Joseph J. Connolly

1941 - 2015
Joseph J. Connolly, a widely admired and highly respected Philadelphia attorney, died on Friday at the age of 73. Mr. Connolly was a partner at Stevens & Lee, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate finance. He also served as general counsel to the companies of the PFM Group.

The son of a seven-term United States congressman, Mr. Connolly was a scholar as well as a gifted athlete who graduated from the William Penn Charter School at 16. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in just three years. He was on the 1962 Varsity heavyweight rowing team coached by Joe Burke, and traveled to Great Britain to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta, commonly considered the most prestigious event of its kind in the world. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and from its Law School in 1965, serving as Associate Editor of the Law Review.

Following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Mr. Connolly moved to Washington DC, where he became a staff counsel for President Lyndon Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, the first and unprecedented effort to define and coordinate the federal government's role in the fight against crime. He was responsible for the authorship of two full chapters of the Commission's final report, The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. While in the nation's capital, Mr. Connolly also worked as an assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and as an Assistant Solicitor General, in which capacity he successfully argued six cases before the United States Supreme Court. During the Watergate affair, he served as an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. He returned to Philadelphia where he joined with a number of his Penn Law School classmates to establish their own firm.

During the course of his professional career, he taught in numerous professional education programs, including serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Georgetown Law Center. Mr. Connolly was the principal editor for the Manual on Acquisition Review, as published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. He was a member of the Mayor's Advisory Council on the Arts in Philadelphia.

Joseph Connolly is survived by his wife Patricia Quinn Connolly, sons Edward (Sara) and Joseph (Holly), grandchildren Charlie, Jack and Lucy and by his first wife, Joy Price Barrows. He was predeceased by his parents, James J. Connolly and Beatrice Dash Connolly, and by a son James.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, May 28, at 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, 1723 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Justice for Vets, 1029 North Royal Street, Suite 201, Alexandria, VA 22314, or to the William Penn Charter School Rowing Program, attn.: Jack Rogers, 3000 West School House Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19144.