ELMIRA, N.Y. — Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC member (partner) Daniel Pautz is returning to his roots by heading up a new Elmira office for the Syracuse–based law firm. Pautz grew up in Elmira, where his father had a solo practice law firm, before heading off to Niagara University followed by the University at Buffalo […]
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ELMIRA, N.Y. — Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC member (partner) Daniel Pautz is returning to his roots by heading up a new Elmira office for the Syracuse–based law firm.
Pautz grew up in Elmira, where his father had a solo practice law firm, before heading off to Niagara University followed by the University at Buffalo School of Law.
“Growing up, watching him, that was all I ever wanted to do,” Pautz says of becoming a lawyer. After graduating in 2008, Pautz eventually joined the Bond law firm, where he serves as a trial attorney.
While he was working in Syracuse, Elmira was never far from his mind — or his caseload as it turns out. Over the past five years, Pautz has seen an increasing number of cases and clients from the Elmira area.
“The demand for competent legal services was really starting to outpace the demand,” he notes.
The idea for Bond to open an office in Elmira really came out of the pandemic when everyone was working, holding meetings, and conducting business remotely, Pautz says. “The concept of having a 300-person law firm in 600 square feet of office space didn’t seem like such a crazy concept,” he says.
About a year ago, Pautz approached the managing partners at Bond with the idea. They told him to put together a business plan, and they’d give it a look, he recalls. “I just thought it was really important to have boots on the ground down there,” he says.
Pautz spent about nine months meeting with clients and potential clients along with real-estate brokers to put together his plan, which he presented to the partners three months ago.
“They were gracious enough to approve it, and we were off and running,” he says.
As of June 1, Bond, Schoeneck & King leased a little less than 1,000 square feet of space at 100 West Water Street in downtown Elmira, and its 16th and newest office is now open.
While things are still being set up, the office is open for business and Pautz spends three to four days a week there.
The firm already serves a number of clients in the area, including Chemung County, but there is plenty of opportunity for growth, Pautz says. “There are sophisticated, viable small businesses down there,” he says. “I enjoy working with small businesses particularly. It’s really professionally rewarding to help them out.”
While the office is small, with Pautz as the only employee there right now, it packs the power of the entire law firm behind it, he notes. Bond, Schoeneck & King employs almost 300 lawyers in more than 30 different practice areas.
Pautz hopes to be an asset to the community and is already planning ways the law firm can serve the Elmira area. He hopes to launch a small business series, working with his colleagues at the firm, to present either in-person or virtually to address emerging legal issues. He also hopes to establish an annual continuing legal education (CLE) and networking event for local legal practitioners.
“I want to be part of the community,” Pautz says.
Founded in Syracuse in 1897, Bond, Schoeneck & King also has offices in Albany, Buffalo, Garden City, Melville, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Utica, and White Plains (Westchester County). The firm has additional offices in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, and Kansas.