Partner Biographies
Daryl P. Brautigam is a graduate of Cornell Law School, where he received his J.D. in 1981, and Houghton College, where he received his B.A. in 1977 summa cum laude. He was admitted to the bar in 1982. At Cornell he was a Charles Evans Hughes Scholar; a member of the board of editors of the Cornell International Law Journal; and a winner of the prestigious second year Moot Court Competition.
He is admitted to all New York state and federal courts, and has developed an extensive civil and criminal trial practice. He served as an assistant district attorney in Chautauqua County, New York from 1986 to 1992, where he tried to a verdict many serious crimes, including homicides, sexual abuse cases, arsons, burglaries, and other violent crimes. He received from AMICAE, Inc., a support and advocacy group for sex victims, its community service award in 1990 because of his outstanding efforts on behalf of rape and sexual abuse victims. After leaving the district attorney’s office in 1992, he has developed a varied and extensive trial practice, both in criminal and civil courts. For the last 18 years he has represented the County of Chautauqua in civil matters in which the County has been sued, and has tried numerous cases to a verdict on behalf of the County Law Department, including two trials to a verdict in the Western District of New York in front of Chief Judge Richard Arcara.
He was appointed by Hon. Eugene Pigott, then presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, to the Continuing Legal Education Board for New York State and served on that board for five years. He has argued in the Second Circuit of Appeals and the New York State Court of Appeals, as well as made numerous appearances in the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. His practice is concentrated on substantial plaintiffs’ personal injury matters, criminal defense, and general civil litigation.
Sharon E. Brautigam is a magna cum laude graduate of Houghton College (1978) and a cum laude graduate of Cornell Law School (1982) and was admitted to the bar in 1983. At Cornell she was the winner of the First Year Moot Court competition. She also spent 1½ years as a student practitioner in the Cornell Legal Aid Clinic and one year following law school graduation working as a staff attorney for Chautauqua County Legal Services.
Her practice is concentrated in estate planning, including preparation of wills and trusts; estate administration, including probate and intestate estates; elder law, including Medicaid planning and guardianships; guardianships of minors and disabled adults under Articles 17 and 17-A of the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act; adoptions; and commercial and residential real estate transactions. She is a director of and chairs the governance committee at Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc., a publicly traded corporation which operates Lake Shore Savings Bank, a community-oriented bank with numerous bank branches in western New York.
She is a member of the Presidential Advisory Board at Houghton College, past President of the Houghton College Alumni Association, and has donated time to numerous committees and boards in the local community. For many years she was the court appointed examiner of incompetents’ accounts for conservators, committees, and Article 81 guardians. She served on the Chautauqua County Legal Services board of directors and was president of that board for several years, receiving a commendation for her outstanding service.
Bookmark this site