States Attorney.

Clare E. Connors

States Attorney.
Clare E. Connors – State's Attorney for the District of Hawaii

District of Hawaii

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii welcomes the newly appointed Chief of Federal Law Enforcement Official, Clare E. Connors. United States Attorney Connors is a presidential nominee recommended by President Joseph R. Biden on September 28, 2021. Her nomination was subsequently confirmed by the United States Senate on December 7, 2021. U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors took the oath of office on January 3, 2022, administered by Chief United States District Judge J. Michael Seabright. United States Attorney Clare E. Connors is taking over the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, succeeding former Acting United States Attorney Judith A. Philips, who was appointed into the position following the resignation of former U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price.

Educational Background, Bar Associations, Bar and Court Admissions

A graduate of the Yale College, U.S. Attorney Clare Connors earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996. She then attended Harvard Law School in 1999, receiving her Juris Doctorate in 2002. During her academic years in law school, U.S. Attorney Connors received several honors, including earning the Peter Brooks Salton stall ’43 Memorial Scholarship at the Harvard University, which she was consistently awarded from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, she became an Irving R. Kaufman Fellow at Harvard Law School. The same year, U.S. Attorney Connors earned the Heyman Fellowship Award for Government Service.

Education

Bar Admissions

Court Admissions

Bar Associations

Early Professional Career

After graduating from Yale College, Top Federal Prosecutor Clare Connors pursued being an Operations Coordinator at the City of New York, Parks & Recreation. Before attending law school, she remained in this capacity for three years, from August 1996 to May 1999. During the summer of 2001, U.S. Attorney Connors served as a Summer Associate at the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. At the same time, she managed to be a Student Attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau from August 2000 to June 2002. Reflecting on her academic and early professional career demonstrates how Top Federal Prosecutor Connors was able to exceptionally handle and manage to be a law student at the Harvard Law School while working on the launch of her legal career.

Clerkship and Service in the United States Department of Justice

Initializing her legal career in 2002, United States Attorney Connors became a part of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii as a Law Clerk to the Honorable David Alan Ezra. Attorney Connors’ service in this position spanned a year, from October of 2002 to 2003. She then moved to the United States Department of Justice, becoming a Trial Attorney at the Western Criminal Enforcement Section of the Tax Division through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. During this time, U.S. Attorney Connors was involved in investigating and prosecuting crimes related to accounting firms, businesses, and tax definers, which often spanned multiple states. Before her appointment in the Department of Justice as Trial Attorney, Top Federal Prosecutor Connors was previously a part of the office’s Appellate Division, working as a Summer Intern from July 2001 to August 2001. Due to her recent appointment in the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Clare Connors received an opportunity to be detailed at the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. From October 2003 to 2004, Top Federal Prosecutor Connors served in the office as a Special Assistant United States Attorney working on the investigation and prosecution of cases such as felonies, including fraud and immigration cases. In addition, she primarily worked on misdemeanor cases involving driving offenses that are tried before a magistrate judge. In this capacity, U.S. Attorney Connors participated in grand jury motions, as well as briefed and argued suppression motions, made crucial preparations of cases for trials, tried cases before a jury, and provided recommendations at sentence hearings.

Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii

Following her short stint in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Top Federal Prosecutor Clare Connors returned to her hometown and became a part of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii. U.S. Attorney Connors was once a part of the team in the office, working as a Summer Law Clerk in the year 2000. Upon returning to Hawaii at the end of 2004, she was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney, wherein U.S. Attorney Connors was able to continue investigating and prosecuting tax crimes. In addition, she has extended her area of prosecution and began handling violent crimes. Top Federal Prosecutor Clare Connors worked on matters involving assault, bank robberies, child exploitation, drug-related cases, felony possession of weapons, fraud, Hobbs Act case, identity theft, and money laundering, amongst other criminal cases. For the duration of her service in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii, Top Federal Prosecutor Connors managed an array of cases, including the extradition of defendants and the retrieval of assets from other countries. On top of this, U.S. Attorney Connors took charge of several cases unique to Hawaii, such as the prosecution involving the trafficking of repatriated Native Hawaiian cultural items. For approximately seven years, from December 2004 to March 2011, U.S. Attorney Clare Connors served in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, frequently appearing before the grand jury and consistently participating in joint community education and enforcement efforts between local and federal authorities.

