James I. Glasser
On May 2, 2025, the U. S. District Court for the District of Connecticut convened in ceremonial session to honor U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall for the formal unveiling of her official portrait by artist Daniel Mark Duffy. The ceremony opened with Ray Lopez, a former U.S. probation officer, performing a stirring rendition of “America the Beautiful.” Chief Judge Michael Shea presided, with a distinguished gathering to mark the occasion including many of Judge Hall’s judicial colleagues from the District of Connecticut, as well as seven current or former appellate judges from the Second Circuit, several representatives of the state court judiciary, former Senator Christopher J. Dodd, current Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, many members of the Connecticut bar, and Judge Hall’s family members, friends, and former law clerks. The occasion provided an opportunity to reflect on the judge’s trailblazing career, marked by hard work, collegiality, love of justice, and a commitment to the rule of law over more than a quarter century on the bench.
Early Career
Judge Hall hails from Lowell, Massachusetts. Her family was no stranger to the legal profession, as her father, uncle, and brothers were all lawyers. After graduating magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College in 1970, Judge Hall earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law as a Root-Tilden Scholar – a distinction reserved for students demonstrating exceptional commitment to public service. Following graduation, she practiced law with Hale & Dorr in Boston before entering public service as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1979, she served as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
In 1980, Judge Hall joined the Hartford office of Robinson & Cole. She became the firm’s first female partner in 1982, after just two years at the firm, and handled a range of federal and state litigation matters, trying cases and arguing appeals, including Connecticut National Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249 (1992), which she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and obtained a unanimous decision in her client’s favor. Her colleagues at the firm attest that she worked harder and was uniformly better prepared than anyone involved in her matters.
Early in her career, Judge Hall also assumed leadership roles in professional organizations, serving as chair of the Federal Bar Council and as director of the Connecticut Bar Foundation.
Appointment to the Federal Bench
On June 5, 1997, President William J. Clinton nominated Judge Hall to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, to fill a seat vacated by Judge T.F. Gilroy Daly. Judge Hall was sworn in on October 14, 1997. At the portrait ceremony, former Senator Christopher Dodd, who had recommended her nomination, recalled standing on the Senate floor nearly 30 years earlier. “You were confirmed by a vote of 98 to 1,” he recalled. “Today, you couldn’t get 98 votes for a Mother’s Day resolution, but they did for you and it was a great day.” Dodd, who has kept every letter Judge Hall sent him annually since 1997, praised her for enduring public service that transcends partisanship. He expressed with pride that no other candidate for judgeship had “exceeded the talents and commitment” Judge Hall has “brought to the federal judiciary.”
Representative Rosa DeLauro, who became a close friend, noted Judge Hall’s advocacy for infrastructure and safety within the judiciary, particularly her efforts to secure funding for the Hartford federal courthouse, which since 2021 has received nearly $345 million in federal appropriations. After over 25 years on the bench, Judge Hall continues to serve with distinction. From September 2013 to August 2018, she was chief judge of the District of Connecticut. In that role, she guided administrative operations while maintaining a full caseload. From 2004 to 2011, she served on the Federal-State Jurisdiction Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, including four years as its chair. Since 2021, she has served on the Conference’s Budget Committee, shaping policy and resource allocation for the federal courts. Congresswoman DeLauro especially thanked Judge Hall for her tireless advocacy on behalf of the judicial branch and security for judges and their families.
The Judicial Temperament
Senator Richard Blumenthal described Judge Hall as embodying the qualities the Senate Judiciary Committee seeks in a nominee: expertise, integrity, and fairness. He emphasized her role as the public face of justice for litigants appearing in federal court. “To see every individual as a person equally deserving of justice is one of the great gifts of a district court judge,” and he credited Judge Hall with embodying that judicial virtue.
