William Edward Furniss Jr

William Furniss has been practicing law for over 30 years. A graduate of Duquesne University Law School, he was a member of the Law Review and graduated with honors. Concentrating on litigation, he has handled thousands of cases including personal injury cases, administrative law matters, divorce and custody cases, and criminal defense. He is often hand-selected by the Tompkins County Supreme Court, County Court and Family Court judges to handle difficult civil, arbitration, family, and criminal cases. William Furniss is often sought out to handle complex criminal cases.  Currently, his practice is 100% criminal defense  

William Furniss was a member of the Tompkins County Criminal Justice, Alternatives to Incarceration Advisory Board, 2007 to 2009. He served as a member of the Tompkins County Advisory Board on Indigent Representation from 2006 to 2014 and was the Vice Chair from 2006 to 2012. In 2009, the Honorable John Rowley (Tompkins County Court Judge) selected William Furniss to represent the defense bar on the implementation team for the creation of the Tompkins County Sex Offender Court. He continues as the defense attorney for the Sex Offender Court from 2009 to 2013, and 2022 to the present  

William Furniss has also served as the defense attorney for the Tompkins County Felony Treatment Court from 2002 to 2005 and 2009 to 2011.

William Furniss has been tapped as a mentor for attorneys in both Schuyler County and Tompkins County.

William Furniss has served as a mediator and arbitrator both, as an attorney and in his prior engineering career. He mediated the successful dissolution of a contentious Ithaca business partnership. He has also served as an arbitrator for numerous construction disputes.

In 2018, William and Kristine Shaw founded the firm Shaw & Furniss PLLC. The firm concentrates on litigation cases and business compliance and operation particularly in the fields of government contracting and the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and intellectual property rights.

NOTABLE LEGAL CASES:

• Client, accused of beating another with a pool cue, charged with B Felony Assault in the First Degree. Acquitted by the jury.

• Client charged with A-II Felony Criminal Sale of Attempted Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, facing life in prison. Successfully moved the court to dismiss the indictment due to prosecution errors in handling wire taps and insufficient evidence before the grand jury.

• Client wrongfully terminated by U.S Postal Service because he had carpal tunnel syndrome. Obtained award of $140, after administrative trial for client’s lost wages under the federal Rehabilitation Act.

• Client had filed on his own for his wages when his employer filed bankruptcy. The claim was denied. Once retained as his attorney, successfully achieved award for $26,000 in wages as an administrative expense from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

• Attorney for the man accused of being the Collegetown Creeper.

• Client charged with Assault in the Third Degree for bar fight between five women. Acquitted by the jury.

• Attorney for Japanese woman in complex custody matter involving a determination of proper jurisdiction in light of Japan’s failure to be a member of the Hague Convention on custody matters, and whether an abusive American father should have custody simply because of Japan’s choice of law. Court granted custody to Japanese mother, allowing her to return to Japan with the children. Worked with client and Japanese consulate for their return to Japan when American father failed to provide the children’s passports.

• Attorney for artist in the Peter Pan Graffiti Case. Court dismissed all charges.

• Client accused of stabbing victim, then driving over him, charged with multiple felonies. Acquitted by the jury.

• Client, a registered sex offender, sought custody of his child. Successfully convinced the judge that the father was rehabilitated and a safe, caring, loving father. Father granted custody of his child over the mother and grandmother.

• Award to client whose front teeth were knocked out by anesthesiologist while intubating him during surgery.

• Client charged with felonies for allegedly shooting cows. Successfully argued that prosecutor used hearsay with the grand jury and the allegations were not based on facts. Court dismissed all charges.

• Successfully had District Attorney removed from case and special prosecutor appointed due to evidence irregularities.

• Client accused of stalking and harassing ex-wife. Acquitted by jury.

• Attorney for rapper claiming lost royalties in an Exclusive Recording Artist Agreement.

• Attorney for biotech company regarding issues with intellectual property rights, corporate compliance, and contracts and SBIR grants under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).

• Client was charged with felony Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance after being stopped by police for traffic violation. Successfully moved court that police failed to follow their protocol and conducted an illegal search. Court dismissed charges.

• Client was charged with felony Criminal Contempt for stalking his ex-wife in violation of an order of protection. Successfully moved court that the lower court improperly issued the order of protection. Court dismissed charge.

• Successfully defended Client who was being threatened with Civil Contempt for order revolving around town’s code enforcement officer and claims of distasteful signs on the client’s property. Court dismissed motion for Civil Contempt.

• Client accused of Driving While Intoxicated when giving drunk friend a ride home from a party. Acquitted of DWI by the jury.

• Attorney for defendant in the Danby Standoff case

• Guest Panelist, 2012 Women & Justice Conference, Sexual Violence Against Girls in Southern Africa, Avon Global Center for Women and Justice, Cornell University Law School.

Previously, William worked for as a civil engineer in the construction industry. Graduating from Valparaiso University with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, William was commissioned as an officer in the Navy’s prestigious Civil Engineering Corps. He served at the Naval Security Group Activity, Adak, Alaska as second in command over 40 SEABEES. Adak is a remote island in the Aleutians that is midway between Russia and the continental United States. Possessing an advanced Top Secret Clearance, William served in rotation watches as the Officer on Duty overseeing the functioning of the Security Group that played such a vital role during the Cold War.

He served as an AROICC/Project Manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southern Division in Corpus Christi, Texas (Naval Officer) and Dallas, Texas (civil service). William has managed tens of millions of dollars worth of construction projects. He received his license as a Professional Engineering in the State of Texas and continues to maintain that license. William received specialized training in asbestos removal during Navy demolition projects and managed all contracts involving asbestos removal. During this time, he was assigned to manage the Navy’s construction project for the LTV Aerospace government-owned, contractor-operated facilities in Dallas, Texas. A massive aircraft plant of hundreds of thousands of square feet of building on 315 acres — at that time, the facilities supported the Corsair A-7 jets and NASA’s Space Shuttle.

William advanced to an Area Manager for Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic Division. As an Area Manager, he provided project managers with guidance in construction practices and contract administration and regulation. He was the go-to engineer to help solve problems in contracts or in the field and to expedite solutions through the government procedural maze. He approved changes proposed by project managers. He also presented and argued contract disputes before the Contracting Officer’s Claims Review Board, as well as serving as a member of Contracting Officer’s Claims Review Boards. During his time as an Area Manager, William’s management areas included the Norfolk Naval Base (one of the largest Naval bases in the world), Louisville, Kentucky (supporting the Phalanx weapon system), and Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina.

After leaving government service, William became a Quality Control Engineer for Pizzagalli Construction Inc. William inspected and approved all construction for compliance with the plans and specifications for the construction of a $5M storage warehouse for the Navy SEALs’ classified Special Operations Crafts (really fast, tricked-out speed boats).

William Furniss has used his engineering skills to develop several computer management systems on PCs, Apple Macs, and iOS devices for project billing, cost accounting, scheduling and status logs in both the engineering and legal environments.

While he was attending law school, William also built a retirement house for his parents.

In his leisure time, William worked on his 80-acre sheep farm with his wife and 4 border collies until the farm's sale in 2021. He is an avid outdoorsman, photographer and videographer.