By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

As her one-year anniversary as Erie County Attorney fast approaches, Cheryl Green, former private-practice litigator turned watchdog-for-the-people, sat down with a Buffalo Law Journal reporter to discuss the triumphs, the challenges and the future she faces working for reform in Erie County.

Buffalo Law Journal: Everyone has expectations going into a new job. As you reflect on your first year, how did things match up to those expectations?

Cheryl Green: It has not only met, but it has certainly exceeded my expectations. I knew it was going to be a challenge taking this position, coming from the private sector. I also knew this administration had a lot of reforms on their agenda and that legal was going to touch a lot of those reforms.

It has made the job very exciting and very challenging from the standpoint that I have literally jumped from one project to the next without stopping and there are a lot of complexities involved in every project.

BLJ: Was the switch from private practice to the public sector a tough adjustment for you?

CG: It definitely was not a tough adjustment for me. I will say that the biggest difference is that in the private sector, you really get to focus on a few very specific areas of law that you become very proficient in. What I've learned in this job is that I literally touch every McKinneys book that is there (referring to the wall of legal books in her office), and that's very different from the private sector. It's been a big adjustment, rethinking and relearning how it is you go about your day-to-day practice.

The other adjustment has been that in the private sector, you might have one or two really big complex issues on your plate at one time. Here, in the public sector, you have no less than 10 really large, complex issues that you have to focus on and be able to think and move very quickly from one project to another.

BLJ: When you were first asked to apply for this position, was there any hesitation to leave the private sector and enter into the public arena, or did you see this as the next step in your career?

CG: When I was first asked to apply for the position of county attorney, I was very undecided. I really had to think about the quality of my life in the private sector versus what it would be in the public sector and how my perception would change. Once I looked at the position and began to speak to others who had worked in the office, I knew that it was a challenge that I wanted to undertake.

BLJ: Coming in, there was some discrepancy about your salary and some controversy before you even began your job. Is there a little more pressure for you, trying to do your job under a microscope, and how do you handle the public scrutiny when it comes?

CG: I think there is a lot more pressure here (than in the private sector) because everybody will scrutinize every decision you make along the way. I recognized very early on that the controversy, for lack of a better word, regarding the salary, was nothing more than a political issue. That's something you don't have to deal with in the private sector. But obviously, I don't look back at all, I just look forward.

BLJ: Given that pressure you mentioned, how did you prepare yourself for that aspect of the job? Are you able to just block everything out and do your job, or does it ever get to you?

CG: Certainly I think you have to think about it, because every decision you make does have an impact, I recognize that it does affect the Erie County taxpayer. I do my job to the best of my ability, and I'm very cognisant of how the decisions I make will affect this community in the future.

BLJ: You've talked about how much of a broader scope of the law you now cover as well as the public scrutiny your office draws. After a year on the job, would you say those things have made you a better lawyer?

CG: It absolutely has made me a better attorney. People can pick up the phone and ask me just about anything related to this county, and I can get them to where they need to go.

BLJ: Share something you can look back on and be especially proud of being part of in your first year?

CG: I am most proud of our ability to bring to fruition the Berger Commission. It was a very difficult challenge and I was told before I undertook that lawsuit that it was one of those sacred areas where you can't touch it and you aren't going to be able to make a difference. I'm definitely not a person to be told "no." Give me a challenge and I'll find a solution for you.

It may not be the typical path, but I pride myself on creativity and I feel very strongly that this is something that will move this community forward. Ten years from now, people will look back and say, had that one event had not occurred, we would be mired in mediocrity in respect to health care.

BLJ: As you watch two of your proudest accomplishments, the Berger Commission and the apprentice law get torn apart by opponents in the court of public opinion, is it difficult to keep from shouting from the rooftops and setting the record straight?

CG: What I think, is that it is just a lack of knowledge. I don't take any of it personally. Criticism is part of being in the public eye and so I look at the criticism in a very measured way. Who is criticizing me? Why are they criticizing the decision that has been made, and is the criticism founded or unfounded? I have learned that in most instances, it is unfounded. It's part of democracy and if I let it bother me, I wouldn't get out of bed and I wouldn't be able to do my job.

BLJ: How about any challenges you have faced in your first year, things you may not have foreseen?

CG: The biggest challenge has been to recognize that there is a political machine at work and so it becomes a challenge from a lawyers standpoint, because a lawyer needs to be objective and they really should not be looking at politics when they are making decisions. I have really worked hard to have this office treated as a private-sector law firm. We really put a Chinese wall up in terms of the politics that circulates around us. It is a challenge, but I also see it as an accomplishment to be able to separate the politics from the decisions I have made. I have critics who will say that I act political and my decisions reflect that, I can assure you that is not true.

There are certain politicians out there who would prefer that we operate on a more political basis, and what I have said to those people is I have a job and I am required to be objective in my job. It is important to me that I maintain the level of professionalism of this office I make sure that people know I will not bend when asked.

BLJ: As you begin your second year, its never too early to think about your legacy. When your time behind this desk ends, how would you like to be remembered?

CG: I would hope that my legacy would be one where people would say that under that particular county attorney, they made really smart decisions for the community, especially when it comes to economic growth and development. She really had a high standard of morale integrity that raised the bar for all future attorneys who followed.

BLJ: Let's end on a light note. Now that you are a very public figure in a city full of Monday-morning quarterbacks, do you ever sit down and Google yourself and read what's being said out there about Cheryl Green?

CG: I have never Googled myself (laughs). I do have those around me who Google me from time to time, I've got my close supporters around me, but I won't Google myself.