By ALLISSA KLINE
Business First

The top prosecutor in Western New York is returning to private practice.

Terrance Flynn, 45, will step down Jan. 16 as U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York to become a partner at Harris Beach PLLC, a 190-attorney statewide law firm that originated in the Rochester area. Flynn was appointed to the post, a four-year term, in March 2006 by President George Bush.

Resigning from the federal job opens the door for President-elect Barack Obama to appoint whomever he chooses for the position, Flynn said.

"Serving as a U.S. attorney is a presidential appointment, and you serve at the pleasure of the president," he said. "We wanted (Obama) to be in the process to select a new U.S. attorney for Western New York, and the best way to do that is to proceed on and let him start his process. That's his right, and I think it's important to give him that right on the day he starts."

It could not be immediately determined who may succeed Flynn as U.S. attorney for the district, which covers the 17 westernmost counties in New York state.

Harris Beach CEO James Spitz Jr. said Flynn will work out of the firm's Buffalo office, which employs 24 lawyers. The new hire will help the firm expand some key areas of its practice, Spitz said.

"What we are looking to do in our litigation capacity and the government compliance area is to build statewide capabilities throughout all of our offices," Spitz said. "(Flynn) certainly brings that with him."

As a federal prosecutor, Flynn managed 130 personnel and oversaw about 4,200 trials dealing with wide-ranging issues such as counter-terrorism efforts, border enforcement, white-collar fraud, health-care and government-contracting fraud and affirmative civil enforcement. He was a member of several committees, including those dealing with the international border and child exploitation.

His major accomplishments? Recovering $124 million in three years through civil and criminal fraud enforcement, focusing on border-related matters such as money laundering and becoming a leading prosecutor of sexual predators, he said.

Before assuming the federal job, Flynn spent 17 years as a trial lawyer. He left Gibson McAskill & Crosby LLP when he was nominated by Bush to succeed Michael Battle, who took a job with the Justice Department in Washington.

Flynn anticipates working directly with clients in his new role at Harris Beach, which begins Feb. 9.

"I love the enjoyment of being with somebody and sharing their most private concerns and working with them," he said of representing clients in private practice. "It's a great honor when somebody comes to you ... and they need legal advice. I'm very eager to get back to that."

Flynn is not the first attorney to leave the public sector and return to the private sphere via Harris Beach. His brother, William Flynn, is a former chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission who joined the firm in late 2006. Longtime Congressman John LaFalce, now with HoganWillig, moved to Harris Beach after serving 28 years in the House of Representatives, and at least three other attorneys made similar moves, Harris Beach spokesman Bill Albert said.

"It seems common for us, attracting (public-sector) folks," Albert said. "They're top-notch people, so I assume they would like to work for a top-notch law firm."

As a U.S. attorney, Flynn earned an annual salary of $149,000, a figure that is determined at the federal level. He would not say how much he will earn as a Harris Beach partner.

Flynn is an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, with a degree in accounting, and the University of Buffalo Law School.