By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Who says you can never go home again?

For Dennis Vacco, the Brant farmboy who rose through the state and local political ranks, parlaying his role as U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York into a stint as attorney general, his recent return to his Western New York roots was a sweet one. Unlike his successors in Albany - one went on to become governor and the other is the odds-on favorite to do the same - Vacco opted to step away from the political spotlight after leaving office in 1998.

After a stint running a division of Waste Management Inc. and some time as a consultant in the private sector, Vacco has returned to the place where his legal career took root, accepting a partnership in Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP.

Newly settled into his downtown office, Vacco sat down with the Buffalo Law Journal to share his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including life as the AG, his Western New York homecoming, and whether you are likely to get an invite to a Dennis Vacco political fundraiser anytime in the near future. The following is an abridged version of that conversation.

BLJ: After all these years in Albany, what brought you back to Buffalo?

Dennis Vacco: Like a lot of things in life, you can trace it back to family. My kids are in high school, they need more time and attention.

For me, I'm looking at the clock. In two years, my oldest son will be ready to go off to college and in three years, my youngest will be in the same position. My core consideration was being able to spend more time with my family. I am my kids' soccer coach. I want to be on the field without having to juggle the need to be in Albany or in New York City.

Frankly, the other consideration is that the legal business is changing. Over the last two years, as the economy has tanked, businesses have taken a serious look at their balance sheets, and they are looking to cut their soft costs, such as legal fees.

One of the reasons that I am so excited to be here is, there is a lot of great legal talent in Buffalo who can go toe-to-toe with the white-shoe law firms in New York and Los Angeles, and the economics of hiring a law firm in Buffalo are simply far less than the economics of a law firm in San Francisco. So I think this is a great place to be.

BLJ: Talk a little about your role here with Lippes Mathias and what you bring to the table.

DV: I spent almost a year analyzing the type of firm here in Buffalo that I wanted to associate with. There was some attractiveness to the large regional firm that had offices up and down the Thruway, in New York and Washington and Boston. But there was also the attraction to the smaller firms, and what I liked most about this place was its long-standing reputation. This law firm has one of the finest reputations in this area, and they represent businesses that fit my business model very well.

When I started to conceptualize what I would bring to the table from a practice perspective, I looked at it and said, "My strength is 20 years in government, attorney general of the state, chief federal prosecutor in the 17 counties of Western New York for five years and 10 years as an assistant DA." I spent an awful lot of time in government, and I looked at this firm and said, "My business and government background makes this a logical fit." Everyone here works as a team, it's a close-knit group, and there is nobody looking over my shoulder saying, "What are you doing?"

BLJ: I would imagine, given your résumé, that it would be tough to have to answer to someone so closely.

DV: I don't believe that I'm a prima donna, and I don't think I need to be treated like a former office holder. I don't have any expectations coming in.

As an example, I have a client who is upset that my business card doesn't say "Honorable" Dennis C. Vacco. He says, "You don't wear your former position on your sleeve, and you should." He's right, I don't, and I don't expect any special treatment because of what I've done in my career. We are all in this together here, regardless of where I've come from.

BLJ: As a former AG, you're a big fish in Buffalo. If you were just another attorney returning to take a job in the city, we wouldn't be having this interview. Does that put any pressure on you? Do you feel like there is more of a spotlight on you with people waiting to see how you do?

DV: I think there might be a little bit of that. You know, at the beginning of my career I wasn't afraid to try cases. A lot of the guys in the legal community who worked with me in the (Erie County) DA's office knew back in the '80s, I wasn't afraid to try cases and be in the courtroom. I fully intend, in addition to managing the government-affairs-and-regulatory-compliance group, to get back into being a litigator.

So I think at some level there will be some watchfulness as to whether or not I can knock the rust off and get back into the courtroom. I do think that because I've never seen myself as anything more than a lawyer from Buffalo, that will help me in terms of my acceptance back into the legal community.

BLJ: After serving as the attorney general of the state, overseeing a $750 million operation (Waste Management) and operating in legal circles in Albany and New York City, are you concerned that it will be anticlimactic to return to Buffalo - that you'll be looking to get back to Albany two years from now?

DV: I'm content with being here. The beauty of the government service was that you had a chance to do things like argue before the Supreme Court, where I was trying my first homicide case less than three years out of law school. I've always been very cognizant to the fact that my government service allowed me to do a lot of different and exciting things.

There's no question, it's hard to match the satisfaction of an argument well made before the Supreme Court, but there are other ways now that you achieve professional satisfaction, in my estimation.

BLJ: Do you have one or two accomplishments from your time as attorney general that you are especially proud of?

DV: The Internet Child Pornography Unit that I created in the attorney general's office.

Another thing is the health-care bureau that I established. Long before the current health-care debate, we created that bureau to give a voice to the health-care consumer.

Finally, you (earlier) mentioned my role in bringing back the prosecutorial role to the office. My successor (Eliot Spitzer) went on to be known as "the Sheriff of Wall Street," and Andrew Cuomo has done a fabulous job employing the prosecutorial resources of the office.

I'm pleased to know in my own mind that I helped to make both of those successes possible by reinvigorating the dormant prosecutorial powers of the AG's office. I put up with an awful lot of criticism for that, but I stuck in the pocket despite the attacks from the press and the liberal commentators outside the press. We created the criminal division and I am very proud of that.

BLJ: Spitzer went on to become governor of the state, and many feel Andrew Cuomo will likely do the same. Do you have any desire to jump back in and run for office in some capacity?

DV: (Long pause.) You can take the boy out of politics, but you can't take the politics out of the boy.

My father, who is my life role model, is what I call a true believer. He believes in the political system and has been a longtime participant in the system. He believes in the high-mindedness of politics and finds it very hard to comprehend the ugliness of politics. I think my desire, the desire that I will always have, is a product of my father's almost fanciful view of politics and government.

So, do I think about it? Yeah, I think about it probably every day. Then I look at my beautiful wife, Kelly, and my two sons. I look around here at my friends and colleagues, and then lastly, I pick up the newspaper and read the headlines and say, "Why do I want to do it?"

BLJ: We talked earlier about campaign-finance reform and how tough it is to run for office without truckloads of money. Is it possible for someone from Western New York, someone who wants to operate the kind of high-minded campaign you referred to, to win a statewide post? Before you won election, no New York AG had come from Western New York since 1928. Will it be another 60 years before it happens again?

DV: I think it makes it very difficult. The other thing I think has changed the landscape - and not in a positive sense - is the constant attention.

When I first went to Albany, I was coming from Western New York, where I had a good working relationship with the press. I never felt the media in this community was unfair. Then I got to Albany with that wide-eyed Buffalo ideal that I was always going to be treated fairly, and that wasn't the case.

The difference today is, it goes beyond the established press - because the blogs can absolutely knock the daylights out of you.

It may not have an impact on you at the ballot box, but when you've got kids and you have elderly parents, why would anybody want to endure the type of low-mindedness and subject themselves to the silliness of the arena?