Monthly Feature: Get to Know... Jeffrey J. Weiss

December 17, 2024

Jeffrey Weiss focuses his practice on representing school districts in the greater Western New York region in special education matters. Prior to joining Bond in March 2024, Jeff practiced for more than 20 years at two New York-based, mid-sized firms. He was a member at both firms and practice group leader at his most recent firm.

Jeff has been living in Buffalo for almost 30 years, but his childhood in the diverse urban setting of Hollis, Queens, shaped him and left an indelible approach to life marked by empathy and inventiveness. He recalls a solidly middle class community populated by outsized, colorful personalities and a tribe of public school classmates. While there were few, if any, lawyers among his neighbors, the area teemed with determined strivers looking to better their lives and those of their children. His cohort was adventurous and independent. They walked to school as early as second grade and as teens traveled on foot, by bus or subway around the city.

As a first-generation college student, Jeff saw the world differently than his peers raised by college-educated parents. “I had to figure stuff out on my own, which gave me the confidence to experiment and evolve more quickly.”

“My family was naïve about scholarship opportunities. A good student in high school who can’t readily afford college goes to the top SUNY school, which was Binghamton.”

Being well acquainted with small living spaces and a lack of privacy, Jeff easily transitioned to dorm life. He thrived at Binghamton, meeting students from across the state and “using both sides of my brain,” double-majoring in history and math. Still, unlike his college friends who had been groomed for business and finance careers, he didn’t have a broad understanding of his options. Knowing he was not cut out to be a doctor, Jeff chose law school.

“Looking back, I believe I was better off in the long run figuring it out on my own. I was able to find what was truly right for me.”

To avoid a heavy debt load, Jeff attended The University of Buffalo Law School. He quickly learned the value of law review as a way to distinguish himself, achieving a managing editor role.

“I wore blinders at first but figured it out as I went along. I studied a lot of constitutional law,” Jeff says. “Though I enjoyed my school law classes, I didn’t see my future in it. Instead, I focused on achieving good grades and leadership roles in pursuit of a New York City firm position. My summer jobs at the Queens District Attorney’s office and a fellowship in the governor’s legal counsel office, however, were public service all the way.”

After graduating, his public sector experience brought him solid interest but didn’t translate into law firm offers.

Jeff ultimately joined the general litigation division of the New York City law department. It was a very competitive position to get. In three years there, Jeff defended the city in claims against police and corrections officers, civil rights litigation, employment discrimination, Article 78 and school law claims.

“Out of the gate, I did sophisticated work I wouldn’t have encountered in private practice, including appearing before Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor when she was a U. S. District Court judge.”

“My skills and confidence developed handling diverse, important and challenging matters. I met with police chiefs at 25 years old. I learned my craft. As a second year lawyer, I’d have cases covered in the newspaper.”

Jeff was taking depositions at a state correctional facility one day when David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz was walked past him. Another time, a prisoner he deposed described where he grew up. Jeff later looked him up and found the prisoner in his own junior high school yearbook.

All this happened while Jeff was working 12-hour days, commuting 90 minutes each way by subway and bus and living in his childhood bedroom. “My parents would ask, ‘How was your day?’ It was quite the dichotomy.”

Two things ultimately returned Jeff to Buffalo. Toward the end of his three-year commitment with the city, he started to interview at law firms. This time, seeing an opportunity in the New York City office of a Buffalo-based firm, he asked his Buffalo connections to put in a word for him.

“When people say to be nice to everyone; listen,” Jeff advises. “Connections will take you far. Mine helped to land me in private practice.”

Then there was Sharon, his future wife and Buffalo area native he met during law school. Sharon was employed in Manhattan by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights when SUNY Buffalo asked her to interview for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) position. When Sharon accepted that job, Jeff moved to his firm’s Buffalo office.

There, Jeff’s interest in school law resurfaced. Identifying and serving a growing demand for special education work, his burgeoning practice brought him to another law firm, where he eventually headed its school law practice group. In early 2024, Jeff and his team approached Bond collectively, and joined the firm.

“We’ve enjoyed a very supportive, collegial environment under Kate Reid and Candace Gomez, Bond’s school law practice co-chairs,” he says. “The assimilation into the school law group was seamless and welcoming. This, along with the addition of education law practitioners from a Long Island firm, has positioned us as a powerhouse for our clients and the firm.”