SLU Alum O'Malley Named School of Law's Ambassador in Residence

09/26/2019

SLU alumnus Kevin F. O’Malley, J.D. (A&S ’70, Law ’73), former United States ambassador to Ireland, will serve as professor of practice and ambassador in residence in the Saint Louis University School of Law.

O’Malley served as U.S. ambassador to Ireland from 2014 to 2017 and was appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. In his new role with SLU, O’Malley will counsel students and serve as a resource for the School of Law’s Center for International and Comparative Law.

“The incredible combination of practical experience as a longtime litigator and diplomatic experience as our representative in Ireland will make Ambassador O’Malley an excellent resource for our students,” William P. Johnson, J.D., dean and professor, said. “He has already been so generous with his time and we look forward to the insight and thoughtfulness he will provide our community.”

Johnson appointed O'Malley to his new roles in the law school.

In 2016, O’Malley gave the address at SLU’s commencement, emphasizing the need for resilience and need to embrace global interconnectedness and engagement. A year later, O’Malley collaborated with the School of Law and Justice John MacMenamin of the Supreme Court of Ireland to bring the Irish justice to St. Louis for a weeklong visit that included an address at the School of Law and meetings with SLU faculty and students.

He was inducted into the School of Law's Order of the Fleur de Lis Hall of Fame Class in 2019.

As ambassador, O’Malley hosted SLU alumni, students and faculty as they explored Irish legal and cultural institutions.

A longtime litigator, O’Malley began his career in the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Department of Justice where he prosecuted cases involving organized crime and Mafia-related cases across the country. Returning to St. Louis as an assistant U.S. attorney, O’Malley prosecuted white collar criminal cases and taught trial advocacy and white collar criminal law at SLU and at the Washington University School of Law.

O’Malley later entered private practice and specialized in defending physicians and hospitals in medical negligence cases.

He is a fellow of the College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), and a nationally known author on jury instruction in federal cases.

During his tenure as ambassador to Ireland, O’Malley worked to broaden commercial ties between Irish and American entrepreneurs and artists. O’Malley’s “Creative Minds” series inspired the Irish government to create its own version of the program.

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.