[4] A graduate of Union College and the Duke University School of Law, Pierce worked as an attorney before being elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1978.

He won the vote at the State Convention and led his opponent William Weld in opinion polls by as much as 25%.

He won the Republican nomination, but lost in the general election to Democrat John Olver.

[10] He left MassHousing in 2001 to serve as chief legal counsel to acting governor Jane M.

[11] Shortly before her term expired, Swift nominated Pierce to be the chief justice of the Massachusetts Housing Court.