Hon. Gerald J. Whalen '83

Segment Synopsis: Gerald Whalen grew up in South Buffalo alongside his six siblings. One of his siblings passed away while on firefighter duty; close-knit family. There were no other lawyers in his family, so it was a teacher that inspired this career for him. The logical reasoning of the courts hooked his interest. Undergrad was spent at Canisius College, and graduate school was at the University at Buffalo. Later on, he took a year off and received a Clerk's position with the Erie County District Attorney's office. Fresh out of law school, he was finally able to work amongst young lawyers. His inspiration grew exponentially when he spent his year working there.

Keywords: Canisius College; Career / Early; Employment / Jobs / Wages; Family; Graduate / Professional Training; Undergraduate Education

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; EDUCATION; FAMILY HISTORY

Segment Synopsis: Whalen had a strong group in law school and it was very exciting, yet stressful. Completing the three years required lots of hard work but came with a lot of lifelong friendships. Constitutional Law was especially captivating because he loved his professor. Over the summer, he went to law firms downtown and dropped off his resume. At one of the firms, a young lawyer spotted him and offered him a position right on the spot. That firm was the launching of his career as he worked there through all of his summers.

Keywords: Career / Early; Classes; Experience as Student; Faculty / Professors; Graduate / Professional Training; Law Firms; Law Professor; Student Culture; UB Law School general

Subjects: EDUCATION; UB LAW AS STUDENT

Segment Synopsis: Whalen notes his good fortune of getting into the courtroom early as a lawyer; he took advantage of his early opportunities and took much interest in his work. He liked everything about his trial work and litigation practices. He disliked very little, but he can admit to not being fond of the businessman position. He wanted to work on cases and client work, not the business side of the job.

Keywords: Career / Professional Experience; Litigation; Practice; Trial Practice

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Segment Synopsis: Grew up in politics due to his family, and was always put onto political jobs but Whalen always wanted to be a trial lawyer first and represent clients. This job took him for 20 years, then he began the second half of his career in the Supreme Court. His career on the bench provided him with many enjoyable opportunities. After the application and interview process, and blue ribbon panel approval, Whalen began work in the Appellate Division. He just finished his first year in the fourth department alongside talented coworkers. Appellate court works in a collaborative, respectful manner.

Keywords: Application process; Appointments; Bench; Career / Professional Experience; Faculty / Professors; Judiciary; NYS Court of Appeals; NYS Supreme Court; Trial Practice

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Segment Synopsis: Whalen's son followed in his father's footsteps and expressed interest in law school at UB. The professors at the university were gifted and created wonderful experiences for their students. Son had a similar experience to his father. The fourth department offers a two-year program to students who want to become lawyers. Whalen is in charge of the application process and who to hire. Quality applications come from all over the country, but UB is very well represented. Whalen sets the students up to work in private practices after they leave the fourth department. The Fourth Department is comprised on hard-working staff; Fran Cafarell, Clerk of the Court, Lenora Beavers-Foote, Jonathan Gorman, Sue von Arx, John Holt, etc.

Keywords: Children / Grandchildren; Coworkers; Employment / Jobs / Wages; Internships; Law Faculty; Law Students; Public Education Law; Relationship with UB Law; UB Law School general; Undergraduate Education

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; FAMILY HISTORY; PERSONAL ISSUES; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE