Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals of the Third Circuit Michael A. Chagares ’87
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals of the Third Circuit Michael A. Chagares ’87, will deliver the keynote address at the 71st commencement ceremony for Seton Hall University School of Law on Wednesday, May 28 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Chief Judge Chagares was the first federal court of appeals judge to graduate from Seton Hall Law, appointed to serve as a Circuit Judge in April 2006. He is a highly respected jurist, known for his dedication to his fairness in the legal system, reasonableness, and courtesy to all. He is a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States and was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference.
Prior to taking the bench, Chief Judge Chagares was a commercial litigation partner in the law firm of Cole Schotz, P.A. He began his legal career clerking for the Honorable Morton I. Greenberg, U.S.C.J., and served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office while being a Hearing Officer at the USAO.
Chief Judge Chagares is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Seton Hall Law School. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the William J. Brennan, Jr. Award from the Association of the Federal Bar, two U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Awards, and the Distinguished Graduate Award and St. Thomas More Medal from Seton Hall University School of Law. He currently serves on the law school’s Board of Visitors.
“As a proud graduate of Seton Hall Law School, it is a great honor to be asked to speak at my alma mater’s commencement,” says Chagares. “Seton Hall Law is where my legal career began and it’s a wonderful school.”
As an active participant in his community, Chief Judge Chagares serves as Chair of the Working Group on Immigrant Representation in New Jersey, which aims to increase representation of low-income immigrants and to improve the quality of immigrant representation. He has served as President of the boards of community organizations such as his town’s public library, West Bergen Mental Healthcare, and the Torpedoes Soccer Club; has served on the board of organizations such as A Future With Hope, The New Jersey Lawyer Newspaper, and the Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey,; and is a former Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Federal Practice and Procedure Section.
Watch Commencement Live on May 28 at 11:00 a.m: https://law.shu.edu/commencement/livestream.html
For more information, please contact:
Seton Hall Law School
