John D. Feerick
Norris Professor of Law at Fordham University Law School and former Dean of the law school, John D. Feerick has devoted his life to four things: his family, the law, Fordham, and bringing an end to violence in Northern Ireland.
One of five children and the son of immigrants from County Mayo, John was born in the Bronx and grew up not far from Yankee Stadium. He attended local schools before going to Bishop Dubois High School in New York City and heading to Fordham University where he received both his undergraduate and law degrees.
In 1961 John joined the firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom as a labor and employment attorney, becoming a partner in 1968. In 1976, he returned to his alma mater as an adjunct professor, becoming a full-time professor in 1982. That same year he was named Dean of Fordham Law School, a position he held until 2002.
John is an expert on conflict resolution, labor and employment law, legal ethics and responsibility, and constitutional law including having primary responsibility for the composition of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution which allows for the Vice President to become president in the event of death, resignation, removal from office, or impairment that prevents the current president from fulfilling his or her duties.
John has served in multiple publicly appointed positions throughout his career, the most notable is being appointed Chair of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity, and the chair of the Ethics Committee of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association where he also served as President and is still an honorary board member.
His many awards include being an Irish America Top 100, the American Irish Historical Society Gold Medal, the Law and Society Award from the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, the Citizen Achievement Award from the New York State League of Women Voters, the New York State Bar Association Gold Medal. In 2022 John was awarded the Spirit of Kylemore for his generosity to the Benedictine Abbey in Connemara, Co. Galway.
John is the Director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice and Dispute Resolution at Fordham Law School where he continues to teach.