Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr. ’73 (Jaeckle Award 2014)
Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr. ’73 was nominated by Gov. George E. Pataki as an associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals in 2006. Previously, he practiced law in Buffalo; was Erie County Attorney; was elected to State Supreme Court; and served as the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, presiding justice. He received the 37th annual Edwin F. Jaeckle Award in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the law, UB School of Law and the people of New York. The Jaeckle Award is the highest honor UB Law and the Law Alumni Association can bestow.
About this Interview
Interview Date(s)
- February 27, 2012
- Jan. 31, 2014
Occasion
- Oral History Project
- Presentation of the 37th annual Edwin F. Jaeckle Award at the annual New York City Alumni Luncheon
Place
Union League Club, New York City
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About the Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr.
Judge Pigott, the third of eight children, grew up on a farm near Rochester, N.Y. In addition to farming, his father was an autoworker and his mother was a telephone operator. He went to Le Moyne College in Syracuse before applying to UB Law “because it was the best bargain in law schools in the country.” He was drafted after attending for six weeks. When he returned from Vietnam, he was on the GI Bill and the law school waived his tuition.
Since he was 12, he wanted to be a trial lawyer—he has every episode of Perry Mason—but admits he was initially intimidated by law school. The UB Law campus was located at 77 W. Eagle St. when he started in the fall of 1968, but he was among the first to graduate from the new Amherst campus in 1973. About 140 students started downtown, separated alphabetically into two groups, with limited interaction between the groups. He still meets twice a year with his law school friends. Jacob D. Hyman and then Red Schwartz were deans. Dean Schwartz was not a lawyer, he was a sociologist. Pigott’s fondest memory was finishing!
He clerked from the end of his first year. As a result of the upheaval in the 1960s, the grading system “fell off a cliff.” It went from a precise tenth of a point numeric basis, to pass-fail, to Q and U. In 1970, the Attica State Prison uprising was used as a teaching tool. His favorite classes were UCC and Labor Law. Upon graduation, he was hired by the law firm for which he clerked: Offermann, Fallon, Mahoney & Adler, where he practiced from 1974 to 1982. His partners were active politically and in the Bar Association. They mentored Judge Pigott, who gained experience in real estate closing and trial work, becoming their chief trial counsel.
After leaving the firm, he was appointed as Erie County attorney under County Executive Ed Rutkowski, and served until 1986. He then became chief trial counsel for the firm of Offermann, Cassano, Pigott & Greco. In 1987, he was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court by Gov. Pataki and thereafter was elected to a full 14-year term. In 1998 he was designated to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and was appointed presiding justice on Feb. 16, 2000. On Aug. 18, 2006, he was nominated by Gov. Pataki to the Court of Appeals. His nomination was confirmed by the State Senate on Sept. 15, 2006.
“Because UB Law is the only law school in WNY, it has a huge influence,” said Judge Pigott. UB law school graduates are well-trained. Law training gives you the confidence to deal with people. The Constitution and laws are tools of the legal trade; they are constantly changing and evolving, along with areas of practice. His advice to students? Find an area of law you like.
About the Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr.
Gov. George Pataki appointed Eugene F. Pigott Jr. in 2006 to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. The jurist has maintained close ties with UB Law, serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council, judging moot court competitions and serving as a guest speaker in several courses.
Born in Rochester, Pigott graduated from LeMoyne College in 1968, then served on active duty in the Army from 1968 to 1970. While in the service, he was stationed in Vietnam, serving as a Vietnamese interpreter.
After graduating from the law school, Pigott practiced with the Buffalo firm Offermann, Fallon, Mahoney & Adner from 1974 to 1982. In 1982 he was appointed Erie County attorney, and he served in that position until 1986. In 1986 he became chief trial counsel for the firm of Offermann, Cassano, Pigott & Greco.
Pigott was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court in 1997 and thereafter was elected to a full 14-year term. In 1998 he was designated to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and was appointed presiding justice in 2000. His nomination to the Court of Appeals was confirmed by the state Senate in 2006.
According to Dean Mutua, “Judge Pigott embodies everything we could hope for in a jurist: he is intelligent, fair and dedicated to the law. He is also fiercely dedicated to our law school.”
Evanko has maintained close ties with the law school, co-chairing its Annual Fund in 2013 and serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council since 2014. She is an active leader of the law school’s mentor program and an inspiration to its students.
Speakers
Master of Ceremonies: Thomas E. Black Jr., Dean’s Advisory Council chair.
Remarks presented by Terrance M. Gilbride, Law Alumni Association president; SUNY Distinguished Professor Makau Mutua, UB Law dean; Francis M. Letro, Dean’s Advisory Council vice chair.
Award presented by Dean Mutua.
Judge Pigott offers acceptance remarks.
About the Jaeckle Award
The Jaeckle Award is given annually to a person who exemplifies the highest ideals of UB School of Law and the Law Alumni Association and has made significant contributions to the school and the legal profession. It is named for Edwin F. Jaeckle ’15, a founding partner of the Buffalo law firm Jaeckle, Fleischmann & Mugel, and a major benefactor of the school.
