About Michael J
Michael J Stachowski trained in Buffalo and abroad before beginning a long career that has moved between corporate, court and municipal work. He earned a B.A. from Canisius College in 1970, then took his law degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, completing a J.D. in 1973. He later studied international corporate law and earned a certificate from the Hague Institute of International Law in 1976.
His early professional steps were varied. In 1973 he worked for Sportservice Corporation, now part of Delaware North, in a legal capacity. Two years later he served as a confidential clerk in the New York court system. In 1978 he served as counsel to Dennis T. Gorski during Gorski’s time in the New York State Assembly. Those roles put him close to the mechanics of government and public law and set a throughline for later municipal work.
In 1975 he established Michael J Stachowski PC and has carried that firm name through decades of practice. In 1986 he took on responsibilities as litigation deputy and town prosecutor for the Town of Cheektowaga. Later, in 1999, he served as town lawyer for Cheektowaga, advising local officials and representing the municipality on legal matters. The sequence of roles across the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s reflects a practice that has moved between litigation, advisory work and public-sector representation.
Professionally he maintains long-standing membership in the Erie County Bar Association, joining in 1974, and belongs to the American Bar Association, where his membership dates to 1990. He is also listed in Lawyers of Distinction since 2018 and has maintained memberships in local professional organizations continuously since the mid-1970s. He is admitted to practice in New York and in the courts of the Second Circuit.
Colleagues and clients describe a practitioner who knows municipal procedures and courtroom practice. He has combined early corporate experience with years of municipal litigation and prosecution. That balance has informed his approach to advising local governments, handling civil disputes and prosecuting town-level matters when required.
He works from his firm, Michael J Stachowski PC, and continues to take municipal and civil matters, representing local government entities and private clients in state and federal proceedings. He currently practices through Michael J Stachowski PC, handling municipal law, local government representation and civil litigation.
