Gearon's formative education took place in New York State. He attended Fordham University, a Jesuit institution in the Bronx, New York City, where he completed an undergraduate degree before pursuing legal studies at its law school.
Fordham's history in New York dates to 1841, and its law school opened in 1905, so his legal training took place within a long-established university with a strong Jesuit educational tradition.
Gearon received a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University in 1971 and a Juris Doctor from Fordham's law school in 1976. Fordham is a Jesuit university whose history in New York extends back to 1841, and its educational traditions reflect that Jesuit heritage.
The university's law school opened in 1905, during the presidency of John J. Collins, a period in which Fordham also expanded its athletic and medical programs. Gearon's law degree therefore came from an institution with more than seven decades of legal education behind it.
Gearon's legal career developed in New York State. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1977, the year after completing his law degree, and he subsequently worked as a partner of GE Power Generation.
He also served as counsel in the company's Schenectady, New York office. General Electric was formed in 1892 through the merger of Edison General Electric and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, and its Schenectady plant served as the company's headquarters for many years. GE Power, which later operated under that name and was headquartered in Schenectady, became a separate company through the 2024 spin-off that created GE Vernova.
