Attorney John I. LaMancuso is pictured inside the Lewis & Lewis law firm in Jamestown. LaMancuso is running for city court judge, a post currently occupied by his father. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

John I. LaMancuso remembers sitting in on some of the proceedings taking place in Jamestown City Court.

Presiding over the matters inside the courtroom located at the Jamestown Municipal Building was his father, John L. LaMancuso.

“Looking back, I realize how lucky I was to be able to be exposed to things like that at such a young age,” the younger LaMancuso said in a recent interview. “I was lucky to be able to meet some of the attorneys and the different court staff and officers in some cases. That was great, and I was really fortunate to have had that chance as a kid.”

Like his father before him, LaMancuso is looking to take the step from private attorney to elected judge this November. Following in those footsteps, he said, also will allow him to further give back to his beloved community in which he grew up and calls home.

LaMancuso has been endorsed by the Jamestown Democratic Committee for a spot on the bench currently occupied by his father, who is retiring. He’s currently the only announced candidate for the 10-year elected position and brings with him an impressive resume.

In addition to being a partner and chairman of the Lewis & Lewis law firm, he is a director at the Robert H. Jackson Center and Northwest Arena, and a member of the Jamestown Kiwanis Club and Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

In addition to his day job at Lewis & Lewis, LaMancuso also has served for many years as village attorney for Lakewood.

Though highly distinguished in his field today, LaMancuso admits he wasn’t always sure he wanted to be an attorney. While at Indiana University getting his bachelor’s degree he explored other options, such as a career in business or finance.

“But toward the end of college, I think I started to realize that (being an attorney) was the right path for me,” he said. “And my dad was very supportive and very fair all along; he didn’t try to push me hard in this direction or anything like that.”

‘I’VE BEEN LUCKY’

LaMancuso said he’s been lucky to grow up surrounded by great attorneys, some who have gone on to become judges. Among a handful he noted as having a positive influence on his career are Charles D’Angelo and Stephen Cass.

“I looked up to all of them, especially my dad, obviously, but I looked up to all of them,” he said. “And I thought that would be a wonderful way to do something positive for the community as a career — as a profession, and it seemed like a really interesting career path to me.”

LaMancuso preaches the importance of order in his day-to-day life, which can get hectic.

“You can’t have a busy law practice; you can’t be involved in that many things unless you’re organized,” he said. “That was something that was drilled into me at a young age that, you know, if you want to pursue a career like you’re thinking of, you’ve got to be organized; you’ve got to have a schedule; you’ve got to write things down and have to-do lists.”

A commitment to being organized as allowed the Jamestown High School graduate ample time to give back to the community. Twice he has served as chairman of the annual United Way of Southern Chautauqua County campaign. He also coaches youth football, baseball, basketball and soccer.

“I’ve been lucky to be able to be involved in all those organizations,” said LaMancuso, who also credits his wife, Gillian, and the work she has taken on that has allowed him to become involved in the Jamestown community.

“I mean, it sounds cheesy to say, but it’s the reality that I could not do as much as I do as a lawyer — I could not do as much as I do in the community, the different boards … having four kids without her,” he continued.

LaMancuso noted famed Chautauqua County native Robert H. Jackson, who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and was chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials following World War II. His admiration of Jackson was part of the reason he later became involved with the center that bears his name in Jamestown.

“That’s somebody that I think my dad looked up to, who came from this place and achieved the highest levels of in his profession from Chautauqua County, which was amazing,” he said.

RIGHT TIME TO RUN

LaMancuso believes running for City Court judge is an opportunity he cannot pass up this year. He said he plans to “commit all of my professional time to public service.”

He added, “I feel like I can have more of a positive impact on the community as a whole, especially in the areas of public safety and things like that, than I could have necessarily in private practice.”

Thirty-nine local attorneys have announced their support of LaMancuso’s candidacy. Included in the list is DeAngelo, who LaMancuso has looked up to in his career.

“It comes as no surprise John LaMancuso has this much support among attorneys,” said Joseph Calimeri, an attorney and city resident. “These are attorneys in the community who have practiced law alongside John and know him well. They have hundreds of years of combined legal experience, including considerable experience practicing in Jamestown City Court.”

Meanwhile, public safety has become a “huge motivator” for LaMancuso in his bid for the bench. He alluded to recent crimes involving guns, domestic violence calls and the narcotics spreading in the area. They’re all situations that he said need to be taken seriously to ensure the community remains safe.

“A city court judge is in a position where that person can have a big impact on helping with those things,” he said, later adding, “the opportunity to get into public service is really important to me. That’s one of the reasons I went to law school, to become a lawyer in the first place, because I looked up to people who were judges locally. I looked up to Robert H. Jackson; I looked up to — going back in time — people like Robert Kennedy.”

He’s thankful for the support he’s received from his family, including his father.

“He’s always been there for me, and not only as a lawyer, but well before that, as I was trying to make a choice or trying to get through law school exams,” he said.