Judge James McLeod: A Pioneer at Herkimer College

A member of the very first graduating class in 1969 and the first inaugural class of the Alumni Wall of Honor in 2000, James A. W. McLeod, has had an impressive career.

Utica Free Academy graduate James McLeod was a member of Herkimer College’s first graduating class, serving as the inaugural president of the Student Senate. He earned a B.A. degree from Fredonia and the Juris Doctorate from Buffalo School of Law. He was admitted to the NYS Bar in 1975; the Western District and Northern District of New York Federal District Courts and the U.S. Second Circuit District Court of Appeals in 1976.

In addition to extensive private practice, McLeod’s career includes serving as a County Family Court Hearing Examiner, Assistant County Attorney, Public Defender and Confidential Law Clerk for a State Supreme Court Judge. Active in his community, McLeod served on the YMCA Board of Directors, as legal counsel to the Buffalo Urban League, Buffalo chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Black Leadership Forum on Buffalo, and Irish Classical Theatre Board.

McLeod served as a judge at Buffalo City Court from 2009 until his retirement in 2019.  Judge McLeod began his career as a law associate and was the second African American in Buffalo to be hired as an associate with a major law firm.