Judge Christopher F. Droney will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at the May 22, 2016, commencement of UConn School of Law, where he will also be the featured speaker.

“We will be tremendously pleased to award the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws to Judge Droney, whose career demonstrates both the spirit and power of a legal education,” said Timothy Fisher, dean of UConn School of Law. “His work as an attorney, a civic leader, a trial judge and now a member of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit sets a wonderful example of the tradition of public service that lies at the heart of our profession and the mission of the University of Connecticut School of Law.”

Judge Droney, a 1979 graduate of the law school, serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before his appointment to the Second Circuit, Judge Droney served 14 years as a United States District Court judge for the District of Connecticut, having also received the Senate’s unanimous confirmation for that appointment, preceded by four years as United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Before entering government service, he worked in private practice as a trial attorney and was a partner in the Hartford law firm of Reid & Riege, P.C. He was elected to the Town Council of West Hartford in 1983, and served as mayor from 1985 to 1989.

Judge Droney was born in Hartford and received a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, from Holy Cross College in 1976. In 1979 he received a Juris Doctor degree from UConn School of Law, where he was notes and comments editor of the Connecticut Law Review.

The university’s Board of Trustees voted Feb. 24, 2016, to award him the honorary degree. Read more about all the university’s 2016 honorary degree recipients.