Peter T. Roach & Associates,
P.C.
Vice President, Harmony Heights Board of
Directors
Ancient Proverb – “Give a man a fish and you feed
him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.”
“I was taught at St. John’s Law to be analytical and open to
viewing the world from a myriad of perspectives. That lesson has
proven to be the gift of a lifetime.”
Attending St. John’s School of Law at night and working in the
mortgage industry by day, Peter T. Roach ’78 aspired to own a
thriving mortgage practice. Within a year of graduating, he
achieved his goal. Then, seizing the opportunity and need created
by an unpredictable real estate industry and volatile interest
rates in the late 1980s, Mr. Roach launched a boutique collection
and foreclosures practice. Now, some 20 years later, Peter T. Roach
and Associates is a successful firm serving a range of clients from
Main Street to Wall Street.
Throughout his career, Mr. Roach has maintained close ties to his
law school alma mater. He has been a member of the St. John’s
Alumni Association Board of Directors since 1988, serving as
President from 2002-2004. As an adjunct professor, he teaches
Suretyship and Mortgages as well as Real Estate Drafting. He
is also a frequent speaker at the Law School’s CLE programs. Mr.
Roach’s strong belief in the St. John’s legal education fuels an
ongoing collaboration with the Law School’s Office of Career
Services. All the current associates at his firm attended St.
John’s and he regularly volunteers to coach and mentor St. John’s
law students.
Outside his Law School activities, Mr. Roach serves as Vice
President of the Board of Directors for Harmony Heights, a
school in Oyster Bay, New York. Established in conjunction
with a chartered and registered high school accredited by the State
of New York, Harmony Heights provides a healing and nurturing
environment for teenage girls with special emotional needs that
conventional schools cannot adequately address. In this
supportive, home-like educational setting, students develop a sense
of self worth, self-reliance and hope for the future.
Mr. Roach lives his life adhering to a few simple principles that
likely resonate with St. John’s Law School graduates and students
across the generations: “Finish today’s work before you start
tomorrow’s. Help your fellow man – you can never do enough favors
in this world. When you are the recipient of a favor be
mindful of paying it forward. Recent graduates should be especially
mindful of helping each other out. Today’s classmate might be
tomorrow’s business partner.”