McHugh received an Artium Baccalaureus degree, summa cum laude, in 1976 from St. Joseph's University.

He received a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1979 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

In 1979, he served as a law clerk to Judge Edmund B. Spaeth of the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

From 1981 to 2004, he was a shareholder at the civil litigation law firm of Litvin, Blumberg, Matusow and Young.

[3] On Thursday March 13, 2014 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination.