Jerome C. Gorski received his law degree from Georgetown University in 1962 and was admitted to practice later that year. He practiced in Buffalo, concentrating on negligence, products liability litigation, and labor relations related work. From 1973 until 1980, he served as a Law Clerk to Erie County Court Judge and New York State Supreme Court Judge James L. Kane. Additionally, he was the Law Clerk for U.S. District Court Judge John J. Sirica. He was elected to Supreme Court in 1989 and was appointed to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department by Governor Pataki on August 14, 2001. Justice Gorski is a member of the Erie County and New York State Bar Associations and is a former member of the Statewide Pattern Jury Instruction Committee. He received the Outstanding Jurist Award from the Erie County Bar Association in 1998 and the 2000 Award of Merit. Justice Gorski was appointed by Judge Pfau as a Vice Chair of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics in June 2007. Justice Gorski retired effective January 31, 2012.