Tim Brooks

People ask me all the time about my journey from being a cop to becoming a lawyer. I feel like I have told the story hundreds of times. Usually, I give a pretty quick accounting of events and end up at the present day. But this is my website, and glossing over the hard parts is not something I will be doing here.

I believe a person can have more than one calling in a lifetime. My first calling was to become a police officer. I made a choice, took a civil service exam, and desired to serve my community. There is no substitute for hard work and personal sacrifice, and you find this out quickly during training. For those of us fortunate enough to have the support of our family and friends during that difficult time there is also an unpayable debt we owe to them. Thank you to all the people who were there with me when I needed them most, whether they knew it or not.

My second calling was marketing. When I originally started taking college courses I had a desire to understand marketing principles and economics. It was a tough road but I studied hard and received my undergraduate degree from the State University of New York, Buffalo. My next endeavor was to obtain my master’s degree in Business Administration, preparing myself for a time after my police work ended but before I would retire. I enjoyed my graduate-level courses and made some great friends. Achieving a higher education is also a large amount of commitment and work, don’t ever let anyone tell you differently. Long nights, group and personal projects, and working your way through it all was more than a little stressful. But again, I have never shied away from difficult tasks that need to be done.

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I heard it. My third calling. The one that took hold and would not let go. It fueled me. It pushed me. It drove me. It was the calling to the legal profession.

This is usually where the accounting of events rushes to the end. But not this time. This was a huge decision to make when you are working full time. And it didn’t happen overnight.

I had to find a program that would work for me with my full-time patrol schedule. This meant a condensed night-only schedule. It would require support and understanding on the part of my co-workers, supervisors, and all the other brothers and sisters of the Hamburg Police Department. Their patience, and willingness to haggle with me on last-minute shift changes, while I pursued my dream helped make it possible.

On top of all that, there was the major personal undertaking of studying for a law degree. I drove from Hamburg to Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law several times weekly. I spent so many hours in the library before my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday classes that I thought they might charge me rent. Thankfully they were merciful, and I was only charged the standard tuition. For four years this was my life, working full-time hours Friday to Monday on the road. I had to turn down some opportunities to keep my dream alive because patrolman hours are more easily swapped than higher-level positions. It seemed to last forever. I studied like crazy every possible moment and lived out of a lunch bag at the library. But in the end, I summited the mountain and earned my Juris Doctor Law Degree.

I finished my twenty-one-year career with the Hamburg Police Department and was admitted to practice law in New York State shortly before my retirement. For years now I have been working and learning the ins and outs of the legal profession with the steady guidance of some wonderful peers and mentors along the way. I’ve learned what it takes to not just do a good job but to be a great attorney. It takes sacrifice, dedication, and perseverance. Life has taught me many times now that these characteristics are necessary to succeed regardless of career choice.

I have never been afraid to blaze my own path or execute my own vision, which is why this firm exists. It’s time to get things done the Tim Brooks way. As we continue to grow we will never waiver from our principles, and we will always strive to provide the best possible legal and customer services to our community members in need.