Judicial colleagues also offered personal reflections on Judge Hall’s leadership and jurisprudence. At Judge Hall’s request, District Judge Alvin Thompson reflected on the importance of the judiciary to the rule of law. He emphasized how Alexander Hamilton described judicial independence in Federalist No. 78 – “that independent spirit of judges which must be essential to the faithful performance” – as rooted in both constitutional structure and public trust, noting that such trust is sustained through the conduct of judges like Judge Hall. “Only if our communities are committed to this sort of understanding will . . . the Rule of Law function as it should,” he underscored.
Judge Stefan Underhill, another long-time colleague and friend, described the role Judge Hall played in fostering a culture of collegiality among judges in the district. “She is the epitome of the collegial judge – open, helpful, considerate, caring,” he said, recounting how her generosity of spirit helped orient him during his first days in the Bridgeport federal courthouse. The two judges learned to seek out one another’s counsel so frequently that, as Judge Underhill put it, they “wore a path in the carpet between [their] chambers.” As he explained, such collegiality carries over to the bench itself, because “a judge who practices open-mindedness with colleagues will exhibit greater open-mindedness toward lawyers and parties.” But the willingness to entertain disparate views “does not sprout automatically and cannot thrive among strangers.” Instead, it thrives through “supportive, respectful peers like Judge Hall,” who have helped set that standard for the court as a whole.
Mentorship and Clerkship
Trish Walsh, the first law clerk Judge Hall hired who now is general counsel for Stripe, Inc., offered remarks on behalf of the judge’s 65 former clerks. Walsh described a chambers environment defined by rigorous legal work and strong personal bonds. “She challenged us to be rigorous in our work and acutely aware of its consequences,” Walsh said. “Her work ethic is legendary and deeply exhausting to those of us who tried to keep the pace.” Walsh also emphasized the personal care Judge Hall showed for her clerks. Recalling a story shared by a former clerk who faced an emergency surgery without family in New Haven, Walsh recounted how Judge Hall had intervened directly to advocate for the clerk’s future ability to have children. After asking the surgeon if he had any daughters and learning he did not, Judge Hall told him: “Well I do. And today, this woman is my daughter, too.’” The surgery was successful, and today that clerk is the mother of two boys, “both of whom owe their very existence to the determination and tenacity of Judge Hall.” Walsh concluded that it is precisely Judge Hall’s humanity – her unity of character inside and outside the courtroom – that defines her as a judge. “She treats every litigant the same, whether they’re a billionaire or in need of court-appointed counsel.”
A Lawyer’s Perspective
Second Circuit Judge Sarah Merriam, who succeeded Judge Hall in her district court seat when the judge took senior status, offered the perspective of a lawyer who had appeared before her. “She will know your case as well as you do. She knows your opponent’s case, too, and she probably knows things neither of you has thought about,” Judge Merriam said. But it was Judge Hall’s emotional and moral attentiveness that stood out most. Judge Merriam described Judge Hall as taking seriously the weight of each sentencing and decision. She recalled a conversation days after a contested sentencing in which Judge Hall continued to reflect on the outcome. “She was still worried about getting it right,” Judge Merriam said, despite the “hundreds of other cases on her docket.”
Closing Reflections
When Judge Hall finally took the podium, she spoke with customary humility and warmth. Regarding the many preceding accolades, she asked with self-effacing candor: “Of whom are they speaking? This is not me.” She thanked her family – her husband David; her three children and four grandchildren; and her siblings and their spouses. She acknowledged the court clerks, deputies, and assistants. “I’ve been blessed in my life with two families,” she said, and both had made her career possible. She acknowledged those who had mentored her and the law clerks who, in her words, “grew me to be a judge.” She thanked artist Daniel Mark Duffy, who painted the portrait unveiled that afternoon, joking that he had followed the “Madeleine Albright rule of portraiture” by depicting her 20 years younger than she is.
As Judge Hall’s portrait takes its place on the walls of her courtroom, it stands as a record not only of a lifetime of service but also of the daily practice of the core judicial virtues: professionalism, collegiality, and dedication to the rule of law.
