People news: Hancock Estabrook adds corporate attorney Appler as partner

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Hancock Estabrook, LLP announced it has added corporate and commercial real-estate attorney, John R. Appler, as a partner in the firm.

He has joined Hancock Estabrook’s corporate and real-estate practice areas, concentrating his practice on business law, commercial real estate, and private-equity funding. Appler represents clients in all aspects of their businesses, ranging from daily operations that include contract preparation and negotiations to succession planning and mergers and acquisitions. He acts as primary business counsel to a multitude of clients across New York state including professional-service entities, manufacturers, banks and other lending institutions, and technology companies, the firm said.

Appler’s real-estate practice involves the purchase and sale of commercial real estate, land and project development, and the representation of landlords and tenants in complex leasing matters.

“Enhancing our corporate practice is a priority for the firm as we are seeing significant growth in the transactional area and are excited to offer our clients innovative and expanded capabilities. John’s extensive corporate and commercial real estate experience will be a great asset to our clients as we embark on the economic development coming to Upstate New York with the recently announced economic investment by Micron at the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay and with many other significant projects on the horizon,” Timothy P. Murphy, managing partner of Hancock Estabrook, said in a statement.

Hancock Estabrook was founded in 1889 and has continuously maintained offices in downtown Syracuse since that time. The firm also has an office in Ithaca. Hancock Estabrook provides services to corporate, small business, government, nonprofit, and individual clients across New York state.