Private Practice

In 2011, U.S. Attorney Connors left the United States Attorney’s Office in Honolulu, shifted her legal career from government service to private practice, and became a Partner at the Kala Capital LLC. She briefly served in a non-litigation capacity in this law firm from March to October 2011 before joining Davis Levin Livingston as an Attorney. From October 2011 to January 2019, U.S. Attorney Connors worked on representing individuals and business entities in an array of civil matters, with emphasis on litigation involving medical malpractices, tort actions, unfair business practices, and wrongful death actions. Throughout her service in Davis, Levin Livingston, U.S. Attorney Connors, was assigned to investigate cases, conduct discovery, file complaints, and litigate appeals, motions, and trial matters.

Office of the Attorney General for the State of Hawaii

Returning to government service, Top Federal Prosecutor Clare Connors became the government’s main legal advisor for the Hawaii district. She was appointed to become the State of Hawaii’s Attorney General, overseeing a department of approximately 200 deputy attorney generals and 400 support personnel. In this role, U.S. Attorney Connors was the state’s chief legal and law enforcement officer, leading 17 legal divisions within the Department of the Attorney General. As such, Top Federal Prosecutor Connors was responsible for participating in criminal prosecutions and civil litigations, representing the United States in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Among her other duties in this capacity include handling proceedings and providing advice and counsel to the Governor and the Executive Departments of the State, as well as to both chambers of the Legislature. In several instances, U.S. Attorney Connors also represented members of the judiciary in legal matters. Throughout her service as an Attorney General, U.S. Attorney Connors personally reviewed briefs that are being submitted in all courts, particularly those involving high-profile and complex cases. In addition, she has argued on behalf of the State of Hawaii in federal court and before the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

Professional Honors and Awards

A woman of excellent government service, U.S. Attorney Connors has received numerous Commendations from various federal and state agencies with whom she has had the opportunity to collaborate. In 2010, she received a commendation from two different agencies: the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Department of Interior Office of Inspector General. In both 2005 and 2011, U.S. Attorney Connors has commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Treasury.

10 most significant litigated matters handled by Attorney Clare Connors

  1. Pacific Radiation Oncology et al. v. Queen’s Medical Center et al. (2012-2017)
  2. Robert M. Curley, et al. v. Zimmerman (2011-2014)
  3. United States v. Paik and Duarte (2009-2012)
  4. United States v. Mendoza et al. (2008-2013)
  5. United States v. Acuna, Valenzuela, Olguin et al. (2007-2008)
  6. United States v. Bennett (2006-2009)
  7. United States v. Jose, Matsunaga, Kupahu (2006-2007)
  8. United States v. Troiano et al. (2005-2007)
  9. United States v. Hudson, Jr. (2005-2005)
  10. United States v. Hardy et al. (2004-2007)

Further details regarding the above litigation matters may be found in the public questionnaire accessible here.

Office Jurisdiction

Now serving as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors leads the office as they collaborate to serve and protect the District of Hawaii, which also includes several areas in the Pacific outside the State of Hawaii. She is joined in this endeavor by a staff of approximately 28 Assistant United States Attorneys and 29 support personnel. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii seeks justice and defends its residents via prosecuting all federal crimes that fall within the district’s jurisdiction, specifically those related to child exploitation, drug trafficking, firearms, national security, and public corruption, and violent crime. Additionally, the office initiates affirmative civil actions, defends the United States in all civil cases, and collects debts owed to the United States.

Contact Details of State’s Attorney Clare Connors

Full Name: Clare Elizabeth Connors
District/State: Hawaii
Public email ID: clare.connors@usdoj.gov

United States Attorney’s Office
300 Ala Moana Blvd., #6-100
Honolulu, HI 96850

(808) 541-2850
Main

(808) 541-1830
TTD

1 (888) 310-9018
Victim Witness Assistance

Social Media Profiles of Clare Connors

LinkedIn

Username: Clare Connors
URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-connors-29a1a5146/

Facebook

Username: N/A
URL: N/A

YouTube

Username: N/A
URL: N/A

Twitter

Username: U.S. Attorney Hawaii
Tag: @USAO_HI
URL: https://twitter.com/USAO_HI

 

Updated: July 2, 2022

Exit mobile version