Michael Connolly is Chief Executive Officer, a Shareholder & the Supervising Partner of Special Education at McAndrews Law Offices, where he represents children with special needs and their families in a variety of educational matters at administrative hearings and state and federal court. He assists parents in disputes involving their public school or charter school regarding issues such as eligibility and identification, programming and placement, tuition reimbursement, discipline, bullying, discrimination, injuries, and more.
He also lectures across the state and nationally to parents, educators, and attorneys on special education and other education law related topics. Throughout his legal career, Mr. Connolly has been an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Legal Services for Exceptional Children Committee, where he served as Vice Chair from 2002 through 2003 and as Chair from 2003 through 2006. In his roles as Vice Chair and Chair, he played an active part in helping to shape the Bar Association’s position on legal issues impacting students with disabilities as well as planning one of the Commonwealth’s preeminent legal conferences in the area of special education. Mr. Connolly continues to be an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and its Legal Services for Exceptional Children’s Committee.
Mr. Connolly began his career in education law upon graduation from law school as an associate with a District of Columbia law firm representing parents in special education matters. He later became a partner in a law firm located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania where he spent nearly a decade representing school districts throughout state. Most recently, prior to joining McAndrews Law Offices, Mr. Connolly was a founding partner at another education law firm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where he spent seven year representing parents and students in educational matters.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Connolly has been recognized for his leadership and contributions to the legal profession, including being selected to Super Lawyers® from 2024- present, honored as the “Distinguished Leader” at The Legal Intelligencer’s 2024 Pennsylvania Legal Awards, and named as a finalist for “Best Mentor” at the 2025 awards.