We have not found any cost information for this lawyer
Michael Philip McDermott
About Michael
Biography
Mike is the President at O’Connell and Aronowitz. He handles plaintiff’s personal injury cases and criminal defense at our firm with a special emphasis in representing children who have suffered brain injuries as a result of lead paint poisoning. He has handled or supervised over three dozen homicide prosecutions, trying many of those cases to verdict, and he is a court-appointed special prosecutor in homicide cases in Albany and Rensselaer counties.
While in law school, Mike was an Associate Editor of the Albany Law Review. Upon graduation, he entered the Albany County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney under the Hon. Sol Greenberg. In 1991 he was hired by the Hon. Mary Donohue as Chief Assistant District Attorney of Rensselaer County.
After leaving the Rensselaer County DA’s Office, Mike was a partner in the former Albany law firm of Bouck, Holloway, Kiernan and Casey where he specialized in defending insurance carriers in arson cases. In 2002, he returned to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office as Chief Assistant District Attorney under the Hon. Paul A. Clyne. In 2004, Mike was named New York State Arson Prosecutor of the Year by the New York State Fire Investigators Association.
Mike continued to serve in the Albany County District Attorney’s Office as Chief Assistant under the Hon. P. David Soares until January of 2007, when he became Of Counsel to our firm. Also in 2007, he was appointed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer to the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform. He previously served as a member of the City of Albany Gun Violence Task Force.
Since 2017, Mike has been consecutively named to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list, a distinction earned by less than 5% of the attorneys in the state. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Albany County Bar Foundation and the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Mike previously served on the board of directors of TASC, Inc. a local not-for-profit corporation providing residential drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration for eligible offenders in the Capital District, and he is a past president of the Albany County Bar Association.
In addition to the practice of law, Mike has been an adjunct professor at Siena College and Southern Vermont College. He has lectured on legal issues for the New York State Bar Association, the Albany County Bar Association, the Schenectady County Bar Association, the New York State Prosecutors Training Institute, Albany Law School, and the National Business Institute.
Practice Areas
15
Practice Areas
Fees and Rates
Licenses
Licensed in New York for 36 years
State: New York
Acquired: 1990
No misconduct found
Location
O'Connell & Aronowitz
6 Airport Park Blvd, Latham, NY, 12110
Michael Philip McDermott's Reviews
Avvo Review Score
Not Yet Reviewed
Michael Philip McDermott's Lawyer Endorsements
No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't received any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.
No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't created any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.
Experience
Honors
2026
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2026
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2026
Criminal Defense: General Practice, The Best Lawyers in America®
2026
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2025
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2025
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2025
Criminal Defense: General Practice, The Best Lawyers in America®
2025
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2024
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2024
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2024
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2024
Criminal Defense: General Practice, The Best Lawyers in America®
2023
Criminal Defense: General Practice, The Best Lawyers in America®
2023
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2023
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2023
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2022
Criminal Defense: General Practice, The Best Lawyers in America®
2022
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2022
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2022
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2021
Criminal Defense: General Practice, The Best Lawyers in America®
2021
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2021
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2021
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, The Best Lawyers in America®
2020
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2019
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2018
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2017
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2016
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2015
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2014
Super Lawyer, New York Super Lawyers
2004
Arson Prosecutor of the Year, New York State Fire Investigators Association
Work Experience
2013 - Present
Partner, O'Connell and Aronowitz PC
2009 - 2010
Adjunct Professor, Southern Vermont College
2007 - 2009
Commissioner, New York State Sentencing Reform Commission
2007 - 2013
Of Counsel, O'Connell and Aronowitz PC
2002 - 2007
Chief Prosecutor, Albany County District Attorney's Office
1995 - 2002
Partner, Bouck Holloway Kiernan & Casey, LLP
1991 - 1995
Chief Assistant District Attorney, Rensselaer County District Attorneys Office
Associations
2014 - Present
Saratoga County Bar AssociationMember
2014 - Present
NYSBA Special Committee on Youth CourtsCommittee Member
2010 - Present
American Association for JusticeMember
2010 - Present
Albany County Bar AssociationBoard of Directors
2008 - Present
TASC Albany NYBoard of Directors
2007 - Present
New York State Trial Lawyers AssociationMember
2007 - Present
New York State Defenders AssociationMember
2007 - Present
Capital District Trial Lawyers AssociationMember
1992 - Present
New York State Bar AssociationMember
Sample of Legal Cases
Federal Gambling Case
Not Guilty Verdict
Education
1989
Albany Law School
JD - Juris Doctor
1983
Siena College
BA
Speaking Engagements
2015
SUNY Albany
The Role of the Criminal Defense Attorney
2015
Siena College
The Role of the Criminal Defense Attorney
2015
Continuing Legal Education
Traumatic Brain Injury
2014
SUNY Albany
The Role of the Criminal Defense Attorney
2014
Siena College
The Role of the Criminal Defense Attorney
2014
Continuing Legal Education
Expert Reports and Scientific Evidence
2014
Continuing Legal Education
Applying the Rules of Evidence: What Every Attorney Needs to Know
2014
Continuing Legal Education
Personal Injury 101
2014
Albany County Bar Association
Criminal Law Update
2013
Court of Appeals Roundup
Criminal Law Update
2013
Continuing Legal Education
Plaintiff's Personal Injury - From Start to Finish
2013
Continuing Legal Education
Permissible Trickery or Constitutional Violation
2013
Albany County Bar Association
Criminal Law Update
2013
Albany County Bar Association
Permissible Trickery or Constitutional Violation?
2012
Police Benevolent Association Annual Dinner
Keynote Speaker
2012
New York State Trial Lawyers Association
Premises Liability
2012
Continuing Legal Education
Applying the Rules of Evidence
2011
Lead Litigation Conference
Negotiating a Lead Case
2011
Continuing Legal Education
Interactive Criminal Law
2010
Town Hall Meeting
Criminal Part
2009
Continuing Legal Education
Decisions 2009
2009
Continuing Legal Education
Sharpening Court Room Skills
2008
Statewide High School Mock Trial
Judge
2007
Police Benevolent Association Annual Dinner
Keynote Speaker
2007
Continuing Legal Education
Challenges in Trying a High Profile Media Case
2006
International Homicide Seminar
Keynote Speaker
N/A
Continuing Legal Education
Trial Techniques
Publications
2010
Albany County Bar Association newsletter
Criminal Law Update
2009
Albany County Bar Association newsletter
Criminal Law Update
Languages
English