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Judge Droney returned to private practice after eight years as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and 14 years as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Before these judicial posts, Judge Droney served as the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, the chief federal law enforcement officer for the state.
In his years on the federal appellate and trial bench, Judge Droney presided over many trials and appeals, and authored opinions on civil and criminal matters, including constitutional issues, intellectual property, (including patents), breach of contract, antitrust, securities litigation, class actions, insurance, employment, criminal law and procedure, and other topics.
While on the Court of Appeals, Judge Droney was a member of the Committee for the Administration of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts of the U.S. Judicial Conference. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Federal Judges Association.
As U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, Judge Droney supervised numerous criminal investigations, including grand jury matters. He was also a member of Attorney General Janet Reno's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, and the chair of the Civil Issues Subcommittee of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee.
Prior to his federal appointments, Judge Droney was a partner in a Hartford law firm, where he was a civil and criminal trial attorney. He has lectured on trial and appellate advocacy at Yale Law School and the University of Connecticut School of Law, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice's National Advocacy Center.