthropist
• a high profile civil rights/public corruption case, among many others.
Additionally, Paul’s first assignment as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate included counseling Marines on divorce and custody law. During that assignment, he negotiated hundreds of marital separation agreements. Paul has litigated cases in nine different states and four nations.
Immediately before entering private practice, Paul served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Connecticut where he developed a particular focus and expertise in healthcare fraud, environmental crimes, civil rights, tax fraud, export compliance and national security litigation.
Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Paul served on active duty for 14 years as a United States Marine officer. He held a variety of assignments, including infantry officer, defense counsel, claims attorney, prosecutor, a trial judge, circuit judge, and deputy chief trial judge. Paul served combat tours as a rifle platoon commander during the first Gulf War and as an operations officer in Afghanistan from 2010-2011. In 2008, as a reserve officer, he led a delegation to Baghdad, Iraq to present a two-week ministerial level, anti-corruption program. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (Fourth award), the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal (w/ Combat “V”), and the Combat Action Ribbon. In addition, Paul was awarded the District of Connecticut’s coveted “Standing Tall” award in 2012.
Paul is a member of the American Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association (family and criminal justice sections), and the Judge Advocates Association. Paul is a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve where he presently serves as the senior reserve officer in the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. He has previously held Top Secret clearances. Paul volunteers as the General Counsel for the Marine Raider Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports families of Marine Special Forces members who are catastrophically injured or killed in the line of duty.
Paul was raised in New Canaan, Connecticut and remains a passionate supporter of the New Canaan football program. He presently resides in West Hartford, Connecticut with his wife and two kids where he is active in youth and high school athletics.
