Brown Hutchinson LLP

Focus and practice areas

Two kinds of work run through this firm: transactional matters and litigation. The website groups them into business and corporate transactions, banking and finance law, general counsel services, civil litigation, employment law, estate planning, personal injury, real estate and land development, and family law. Municipal and public sector work sits alongside class actions and professional malpractice and licensure defense. That spread covers both the paperwork side of a business and the courtroom side of a dispute.

On the transactional side, the firm lists business and corporate transactions, banking and finance law, and general counsel services. That last item points to ongoing advisory work, where a lawyer stays close to a company's routine decisions. Real estate and land development sits here too, covering property deals and the approvals that come with building.

The litigation practice reaches federal and state courts. It also handles arbitration and mediation proceedings and administrative tribunals. In my opinion, a firm that pairs deal work with trial work gives a client fewer reasons to look elsewhere when a contract turns into a claim. The site presents the two sides as one offering.

How the team is built

The attorney profiles page names eleven lawyers, and their backgrounds cluster in New York courts and regional law schools. The mix pairs long-tenured partners with associates and of-counsel lawyers.

The founding partners

T. Andrew Brown is a founder and has served as Managing Partner since 1994. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1984 and from Syracuse University in 1981, and he practices in civil litigation and employment law while providing general business counsel to individuals and businesses.

Michelle Anne Hutchinson handles real estate, estate planning, and litigation, and her profile lists DePaul University under education. Michael Cobbs, a partner, earned an economics degree from the University of Rochester in 1992 and a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1997. His work spans complex civil litigation, personal injury, premises liability, products liability, wrongful death, labor and employment, business, and administrative law.

The litigation bench

Louise Boillat works in litigation. She holds a science degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law, and her career includes time as an Assistant District Attorney in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office and as an in-house trial attorney at Allstate Insurance Company.

Kimberly J. Campbell focuses on business, estate planning, and personal injury matters. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami in 1996 and a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1999. R. Andrew Feinberg is Of Counsel at a Syracuse firm and is also associated with Brown Hutchinson, and his areas include civil litigation, employment law, municipal law, business and commercial law, insurance defense, and products liability.

Employment and family lawyers

Joseph A. Gawlowicz concentrates on employment and labor law, with a law degree from the University at Buffalo Law School in 2006 and earlier degrees from Rochester Institute of Technology. Ronit Zusman is an associate whose practice includes civil litigation, domestic relations, and employment law; she holds a law degree from Widener University School of Law and clerked for two judges in the Superior Court of New Jersey.

Shannon Howley practices in divorce and separation, personal injury, estate planning, and family law, and she earned a law degree and a Master of Social Work from the University at Buffalo along with a bachelor's degree from Niagara University. George F. Hildebrandt and Melissa Pressley are also among the eleven the site names.

Where the firm keeps offices

Four New York cities hold offices under the firm's name: Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, and New York City. Rochester reads as the home base, since the founder and several of the named attorneys practice there. Buffalo, Albany, and New York City extend the reach across the state.

That geography lines up with where the lawyers trained and worked. Several hold degrees from Syracuse University College of Law and the University at Buffalo, and one clerked in New Jersey before joining. As a reviewer, I read a multi-city footprint as a sign that the firm expects matters to cross county and court lines within the state.

Who the firm says it serves

The client range the website describes runs wide. It names individuals, startups, small and mid-sized businesses, multinational corporations, and Fortune 500 companies, with work across the United States. A firm that writes its client range that broadly takes both a single person's case and a large company's docket.

The website also says the firm's lawyers appear in federal and state courts and in arbitration, mediation, and administrative proceedings. That list of forums matches a client base ranging from a single individual to a large corporation. Different clients bring different kinds of disputes, and these forums cover most of them.

How the core work tends to proceed

The practice areas the firm names follow familiar paths. Civil litigation in New York generally starts with a summons and complaint, moves through discovery and motion practice, and reaches trial only if the parties do not settle first. Employment matters often begin with an agency filing, such as a charge before a state or federal body, ahead of any court case. These steps are common to the field and give a reader a sense of the timeline.

Estate planning work usually centers on wills, trusts, and related documents that take effect on a fixed event. Real estate and land development matters involve purchase agreements, title review, and local approvals. These are general descriptions of the fields the firm lists, offered as background so a reader can picture the typical stages.

Family law matters, including divorce and separation, run through the state's domestic relations courts and often turn on custody, support, and the division of property. Personal injury claims begin with a demand and can settle or move to a jury. A Master of Social Work among the listed credentials fits a family practice, where a client's circumstances carry weight. The site gives a founding year of 1994 and names eleven attorneys, most of them trained at New York law schools.