He did undergraduate studies at San Diego State University. Studied law at the Universidad Tecnológica de Mexico in Mexico City. Mr. Connell is a licensed Mexican attorney authorized to work in all 32 states. During and after his law studies, Mr. Connell worked for three years, first as a legal clerk and then as an attorney in the Mexico City law firm of Martínez del Campo del Rio, where he specialized principally in the areas of corporate law and real estate law. Mr. Connell had the honor and experience of working directly on several cases with one of the partners of these firms, Dr. Carlos del Rio, ex-Chief Justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court.
Mr. Connell has held positions on many different types of boards ranging from Corporate Boards of Directors, Non-Profit and Charitable organization, Home Owners Associates and Committees. He has also worked with local and state governments advising on foreign investment and development. He has considerable experience working with development, agrarian and ejido matters, investment, corporate, and commercial law matters, and lobbying for American companies in Mexico.
In 1996 he was offered the opportunity to become an associate of Dennis Peyton and open the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo branch of the firm. The Zihuatanejo office was opened in November of 1996. Mr. Connell and Mr. Peyton would later form the firm of Peyton and Connell and open a Mexico City branch of the firm to add to the existing branches located in San Diego, Tijuana, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, with associate offices in Guadalajara and Cabo San Lucas. In late 1999 Mr. Connell was asked to launch and manage the Puerto Vallarta office of Peyton and Connell as well as to maintain direct management of the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo office and share in the administration and management of the Mexico City office. The Puerto Vallarta office of Peyton and Connell was opened in January of 2000. In 2003 Mr. Connell and Mr. Peyton agreed to separate and Connell & Associates now has offices located in Mexico City, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Puerto Vallarta.