Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP

Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP Woods Oviatt is a full service law firm headquartered in Rochester, NY with offices in Buffalo, NY and Albany, NY.

Providing the highest level of legal services since 1852. Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP is headquartered in Rochester, NY and has an office in Scottsdale, AZ. We represent a broad spectrum of clients, from publicly traded corporations and financial institutions to family-owned businesses and private individuals; from high-technology and industrial enterprises to construction firms; from real estate deve

lopers to educational institutions and charities. Our capabilities extend from counseling businesses to personal and family representation. Business & Finance Department
• Business Counseling
• Business Succession Planning
• Corporate Governance
• Employee Benefits / Executive Compensation
• Franchising, Distributions & Dealerships
• Health Care
• Intellectual Property, Licensing & Technology
• Investment Management
• Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures
• Not-For-Profit & Tax-Exempt Organizations
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Public Companies / Securities
• Special Investigations
• Tax Controversies
• Transactional Tax Planning

Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property, Licensing & Technology
• Intellectual Property Litigation

Employment and Labor
• Education & School Law
• Employment and Labor Litigation
• Employment & Non-Competition Agreements
• Employee Benefits / Executive Compensation
• Employment Counseling and Compliance
• Immigration Law
• Union / Collective Bargaining
• Wage and Hour Litigation
• Workplace Safety / OSHA

Family Wealth and Estate Planning
• Adoptions
• Asset Protection Planning
• Business Succession Planning
• Charitable and Foundation Planning
• Elder Law/Long Term Health Care and Medicaid Planning
• Estate and Trust Administration
• Estate and Trust Litigation
• Estate and Trust Taxation
• Florida Estate & Trust Practice
• Family Wealth Planning
• Guardianships
• Pre/Post - Nuptial Agreements
• Retirement Benefit Planning

Litigation
• Appellate Litigation
• Business Litigation
• Construction & Surety Law Litigation
• Estate and Trust Litigation
• Employment and Labor Litigation
• Education & School Law
• Environmental Law & Litigation
• Government & Municipal Law
• Insurance Coverage & Risk Management
• Insurance Defense
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Products Liability / Mass & Complex Torts
• Personal Injury Litigation
• Professional Malpractice Defense
• Securities & Shareholder Litigation
• Securities Arbitration
• Tax Assessment & Condemnation
• Toxic Torts / Lead Paint Litigation


Real Estate Development and Finance
• Commercial Leasing
• Commercial Real Estate Development
• Commercial Real Estate Finance
• Commercial Real Estate Transactions
• Condominiums and Associations
• Construction Law
• Environmental Law & Litigation
• Land Use & Zoning
• Residential Transactions
• Section 1031 Tax Free Exchanges

Secured Lending and Financial Recovery
• Debt Collection and Asset Recovery
• Commercial and Asset Based Lending
• Creditors' Rights
• Financial Institution Regulatory Matters
• Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy
• Foreclosures / REO
• Landlord - Tenant
• Public Finance
• Real Estate Litigation

08/31/2026

AI use in the workplace is growing fast. Formal policies? Not so much.

WOG partner Kate Polozie spoke with the Rochester Business Journal about why AI governance is now a baseline risk management issue for employers, especially in regulated industries.

Is your business covered? Read the full piece: https://bit.ly/3UcbQfc

Meet Hannah Cannon, an Associate in our Family Wealth and Estate Planning Department.Hannah focuses her practice on esta...
08/28/2026

Meet Hannah Cannon, an Associate in our Family Wealth and Estate Planning Department.

Hannah focuses her practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, and long-term care planning and is licensed to practice in both New York and Florida, which comes in handy for clients navigating retirement, relocation, or property in both states.

Before joining WOG, Hannah earned her J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she worked with Loyola's Civitas Child Law Clinic. She earned her B.A. in International Relations, also Magna Cum Laude, from Colgate University, where she captained the Varsity Women's Volleyball Team.

You may also recognize her voice from our most recent episode of Into the Woods podcast, where she discussed New York's spousal right of election.

Physicians, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians, this matters for you. Employment agreements often include provisi...
08/26/2026

Physicians, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians, this matters for you.

Employment agreements often include provisions that can limit where you can practice after you leave, how much notice you owe your employer, and what happens to your patient relationships.

The best time to have a contract reviewed isn't after a dispute comes up, it's before you sign.

If you're a healthcare professional evaluating a new employment agreement, our Employment Law team can review it and flag anything that could affect your career down the road.

08/25/2026

What happens to a patent when the inventor passes away? 💡

In the first installment of a three-part series on intellectual property rights at death, attorney Trent Bolar joins host Dave Shaffer to break down how patents are handled after death–from executor responsibilities and USPTO notifications to ownership through LLCs and trusts. Plus, the story behind Michael Jackson’s patented shoe design that made his iconic lean possible on stage.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.woodsoviattgilman.com/podcast/episode-32-intellectual-property-rights-at-death-patents-part-1-of-3?utm_source=social&utm_medium=wog&utm_campaign=episode-32

Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest financial commitments a business makes.Our Real Estate team reviews lea...
08/24/2026

Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest financial commitments a business makes.

Our Real Estate team reviews leases before you sign so there are no surprises after.

Can you write your spouse out of your will in New York? Not so fast.In this episode of Into the Woods, Hannah Cannon joi...
08/21/2026

Can you write your spouse out of your will in New York? Not so fast.

In this episode of Into the Woods, Hannah Cannon joins host Dave Shaffer to explain New York's spousal right of election: the rule guaranteeing a surviving spouse the greater of $50,000 or one-third of the estate, regardless of what the will says.

New episode is live! Listen now: https://bit.ly/4c2hBSS

🎙️ Episode 31: Spousal Rights After Death: Understanding New York's Right of Election

Since 1852, everything has changed: the industries we work with, the challenges our clients face, and the way legal work...
08/20/2026

Since 1852, everything has changed: the industries we work with, the challenges our clients face, and the way legal work gets done.

But one thing has remained the same: the commitment on our wall is the same one we started with. We’re here for our communities and the clients we serve.

08/04/2026

Can you cut your spouse out of your will in New York? Not so fast. 💡

In this episode of Into the Woods, attorney Hannah Cannon joins host David Shaffer to break down the spousal right of election–New York’s law that guarantees a surviving spouse a minimum share of the estate, regardless of what the will says. They cover how it’s calculated, when it can be waived, and share a cautionary tale about a rock star and a supermodel that proves why estate planning matters–especially when a marriage hits rough waters.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.woodsoviattgilman.com/podcast/episode-31-spousal-rights-after-death-understanding-new-yorks-right-of-election?utm_source=social&utm_medium=wog&utm_campaign=episode-31

What happens to your retirement accounts when you're gone?It's one of the most common and most misunderstood estate plan...
07/28/2026

What happens to your retirement accounts when you're gone?

It's one of the most common and most misunderstood estate planning questions we hear. In Episode 29 of our podcast, our attorneys David Shaffer and Morgan Napierski break down the basics of what beneficiaries need to know and how the SECURE Act changed the rules.

Worth a listen before your next family conversation. 🎙️
https://www.woodsoviattgilman.com/podcast/episode-29-retirement-accounts-after-death-the-basics-secure-act-1-0-part-1

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1900 Bausch And Lomb Place
Rochester, NY
14604

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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