Justice Steven D. Ecker was born April 19, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the Midwest. He received his B.A. degree from Yale University, magna cum laude, in 1984, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1987. At law school, Justice Ecker was an editor of the Harvard Law Review from 1985 to 1987, and a member of the winning team in the Ames Moot Court Competition in 1987. Justice Ecker served as a law clerk to Judge Jon O. Newman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1987 to 1988.

Justice Ecker began practicing law with the New Haven firm Jacobs, Grudberg, Belt & Dow, P.C., where he worked from 1988 to 1994. Between 1994 and 2014, he practiced in Hartford with Cowdery, Ecker & Murphy, L.L.C. Justice Ecker’s private practice consisted primarily of civil litigation in trial and appellate courts, both state and federal. His cases covered a broad range of subject areas, including personal injury and business torts, constitutional law, professional ethics and discipline, family law, commercial law, and employment law. Clients included individuals, business entities, municipalities, public officials, and lawyers and law firms.

Justice Ecker was appointed to the Superior Court bench by Governor Dannel P. Malloy in 2014. He was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 3, 2018.