Peter Kiernan, counsel to David Paterson during his brief term as governor from 2008 to 2010, has reluctantly agreed to pay a $3,500 fine for engaging in prohibited contact with state agencies after he left government service.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics said Kiernan’s activities on behalf of his law firm, Schiff Hardin, violated Public Officers Law §73(8)(a)(iv), which bars former employees in policy-making jobs from appearing before state agencies for two years.