Gerald Anthony Connell

Gerald A. Connell, who served as the lead attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in the landmark AT&T divestiture case, has died at the age of 90. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his entire family on October 28.

Born in Stamford, CT, on August 29, 1934, Gerald Connell was the middle child of Edward Anthony and Elizabeth Collins Connell. He attended Fairfield College Preparatory School in Fairfield, CT, and received his undergraduate education at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA as part of the Navy ROTC program. After graduating in 1956, Gerald Connell was commissioned into the Navy as an Ensign. While in the Navy, he served in Kodiak, AK, and then the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy as a LtJG, he attended Fordham Law School.

After graduating law school in 1961, Gerald Connell married his first and only love, Anna May Kelly, and began a 25-year-long career as a government lawyer with the Department of Justice, ultimately being named Chief of the Litigation Branch of the Antitrust Division. In this role, he was the lead lawyer pursuing the antitrust litigation brought by the Justice Department against AT&T and the Bell System. Under Gerald Connell's leadership, the government and AT&T ultimately reached a settlement characterized as "The Deal of the Century" by Steve Coll in the book of the same name. The divestiture of the "Baby Bells" and Bell Labs by AT&T followed, resulting in a fundamental transformation of the telecommunications industry in the US. After the conclusion of the AT&T case, Gerald Connell joined Baker & Hostetler as a partner in the firm's antitrust practice, where he represented domestic and international corporations, including Coca Cola and Hearst Corporation, for two decades.

Gerald Connell was an avid tennis player and skier, and for more than two decades he and his wife skied each year at slopes in Vermont, Colorado, Utah, and Austria with a small group of friends who dubbed themselves "The Mount Vernon Mogul Mashers." As the son of Irish parents, including a mother who emigrated from Ireland, he was a fiercely patriotic Irishman, whose annual St. Patrick's Day parties, first at the Department of Justice and then at Baker & Hostetler, were legendary in the antitrust law community and among his group of friends. He was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox.

His love of the English language and a good turn of phrase not only contributed to his career as a litigator but to his unfailing morning routine later in life, where he would complete in one sitting the New York Times crossword puzzle, Wordle, and a host of other challenging online games involving words and language. His story telling - both from his Irish descent and his experience as a litigator - was renowned.

A loving husband, father, and grandfather, one of his great pleasures was spending time with his extended family of 16 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina each summer. He would proudly fly an Irish flag emblazoned with the Red Sox logo from the dune stairs to mark the house.

Gerald Anthony Connell is survived by his wife and loving partner of 63 years, Anna Kelly Connell; his four children, Maura Connell Brandt (David), Daniel Connell (Caren), Kevin Connell (Lisa), and Timothy Connell (Anne); and his six grandchildren, Madison Brandt, Quinn Connell, Emma Connell, Haley Brandt, Mason Connell, and Grace Connell. He is predeceased by his sister Maureen Quick and his brother Edward (Brian) Connell.

A viewing for family and friends will be held from 10:00 to noon on November 15 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 8710 Mount Vernon Highway, Alexandria, Virginia, 22309, followed by a memorial service at noon.