Anthony Baynes will serve another term on the New York Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection board of trustees
Buffalo businessman Anthony Baynes has been re-appointed to a high ranking New York legal oversight board that deals with lawyers who allegedly misappropriate funds from their clients.
The New York State Court of Appeals unanimously voted for Baynes to the New York Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection board of trustees. This marks the second consecutive three-year appointment for Baynes to the board. His second term officially begins on Oct. 17.
Baynes is one of two non-lawyers on the seven-member panel. Members, while appointed, are not compensated and volunteer their time and expertise.
“It is very humbling that the state’s highest court deemed me suitable to serve in this important post,” Baynes said.
The board reviews matters where claims have been made against lawyers where clients allege money from escrow accounts and other sources have been siphoned.
“We are actually helping people who have been victimized,” Baynes said.
The trustees meet five times a year and usually spend a couple of days reviewing cases and hearing testimony. Baynes said the trustees next meeting has 67 cases on its docket.
Baynes tries to have at least one of the meetings held in the Buffalo area each year. Last year, the trustees met at the Buffalo Club.
Serving on the board adds to Baynes’ long list volunteer civic duties where he has been a member. The list includes serving as a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority commissioner, chairman of the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority and New York State Small Business Advisory Board.
Baynes is chairman of AJ Baynes Group, a Clarence-headquartered development and logistics company.