Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In the months after John Flynn announced he would not seek re-election as Erie County District Attorney in 2024, there was some speculation whether or not he would leave his role in office before the end of his term in December.
Flynn confirmed those speculations on Thursday when he announced his plans to step aside as Erie County District Attorney at the end of March to take on a new role with the Buffalo-based law firm Lippes Mathias LLP.
While Flynn never intended to leave office before his term was up, he admits the opportunity presented itself to join Lippes Mathias a while ago, and wanted to jump on it.
Related
Over the course of seven-plus years in office, Flynn recognizes the tumultuous times in the criminal justice system, and how it took its hold at the forefront of the news cycle. That's why when he took office as Erie County District Attorney in 2017, he felt it was very important to change the culture of his office.
"We had to recognize there are people who are caught up in the criminal justice system who sometimes deserve a second chance or a third chance. As I said numerous times before, you can be tough on crime on one hand, and on the other hand give people who deserve a second chance or a third chance a break. I think I have done that over the course of the past seven years," said Flynn on Thursday during his announcement.
At the time Flynn started with the District Attorney's Office, he knew he had to grow and improve his office from within. That included a rise from 89 lawyers in his office to 111 lawyers in 2024. It included a rise from 78 support staff in his office to 104.
Not only was the growth tremendous, but the budget reflected that, increasing from $18 million back in 2017 to now $33 million a year.
While Flynn is set to leave his office a much bigger one than before, he hopes to leave behind an office that is much more upfront and in the public eye.
"When you serve, the public needs to know what you're doing, and they need to know what's going on. Let's be honest, the public is concerned about crime," Flynn said.
"As a district attorney, I am the chief law enforcement officer of Erie County, of this area. So I feel, and I've felt for the past seven years that it is my responsibility to let everyone know what is going on, and to be transparent, and to help foster a sense of security in the community. When I'm out and about at a Bills game, and people come up to me and they say, 'Thank you for your service,' I take that to mean they feel secure, and that they feel safe. That's what this is all about. It's about public safety."
Another hope Flynn has for his office upon his departure is the quality of leadership training many on his staff was able to get under his tutelage. It was a trickle down effect among members of his office, and he believes it shined in the aftermath of the Tops mass shooting on May 14, 2022.
"When a Tops [shooting] happens and not only [local media] but CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, everyone in the world shows up on your front door, and you have to deal with that media onslaught and, on top of that, the case itself; unfortunately, we have a lot of homicides. Every big city in this country has a lot of homicides. We know how to deal with that one at a time. We never had 10. We had 10 at one time, and then we had three others who were injured as well. So when you get a crisis that happens, I think the office has grown on handling that crisis," Flynn explained. "A number of people in this office were involved in that shooting. From the Deputy DAs, who were the supervisors, to the Assistant DAs, who handled the case in court, to the victim advocates, who dealt with the families, to my community prosecutors, who were out with the community, we were at the epicenter of the Tops shooting. And the crisis management and the learning lessons from that is going to carry on forever in this office, or as long as the people are here. There are a number of people who are here who are going to continue on here, obviously, and carry forward that legacy."
One of the reasons why Flynn is staying in office until April 1 is because the state budget ends on that date. He says as president of the State DA's Association, he needs to ensure that District Attorneys statewide get the necessary resources, and that their voice is heard during the budget process.
When Flynn steps aside, that means First Deputy District Attorney Michael Keane will take the reins as acting District Attorney for Erie County, unless Gov. Kathy Hochul appoints someone else otherwise.
Keane already has the endorsement of the Erie County Democratic Committee for District Attorney this November.
Related
Flynn knows very well that every district attorney brings their own style of leadership to their office, but he's is 100% confident in Keane's ability to lead the Erie County District Attorney's Office heading into the long-term future.
"Here's a person who basically ran the day-to-day operation of the office for the past seven years. Here's an individual, Mike Keane, who was the supervising attorney on the Tops shooting - the biggest case this county has ever had and, arguably, the biggest case we've had in the State of New York in years. So his ability to not only supervise and handle cases, but his management ability to lead the office is second-to-none. I'm extremely confident in his abilities," Flynn said.
While Flynn knows how much his office has grown and will continue to thrive at the public sector level, he says it all pales in comparison to the growth that has been ongoing at Lippes Mathias for years.
"Seven years ago, they had 48 lawyers. Now they've got 185. They've got 14 offices across the state and across the country. That's what I want to be part of," Flynn said. "I want to be part of an organization that is dynamic, that is growing, and that serves their clients to the best of their ability and serves the community."
Flynn was also keen on not leaving the Western New York community, especially after living amongst the people, working for the people, and raising his family here.
And he felt in his move to the private sector, the culture of a law firm was extremely important.
"The culture at Lippes Mathias is a culture of not only growth, but it is a culture of serving your clients and serving your community. This is a law firm that is headquartered here in Buffalo, New York that, quite frankly, is a powerhouse," Flynn said.
Another reason that Flynn chose to transition to Lippes Mathias when he did was to work with former New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco, who is a partner with the firm and has one of the best government investigation practices in New York State.
"It's so important to hear John talk about culture," said Vacco, who joined Flynn during his announcement on Thursday. "I've gotta say that over the last seven years, John has distinguished himself. I know there's always been different management styles amongst the various DAs since I left here, John stands head-and-shoulders above all of the others, in my estimation, because of the culture that he fostered here, and the things that he accomplished on behalf of our community."
Vacco echoed how important culture is at Lippes Mathias LLP, which is why he believes it has attracted some high-quality lawyers and leaders over the years like Carol Heckman, Michael Rosetti, Karl Seight and others.
Shortly after Flynn made his announcement last fall that he would not seek re-election for Erie County District Attorney, that was when Vacco started having conversations encouraging Flynn to think about his future. Vacco knows Flynn had a number of options to turn to when transitioning to the private sector, which is why he's honored and proud that Flynn decided to join Lippes Mathias.
"I think he's going to be a valuable addition to our government and corporate investigations team. He's been the president of the National DA's Association, which helps give us a larger national footprint in terms of his reputation. He's still the president of the State DA's Association," Vacco said. "In addition to that, we're going to build a municipal law practice around John. We're looking forward to his thoughts, his insights, his leadership as we build a more robust - across New York State - municipal law practice."
So how does Flynn anticipate to transition from his role in the public sector to the private sector at Lippes Mathias LLP? He believes his public component as the district attorney can translate in the sense that the public is going to know that's where he is taking my talents.
"Your clients see that you are a leader in the community. Your clients see that you have grown, and when you grow, that tells somebody that, 'Hey, they must be doing something right. They must have their act together. They must know what they're doing,'" Flynn said. "Clients and the business community, and just people in general, hear that from a word of mouth, through other clients, other people who deal with a particular law firm. So there's a word of mouth components of this, but there's also, obviously, a public component to this. ... I hope they know here's an individual who, I hope they think, did a good job leading the most important office in this community, and I don't say that egotistically.
"There's a saying on my wall in my office from former Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who was the former U.S. Attorney [who prosecuted] the Nuremberg trials. He's got a quote that says, 'The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty and reputation of an individual than anyone in society.' I believe in that. Obviously the President can send people off the war, and that's probably the greatest thing that a public service can do, so I'll give the President the one up. But after him, a prosecutor. A prosecutor is the most important office and the most important person to life, liberty and reputation than any other public servant in this country. I hope the public realizes that, and I hope the public thinks I've done a good job with that responsibility, and that hopefully will translate to where I'm going next."