Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, a full-service business law firm with offices throughout New York, is pleased to announce that managing partner, Craig S. Wittlin, has been selected by The Daily Record to receive a 2020 Attorney of the Year Award. Wittlin was selected to the Leaders in Law category, which honors attorneys who have shown dedication to the legal profession and selfless, tireless commitment to the community.
“The 2020 Attorneys of the Year pursue justice through effective representation, civic duty, mentoring and generosity. They exemplify high legal standards in addition to devoting their time and talent to the communities in which they live and work,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, group publisher of The Daily Record.
Wittlin, who joined Harter Secrest & Emery in 1992, was elected managing partner in 2016. As managing partner, he oversees the operation of Harter Secrest & Emery’s five offices and provides strategic leadership and direction to the firm’s approximately 130 lawyers and a total staff of 250. He is responsible for implementing and achieving the firm’s strategic plan, which focuses on providing differentiated, high-value service to clients through a commitment to teamwork, excellence and entrepreneurship.
In addition to serving as managing partner of Rochester’s largest law firm, Wittlin also maintains an active corporate law practice. He advises clients on a wide range of matters including mergers, acquisitions, securities, and capital markets transactions. Over the last decade, Wittlin has led teams on transactions with an aggregate value of more than $10 billion. He also has substantial experience advising executives and board members of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies on matters related to corporate governance, risk assessment, and disclosure obligations under federal securities laws.
For the past four years, Wittlin has been the only attorney in Upstate New York in any practice area to be recognized as an Eminent Practitioner by Chambers USA, earning the recognition in the Mergers & Acquisitions field. Additionally, The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized Wittlin in the fields of Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisition Law and recognized him as the Rochester area’s “Lawyer of the Year” for Mergers & Acquisition Law for 2016 and for Corporate Law in 2013. He has also been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers each year since 2009. Wittlin was a recipient of the Forty Under 40 Award from the Rochester Business Journal in 2004.
Wittlin is a graduate of Syracuse University and Albany Law School. He has served in leadership positions with many community organizations, including the Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester, Town of Inlet Historical Society, Geva Theatre Center, YMCA’s Camp Gorham, and CP Rochester.
Harter Secrest & Emery corporate attorneys counsel public and private companies on a full spectrum of corporate legal needs including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, strategic alliances, securities, entity formation, contract negotiations, corporate finance, and succession planning. Described by Chambers and Partners as “a leading name for major transactions, with a catalogue of high-value, impressive deals in its portfolio,” the group represents entrepreneurs and start-up organizations, to large private and public Fortune 100 companies.
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