Former Rep. Thomas Reynolds has been hired by Nixon Peabody LLP to work in the law firm's new government relations and public policy practice.

Reynolds, a five-term representative for the 26th congressional district, said he will work with clients of the Rochester-based firm on issues such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, health care, energy and taxes. Reynolds, who is not a lawyer, said will be giving a lot of advice in his role as a senior strategic policy adviser.

"Businesses are going to say, ‘What does this mean to me, and how do I navigate through it?' " Reynolds said. "There's so much on the plate of what the federal government said it wants to look at."

Serving beside him is longtime chief of staff Sally Vastola of Amherst. They are based in Washington, D.C., but maintain an office at the firm's Buffalo address.


Buffalo attorney Mark Pearce is on a list of several nominees selected by President Barack Obama to fill two democratic vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board, said his law partner Catherine Creighton.

Pearce, managing partner in Creighton Pearce Johnsen & Giroux, is no stranger to the NLRB. Upon graduating from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1978, the Brooklyn native took a job at the federal agency's Buffalo office, a post he held for 15 years before leaving for private practice.

The NLRB is a  five-member panel that oversees relations between unions and employers in the private sector.

Should he be confirmed, Pearce would be forced to step down from the law firm he co-founded with Creighton and relocate to Washington, D.C., where he would serve a three-year term on the board.

"He (would bring) to Washington real blue-collar experience from a great blue-collar town," Creighton said.

Pearce said he could not comment on the possible appointment.


James Auricchio, a state and federal prosecutor for the past eight years, is going into private practice.

On May 1, Auricchio, who spent the last year serving as an assistant U.S. attorney, will open The Auricchio Law Firm PLLC in West Seneca. The practice will focus on working with small-business owners facing a New York State Department of Taxation and Finance audit or investigation.

The mailing address for the firm is 3800 Seneca St., West Seneca, NY 14224. The phone number is 675-3800, and the firm has a Web site at auricchiolawfirm.com.


The New York Democratic Lawyers Council will host two spring receptions. Topics to be discussed include the group's legislative agenda and strategies for the upcoming elections.

The first reception will be held Thursday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the offices of Boylan Brown, 2400 Chase Square Building in downtown Rochester.

The second is slated for Thursday, May 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the offices of Cohen & Lombardo, 343 Elmwood Ave. between Summer and Bryant.

The NYDLC is a voting-rights project of the New York State Democratic Party.

Contact regional Vice President Frank Housh at frank.housh@nydlc.org if you wish to attend one of the receptions.


The New York Lawyers Fund, an agency created to reimburse clients for losses caused by the dishonest conduct of their attorney, has released its 2008 report.

The fund granted 130 awards totalling $6.8 million in reimbursements. These awards represented losses caused by 48 suspended, disbarred or deceased lawyers, 23 of whom appeared for the first time in the funds awards.

Losses covered by the fund include theft of real estate escrow funds, estate or trust assets and litigation settlement proceeds. In the 26-year history of the fund, the most common loss has been in real-property escrow funds.