New York attorney record · Judicial Dept 4
Donald W. O'Brien
Suny Buffalo Law School alumna, admitted to the New York bar in 1978, registered office in Rochester, NY. A half-lifetime's worth of status, address, and registration history on this record come straight from the NY Office of Court Administration.
- 1978
- Admitted
- 48
- Years in bar
- 1417492
- NY reg #
The record in one line
Donald W. O'Brien has spent 48 years on the register since admission in 1978, one of the longest-standing active practitioners the state bar carries at 92% tenure percentile.
- 48 yrs
- in active practice since admission
- Active
- current bar status: "Currently registered"
- #184 of 2,355
- by tenure in Rochester office peers
- Law school
- Suny Buffalo Law School
Data updated September 2026
What this profile tells you
Bar status & tenure
Donald W. O'Brien has carried New York bar registration 1417492 for the better part of a career, still active and in good standing. Registration is recorded within Judicial Department 4, the appellate division overseeing this attorney's home district.
Practice context & education
Practice address is listed under Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, located in Rochester, NY (Monroe County), ZIP 14604. 5 other attorneys share this firm affiliation in the registry. Educational background: SUNY Buffalo Law School (10,562 registered alumni).
State context & due diligence
Across a career spanning 48 years, Donald W. O'Brien has remained part of the New York bar's active cohort, a share of the register detailed further below.
Experience vs. the active New York bar
Donald W. O'Brien's 48 years since a 1978 admission places this record near the far edge of the statewide tenure curve below.
48 years on the New York bar
Years since admission, all currently-active NY attorneys
48 Top 8% higher than 92% of 290,787 active NY attorneys
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more active NY attorneys. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NY Office of Court Administration, Attorney Registration · September 2026
Tenure among Rochester, NY office peers
Donald W. O'Brien is earlier in the Rochester, NY office cohort than most peers: local tenure rank #184 of 2,355 (8th percentile). See the Rochester attorney directory .
- Local rank
- #184
- City cohort
- 2,355
- Local percentile
- 8th
- Admitted
- 1978
Nearest tenure peers in Rochester
- Paul Michael Aloi admitted 1978 · 48 yr
- George R. Bartlett admitted 1978 · 48 yr
- Ross Joseph Cammarata admitted 1978 · 48 yr
- James Anthony Coniglio admitted 1978 · 48 yr
How local rank is computed
Rank uses years since NY-bar admission among non-deceased registry rows that list the same office city and state, a local placement, not a statewide claim. Source: NY Office of Court Administration Attorney Registration · as of September 2026. Derived local rank, not published upstream.
How Donald compares to fellow Suny Buffalo Law School alumni
Among the 4,938 Suny Buffalo Law School graduates in the New York register, Donald W. O'Brien is longer-tenured than 99%.
48 years vs. Suny Buffalo Law School alumni
Years since admission - 4,938 NY-registered alumni of this school
48 Top 1% higher than 99% of 4,938 fellow alumni
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more fellow alumni. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NY Office of Court Administration, Attorney Registration · September 2026
Suny Buffalo Law School's active-bar rate
Of Suny Buffalo Law School's 10,562 alumni in the New York register, 69.9% currently hold "Currently registered" status, above the statewide average.
The 1978 admission class today
Of the 3,834 attorneys admitted to the New York bar in 1978, 51.7% are still "Currently registered" today, below the statewide average across all admission years.
Professional Details
- Status
- Currently registered
- Registration Number
- 1417492
- Year Admitted
- 1978 (48 yrs · veteran)
- Judicial Department
- 4
- Next Registration
- May 2028
Location & Contact
- Company
- Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP
- City
- Rochester, NY
- County
- Monroe
- ZIP Code
- 14604
- Phone
- (585) 987-2810
Education
Status Distribution Across the New York Bar
Donald W. O'Brien's current status, "Currently registered", places this attorney in the 67.2% of the 432,625-attorney New York register currently marked active.
Full statewide breakdown & source note
Source: NY Office of Court Administration, Attorney Registrations. Status counts reflect the latest reporting cycle. Bar status confirms registration only; it does not imply competence, specialty fit, or freedom from complaints.
Consumer Complaint Data
The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) tracks consumer financial complaints. Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP has been named in consumer complaints.
These are voluntary, self-filed consumer complaints, not a substantiated-wrongdoing rate: a larger firm with more clients typically shows more complaints simply from serving more people, and CFPB does not verify a complaint's merits before logging it. Read the count as consumer-outreach volume, not a professional-conduct score.
Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database. Complaints against the firm, not the individual attorney.
Same firm affiliation: Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP
Other NY-registered attorneys who share this firm name on the OCA register (not a geographic peer set).
Near-tenure Suny Buffalo Law School alumni
Fellow alumni on the NY register whose admission year is closest to 1978 (excluding same-firm colleagues above).
Same admission year (1978), other cities
NY-registered attorneys admitted in 1978 whose listed office city differs from Rochester, a vintage cohort, not a neighborhood list.
Nationwide attorneys with similar admission year or city registry density
Two non-geo peer axes for Donald W. O'Brien: closest NY bar admission year outside NY, and closest out-of-state office cities by how many NY-registered attorneys they list (~2,356 here). Distinct from same-firm, fellow-alumni, and same-year other-city strips above.
Similar admission year (~1978)
Counts come from the NY State Office of Court Administration registration extract; peers are not a competence or practice-area ranking.
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Compare attorneys →Before you rely on this record
Donald W. O'Brien's "Currently registered" listing confirms bar standing only, it is a registration fact to verify, not a verdict on quality or competence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Donald O'Brien licensed?
Donald O'Brien is licensed to practice law in New York.
When was Donald W. O'Brien admitted to the bar?
Donald W. O'Brien's admission to the New York bar dates back to 1978.
Where did Donald W. O'Brien go to law school?
Donald W. O'Brien attended SUNY Buffalo Law School.
What company does Donald W. O'Brien work for?
Donald W. O'Brien is associated with Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP in Rochester, NY.
Is Donald W. O'Brien in good standing?
Yes, Donald W. O'Brien holds active bar status ("Currently registered").
Cite this page & disclosure
Sourced from the NY Office of Court Administration, informational only, not legal advice. Full disclosure.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.