Anelli leaves Anelli Xavier DWI defense firm over “differences” on vision

SYRACUSE — Syracuse attorney Tom Anelli recently left the Anelli Xavier law firm to open his own law office to defend people accused of driving while intoxicated (DWI).

Anelli’s new firm is called Tom Anelli & Associates, PC.

Anelli is well-known across Central New York and Upstate after marketing his services in radio ads for more than a decade, referring to himself as “The DWI Guy.”

Moving on
Anelli decided to part ways from the firm over “differences” on the “vision of the business.”

“I’ve always believed that … we need to focus on one area of practice and become exceptionally well-known in one area of practice, just as any doctor would,” says Anelli.

Anelli and attorney Brent Xavier together formed the Anelli Xavier, PC law firm in 2006 after Anelli brought Xavier aboard to help him with the business side of his practice. Anelli had originally started the firm in 2004 as the Law Offices of Thomas Anelli.

Anelli left Anelli Xavier at the end of this April, he says.

The parting of the ways stemmed from “definitely a difference of opinion [on] how we grow this place and … take it forward into the future,” says Xavier, president and sole owner of the firm now known as Xavier + Associates, PC. The firm’s website (www.nysdwi.com) also uses the moniker “Xavier DWI Defense.”

Katie Centolella, an attorney with Centolella Green Law, P.C., represented Xavier + Associates in the discussions on the separation agreement with Anelli, says Xavier.

Anelli indicated he didn’t have any legal representation in those discussions.

“It was really an attempt to amicably separate and take care of his [Xavier’s] desire to go in one direction and my desire to go in another,” Anelli adds.

DWI defense represented “the majority of the work” that the former Anelli Xavier law firm handled, but Xavier contends that this legal segment has been “more difficult in recent years.” He cites declining DWI arrests and more competition from other lawyers, which he believes has resulted in a “shrinking market.”

“DWI makes up about 8 percent of all arrests in New York state, so there’s opportunity to do other types of defense work,” says Xavier.

When asked what other areas of law Xavier would like his attorneys at the new Xavier + Associates firm to pursue, he says, “Just general criminal defense work … all of our attorneys are well-versed in criminal defense.” The staff includes former prosecutors and experienced criminal litigators.

Anelli, for his part, says he just “didn’t want” the firm to pursue other criminal law. He has a “passion” for the practice of DWI defense, helping people in that particular situation resolve their problem.

“I really believe I’m helping decent people who have either developed an addiction or, in the alternative, made a mistake … I take that to heart,” says Anelli.

Anelli and Xavier became business partners in 2006 after Xavier had forwarded his résumé to Anelli, who liked Xavier’s business background.

“I met with Tom and I saw an opportunity there, so I bought into the firm,” Xavier recalls.

Branding
Besides Anelli’s use of “DWI Guy,” Anelli Xavier also used radio ads with the phone number “1-800-DWI-TEAM” as part of its branding.

Under Anelli’s departure agreement, the “DWI Guy” and “1-800-DWI-TEAM” brands remain with the Xavier firm.

DWI Guy is “what built this place … It still is our brand,” Xavier notes.

Anelli concedes that he fears that people will continue to assume that he’s still associated with those brands because “they’ve been tied [to him] for too long.”

“And what I don’t want to do is have any misrepresentation to the public that that is me over there because it isn’t … that’s a concern,” says Anelli.

But Anelli says his firm will promote itself enough “to let folks know, hey, we’re over here.” He has started airing some radio ads.

Anelli is now operating his own office in the Robert Gere Bank Building at 121 East Water St. in Syracuse. The office covers about 3,000 square feet of space over two floors.

He currently employs two full-time workers, including a legal assistant and a client liaison. His employees are new hires and did not come from his former firm. Anelli notes that he agreed not to hire anyone from Xavier + Associates.

Meanwhile, Xavier says his firm is pursuing new signage for its West Jefferson Street location. “That’s in progress,” he says.

The firm has also “revamped” its website. “There will be a video campaign as well,” says Xavier.

Xavier + Associates operates in a 4,000-square-foot space on the top floor of 269 W. Jefferson St. in a former train station on the south side of the Milton J. Rubenstein
Museum of Science & Technology.

Besides its Syracuse headquarters, the Xavier firm has offices in Utica, Binghamton, Rochester, and Albany. It employs about 25 people.