Peter J. Weishaar

Rochester Business Journal Staff//July 25, 2025//

Listen to this article

Managing Partner
McConville, Considine, Cooman & Morin, P.C.

Years in current role: 11 (29 with the firm)

What is one legal issue or trend you’re keeping a close eye on this year?

I continue to keep my eye on the advances in artificial intelligence. I remain a bit of an “AI skeptic” at the moment. While there are some benefits to using AI — especially for document review in litigation — I am not yet convinced that it can help all of my areas of practice.

What skills do you think are most crucial for new attorneys entering the field today?

I worry about new attorneys truly knowing how to conduct effective legal research. With the advancements in artificial intelligence and the integration of these advancements in the major online legal research platforms, I am concerned about whether or not law school graduates will know how to conduct legal research without the aid of artificial intelligence. Another skill I think is crucial for new attorneys is the ability to pick up the phone. So often I find that attorneys — especially younger attorneys — will communicate primarily or exclusively by email. It is far more effective to communicate over the telephone. There may be nuances that will be missed by limiting communications to writing, and sometimes you will learn something that the other person might not want to write.

What’s one misconception people often have about your area of law?

I represent municipalities and handle a fair amount of land use and zoning matters. What often frustrates me is that members of the public opposed to an application before a planning or zoning board sometimes believe that the “fix is in.” They feel like the boards are ignoring their concerns, and they do not understand why a land use board cannot simply deny an application due to strong community opposition. I take any opportunity to explain to members of the general public how planning and zoning boards approach applications. What people do not understand is that decisions by these boards must be based on “substantial evidence” tied to a particular set of elements in the town code. Community opposition alone or generalized and speculative complaints will not support a denial.

This profile is part of our Labor & Employment Law Power List for 2025. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.