Background
Mulligan, William Hughes was born on March 5, 1918 in New York City. Son of Stephen Hughes and Jane (Donahue) Mulligan.
Mulligan, William Hughes was born on March 5, 1918 in New York City. Son of Stephen Hughes and Jane (Donahue) Mulligan.
AB cum laude, Fordham University, 1939. Bachelor of Laws cum laude, Fordham University, 1942. Doctor of Laws, Fordham University, 1975.
Doctor of Laws, St. Peter's College, Jersey City, 1966. Doctor of Laws, Brooklyn Law School, 1972. Doctor of Laws, Iona College, 1972.
Doctor of Laws, Villanova University, 1974. Doctor of Laws, Pace University, 1979. Doctor of Laws, Suffolk University, 1987.
Doctor of Humane Letters, Siena College, 1967.
After serving in the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps during World World War II, Mulligan became a law professor at Fordham in 1946. Mulligan taught at Fordham for 25 years, including as assistant dean from 1954 to 1956 and dean from 1956 to 1971. In 1961, he was named the Wilkinson Professor of Law.
In 1971, President Richard M. Nixon named Mulligan as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, headquartered in New York City.
Mulligan served as a judge for 10 years. He left the bench in 1981, stating that the salary for federal appellate judges was too low to provide for his family.
From 1981 to 1991, Mulligan was a lawyer in private practice at the New York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He retired in 1991 after suffering a stroke and died in 1996.
In addition to his legal career, Mulligan was a successful public speaker delivering acclaimed humorous and serious remarks to a variety of organizations from bar associations to Irish-American civic groups.
A collection of Mulligan"s after-dinner speeches was edited and posthumously published with an introduction by Mulligan"s son, William Hughes Mulligan, Junior., under the title Mulligan"s Law: The Wit and Wisdom of William Hughes Mulligan (Fordham University Press 1997). A summer intramural moot court competition at Fordham Law, for rising second-year students, is named for Mulligan. Students who do well receive invitations to join the Fordham Moot Court Board.
General counsel Republican delegation New York State Constitutional Convention, 1967. Trustee St. Patrick's Cathedral, 1981-1991. Trustee Fordham University, 1982-1988, trustee emeritus, 1989-1996.
Trustee Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New York, 1985-1991. Member New York City Board Ethics, 1986-1987. Served as special agent Counter Intelligence Corps Army of the United States, 1942-1946.
Member Federal Judges Association, American Judicature Society (board directors 1988-1992), Republican Lawyers Association (honorary national chairman 1987-1996), Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (president 1983-1985), Knights of Malta, Merchants Club.
Married Roseanna Connelly, October 20, 1945. Children: Anne O'Boyle Mulligan Hartmere, William Hughes, Stephen Edward.