Alan J. Pierce Appointed to the Fifth Judicial District Character & Fitness Committee
Syracuse, New York Hancock Estabrook, LLP, Counselors at Law, is pleased to announce that Alan J. Pierce, Firm partner, was appointed by Presiding Justice Eugene Pigott, Jr. of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department to the Fifth Judicial District Character & Fitness Committee. This committee is responsible for screening applicants who have passed the New York State Bar Exam for admission to the Bar.
Pursuant to Judiciary Law section, 90 members of the Character & Fitness Committee of each Judicial District are appointed by the Presiding Justice of each Judicial Department in the State to investigate the character and fitness of every applicant for admission to the bar once they have passed the state bar exam or it has been waived. No person can be admitted to practice law in New York absent certification by the appropriate Character and Fitness Committee unless otherwise ordered by the Appellate Division. A personal interview of each applicant is required as part of the investigation under the rules of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department.
Mr. Pierce has more than 20 years of litigation experience, concentrating on appellate practice, insurance coverage, defamation and civil and commercial litigation.
He has handled numerous appeals in his career, appearing before the New York State Court of Appeals, all four Departments of the State’s Appellate Division and in the Second, Fourth and Eleventh United States Circuit Courts of Appeals. Mr. Pierce has served as trial and appellate counsel in successful actions for defamation and insurance bad faith and as an Adjunct Professor of Law in Appellate Advocacy at the Syracuse University College of Law. He has authored several publications and spoken on behalf of the New York State Bar Association and the Office of Court Administration on appellate advocacy and insurance coverage litigation. Prior to joining the Firm, he served as Confidential Law Clerk to the Hon. Richard D. Simons, New York State Court of Appeals.
Mr. Pierce is admitted to practice law in New York and United States Court of Appeals (Second, Fourth and Eleventh Circuits). He is a member of the American, New York State (Task Force on Mandatory Retirement of Judges), Onondaga and St. Lawrence Bar Associations and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Pierce is a member of the Firm’s Appellate, Insurance and Commercial Litigation practice groups.
Mr. Pierce holds a law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law and a bachelor of arts from St. Lawrence University.
