Hon. Ferris D. Lebous served as a Supreme Court Justice for the Sixth Judicial District from 2006 to 2019. In 2020, he joined Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP where he now collaborates with the firm’s fellow attorneys in the Litigation & Trial and other practice groups.

He was born in Binghamton, New York. He graduated from the State University at Binghamton in 1976, and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University in 1979. After admission to the bar in 1980, he served as an Assistant District Attorney and Senior District Attorney for Broome County between 1980 and 1982. He then entered private practice, and was a member of the Binghamton firm Pearis, Resseguie, Kline, Barber & Lebous until his appointment to the Court of Claims by Gov. George E. Pataki on May 7, 1998, and served as Court of Claims Judge until 2005. He was elected as Justice to the Supreme Court of the State of New York in 2006 and served in that capacity through 2019. 

Education:

  • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University, J.D., 1979
  • State University of New York at Binghamton, B.A., 1976

Bar Admissions:

  • State of New York

Honors & Awards:

  • Broome County Bar Association Stanley B. Reiter Award, 2019

Representative Experience:

  • Prior to joining the firm, he served as Counsel to Binghamton/Johnson City Joint Sewage Treatment Board.
  • Prior to joining the firm, he served as Special Counsel to the City of Binghamton and the County of Broome.

Publications & Presentations:

  • Criminal Justice, SUNY Binghamton (Lecturer) (1980 –1981)
  • Evidence Law, Binghamton Community College (Lecturer) (1982 –1983)

Past Employment Experience:

  • Broome County, Assistant District Attorney
  • Broome County, Senior Assistant District Attorney
  • Village of Whitney Point, New York, Village Attorney, 1984 –1998
  • Village of Windsor, New York, Village Attorney, 1996 –1998
  • Town of Sanford, New York, Town Attorney, 1989 –1998
  • Town of Dickinson, New York, Town Attorney, 1997 –1998
  • Supreme Court Justice for the Sixth Judicial District, 2006 –2019

Leadership & Community Involvement:

  • Past Director of the Broome County Legal Assistance Corporation
  • Past Director of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Counsel to the Broome County Republican Committee
  • Past Republican Commissioner of the Elections of Broome County
  • Board of Directors for the YMCA of Broome County
  • Board of Directors for WSKG Public Television and Radio
  • Member of Local 380 –American Federation of Musicians

Professional Affiliations:

  • Broome County Bar Association (Past President, 1997; Past Member, Ethics Committee; Member, 1980 –Present)
  • New York State Bar Association (Member, 1980 –Present)