By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Josephine Greco had a decision to make.

The Buffalo attorney had spent her entire 30-year legal career with the law firm of Offermann Cassano Greco Slisz & Adams LLP, rising from law clerk through the ranks to partner.

The 53-year-old firm, located in the Statler Towers since its inception - and known for producing judges, including Hon. Eugene Pigott Jr. of the state Court of Appeals and several New York State Supreme Court and Appellate Division justices - was about to disband, leaving Greco at a crossroads.

Faced with the option of using her contacts in the legal community to secure a job with another firm or striking out to carve a path for herself, she found that the decision was an easy one. While other partners opted to find employment with other firms, Greco had her sights set elsewhere.

"We were all committed to the firm, but when we became truly aware that the Statler may no longer be viable, then we had to make long-term decisions," Greco said. "It gave us the opportunity to think about where we wanted to be and to consider what it might be like if we weren't together."

For the veteran attorney, that meant a chance to be her own boss.

"Having been in management at the firm, I wanted to have control. I wanted to be in a firm where I could make the decisions," she said. "It became apparent that we had different long-range plans, and I saw a great opportunity to create my own firm."

Two months after signing a lease and two days after Offermann Cassano shuttered its office at the Statler, on Dec.14, Josephine A. Greco & Associates PLLC opened for business a few blocks away in the Rand Building.

"I love being downtown in the heart of the city," she said of her decision to open the practice in Buffalo. "It's the heart of the legal community, and for my practice, being in the city is important."

Greco said she never gave serious pause over the idea of opening a business in a down economy.

"I had been involved in the management of the firm for 16 years, I had a very strong client base, and so it was a golden opportunity for me to move forward," she said. "It wasn't like I was going to open the door and have to wait for the phone to ring."

A month into the operation, the new-carpet smell still permeating the offices, Greco said the phone has indeed continued to ring and, change of mailing address aside, it has been business as usual at the civil-practice firm. Her team of lawyers and support staff are all holdovers from Offermann Cassano; the four attorneys bring a combined 121 years of legal experience to the new operation.

Two decades of that total is accounted for by Richard Slisz, a matrimonial attorney who chose to follow Greco in her new venture; he serves of counsel to Greco & Associates, and has also formed a solo practice, the Law Office of Richard C. Slisz.

"I thought that it was a great fit," Slisz said. "We got along splendidly over the last 20 years. We compement each other's practices, and I couldn't be happier."

With the fate of Statler Towers shaky, Offermann Cassano Greco Slisz & Adams moved out of the downtown landmark in May into a temporary location. Founding partner Francis Offermann stepped aside at that time, though he still handles some legal matters from his home office. Next to move on was firm partner Kevin Wicka, who joined Brown & Tarantino LLC over the summer.

From there, the Offermann firm continued to operate until closing up shop Dec. 11. Partner Tom Cassano and his longtime assistant joined the Amherst firm HoganWillig. Partner Joan Adams relocated to Williamsville and opened J. Adams & Associates PLLC, bringing along her paralegal from the firm and hiring one other attorney, Clayton Lenhardt.

As for Greco and Associates, Greco has a vision for the growth of her firm.

"I think it would be foolhardy to create a firm without a long-range plan of where you want to be, especially in these economic times," she said. "One of the considerations I had in a lease agreement was wanting the ability to grow, and we have that here."