Profile

Over his career, Justin has practiced in a variety of areas. For a number of years he represented several retail chains for which he was involved in shopping center leasing and financing.

During a later period he represented several public companies headquartered in Rochester N.Y. for which he was occupied with public and private securities offerings and related work under the Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act. In recent years his practice has focused on general corporate work and business matters, not-for-profit organizations and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

  • American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
  • New York Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
  • American Bar Association, House of Delegates, 1984-1996
  • New York State Bar, President, 1985-1986, House of Delegates, 1977-present
  • Founder and Chair, 2009-2011, Senior Lawyers Section
  • Former President, New York State Bar Foundation
  • Former President, Monroe County Bar Foundation
  • Monroe County Bar Association, President, 1977; Chairman, Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section, 1972-1973
  • Certified Federal Court Mediator
  • Estate Planning Council of Monroe County
  • New York State Uniform Law Commissioner
  • Former Member, Executive Committee, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
  • Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals
  • Official Referee, New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct
  • Listed in:
    • The Best Lawyers in America®, Corporate Law, 1983-2025 (listed for more than 40 years)
    • New York Super Lawyers®, Business/Corporate, 2007
    • Who’s Who
    • Who’s Who in American Law
    • Who’s Who in the World

Awards

  • Recipient, Burton S. August Sr. Award For Community Leadership, Association of Fund Raising Professionals, 2022
  • Recipient, Building a Sound Community Award, Rochester Hearing and Speech Center, 2022
  • An annual “Justin L. Vigdor Award” to New York State Banks has been established by the New York IOLA Fund. An annual "Justin L. Vigdor Senior Lawyer Award" was created by the Monroe County Bar Association, and he was the first recipient.
  • Recipient, New York State Bar Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Recipient, Marquis Who’s Who, Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019
  • Recipient of awards from the Al Sigl Community of Agencies, Mary Cariola Children’s Center, Quad A for Kids, Brighton Chamber of Commerce, Association of County Clerks
  • Jewish Community Federation and U.S. Committee on Sports for Israel
  • Recipient, Humanitarian Award, Foundation of the Monroe County Bar
  • Recipient, Nathaniel Award for Community Service and Professional Accomplishments
  • Recipient, Philanthropy Award, Rochester Area Community Foundation
  • Recipient, Rodenbeck Award for Service to the Community and Legal Profession
  • Recipient, Woerner Kollmorgen Award for Community Leadership, Nazareth College
  • Recipient, Board Leadership Award, United Way and Rochester Business Journal
  • Recipient, Second Half Hero Award, Lifespan of Greater Rochester
  • Recipient, WXXI 2016 Associate of the Year
  • Recipient, 2017 Empire Justice Center "Celebration of Leadership" Award
  • Recipient, 2017 ICON Honors Award, Rochester Business Journal

Professional and Community Activities

  • Board Chairman, Rochester Fringe Festival, Inc.
  • Director, Alzheimer’s Association (Rochester and Finger Lakes Chapter)
  • Director, Committee for Modern Courts
  • Director, Philip Bernstein Society
  • Trustee, Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust
  • Trustee, Temple B'rith Kodesh Foundation
  • Past Member, Advisory Board, Quad A For Kids
  • Member, Advisory Committee of Hochstein School of Music and Dance
  • Past Member, Advisory Committee of Special Olympics of Genesee and Western N.Y. Region
  • Member, Attorney Emeritus Advisory Council
  • Member, Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Federation
  • Past Member of Professional Advisory Committee, Home Care of Rochester
  • Past Chair, AAA of Western and Central NY
  • Past Chair and current member of the Board of Governors, Al Sigl Foundation
  • Past Chair, Board of Directors, Al Sigl Community of Agencies
  • Past Chair, Board of Directors of the New York IOLA Fund
  • Past Chair, Professional Advisory Committee of Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Rochester
  • Past President, Jewish Family Service of Rochester
  • Past President and Director, AAA of New York State
  • Past Director, Mary Cariola Children’s Center
  • Past Director, Rochester Chapter, American Red Cross
  • Past Director, Rochester Downtown Development Corporation
  • Past Director, United Way of Greater Rochester and Monroe County
  • Past Trustee, National Conference of the Bar Foundations
  • Past Discussion Leader, Great Books Foundation
  • Past Member, Advisory Board, High Technology of Rochester
  • Past Director, Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester
  • Past Member, Advisory Board, Kidney Foundation of Upstate NY
  • Past Member, Advisory Committee, League of Women Voters
  • Past Member of the Board of Bankers Trust Company of Western N.Y.(acquired by Key Bank)
  • Former Trustee, National Conference of the Bar Foundations
  • Former President, U.S. Arbitration and Mediation Service of Upstate New York
  • Former Director, IEC Electronics Corp.