by Alex Brooks
Following the retirement of George Holbrook, remaining partner Donald Tate has announced that A.J. Messersmith is joining the firm as a partner.
Tate said, “I’m super excited to have A.J. join us. He’s a local guy, and a perfect fit for our firm.”
Messersmith grew up on Clay Hill in Hoosick Falls and graduated from Hoosick Falls Central School in 2004.
He was a music major at SUNY Oneonta, graduating Cum Laude. After college he worked for a while as a DJ at WEQX in Manchester, VT, before going to law school. He started at UNH Law School, where he was top ten in his class and completed his law degree at Benjamin Cardozo Law School in Manhattan. He graduated in the top third of his class in 2012, and was admitted to the Bar in New York in February of 2013.
In his first year of legal practice he served as a part time public defender in Washington County, which he continues to do now. He joined Holbrook, Johnston & Tate in May of 2014.
Holbrook, Johnston & Tate has been a fixture in Hoosick Falls since the Second World War. John Davison founded the firm in 1946. Bill Ivimey joined him soon after that. George Holbrook joined the firm in 1961; Bill Johnston joined in 1968, and Donald Tate joined in 1996. The firm has had two of its alumni, Louis Catone and Rich McNally, go on to become Rensselaer County DA, and McNally is now a Supreme Court Judge.
The firm had its office in the Wood Block building for a long time and moved to its present building at 12 Main Street in 1975.
Messersmith said he is happy to have the opportunity to join such a distinguished firm and he looks forward to serving his clients and getting involved in the community.