Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, one of Rochester, New York’s oldest and largest law firms, announced today that it is opening a Buffalo, New York office, effective October 6, 2014. The Firm also announced that four Buffalo based attorneys will be joining the Firm as partners, effective as of the same date. The attorneys include business litigator and debtor’s/creditor’s rights attorney and William F. Savino, private equity and corporate lawyer Christian J. Henrich, general business lawyer Anthony L. Eugeni, and business litigator, Brian D. Gwitt. All four attorneys were formally with the Buffalo firm, Damon & Morey, LLP, where Savino served as the Chairman of the Business Litigation and Insolvency practices and Henrich served as the Co-Chair of the Business and Corporate practice and Chair of the Private Equity practice.

Bill Savino’s practice focuses on matters involving business litigation (including construction, corporate and partnership dissolution, accounting malpractice, and Uniform Commercial Code matters) and insolvency (both debtor and creditor) with an emphasis on reorganizations. Mr. Savino has earned the designation as a Top 10 Upstate New York Attorney and was ranked third in 2013 by Super Lawyers magazine. He has also been named as one of the Top 50 Upstate New York Attorneys. Mr. Savino has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014 (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) in the fields of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Bankruptcy, and Litigation – Construction. Mr. Savino has been named in the Best Lawyers’ 2014 Buffalo Litigation – Bankruptcy “Lawyer of the Year.” Additionally, he has been listed as one of Business First of Buffalo’s Who’s Who in Law” List for the past seven years. In May of 2014, he was honored as a Distinguished Alumni at the 52nd annual University at Buffalo Law School alumni dinner. Mr. Savino received his BA from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School.

Christian Henrich advises clients, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, in connection with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; private equity and debt financings; cyber law and e-commerce; and Delaware corporate law. In addition, he represents several institutional venture capital funds and has substantial experience with search funds. Mr. Henrich graduated, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College. He earned his J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. While attending Penn, he also earned a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School, where he was honored as a Palmer Scholar (top 5%).

Anthony Eugeni’s practice includes primarily matters involving corporate and commercial transactions, business formations, mergers and acquisitions, and representing lenders and borrowers in debt based finance transactions. Mr. Eugeni also provides general advice and consultation to business enterprises on contract matters, governance issues and day-to-day operations. Mr. Eugeni is named in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014 (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) in the field of Corporate Law. Mr. Eugeni received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School.

Brian Gwitt’s practice involves business and commercial litigation, including contract disputes, Uniform Commercial Code, corporate governance, intellectual property/trade secret litigation, bankruptcy litigation, real estate litigation, and debtor/creditor matters. A large part of Mr. Gwitt’s practice involves handling critical matters for businesses, including seeking/defending against temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, and handling other forms of emergency relief. Mr. Gwitt has successfully handled multiple cases through trial. He has a multi-jurisdictional practice, handling cases in federal and state courts in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other states. Mr. Gwitt has been named a 2013 Super Lawyer for Upstate New York for Business Litigation by Super Lawyers magazine and was also named to Business First of Buffalo’s 2013 “Legal Elite of Western New York.” In 2012, he was named to Business First of Buffalo’s Who’s Who in Law List. Mr. Gwitt received his BA from the University of New York at Fredonia and his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School.