People: Reno's Audrey Damonte promoted to shareholder at law firm

RENO, Nev. — Holley, Driggs, Walch, Fine, Puzey, Stein & Thompson law firm recently announced the promotion of three attorneys to shareholders from its Las Vegas and Reno offices — Andrea Gandara, Audrey Damonte and John Savage join the Firm's board of shareholders.

Damonte counsels clients on a full range of commercial litigation and transactional matters, including entity formation, business counseling, contracts, asset purchases and sales, real estate transactions, title issues, agreements, and joint ventures.

Before joining the firm, Damonte served as Associate General Counsel and Director of Government Relations for more than 10 years with International Game Technology (IGT).

Damonte — who received her B.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno, and J.D. from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific — sits on the Board for Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans (VARN) and the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association.

Gandara advises clients regarding bankruptcy and commercial litigation matters. Legal services include assisting businesses, banks, and lenders on creditors rights issues, initiating and defending against lawsuits in state and federal court, and judgment collection. She also counsels on contract formation, loan agreement enforcement, and real property title disputes.

Gandara is a graduate of UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law. She currently serves as the Director for Acelero Learning – Clark County, which is part of the national Head Start program for low-income children and their families that focuses on preparing students for kindergarten so they can achieve equally with their peers and attain better futures.

Savage advises clients in healthcare-related litigation, arbitration and administrative matters. His practice centers on handling a variety of healthcare-related disputes including medical malpractice defense, contract disputes between healthcare providers, credentialing or licensing issues for healthcare providers, and billing disputes.

His defense practice has also extended to other types of personal injury cases involving wrongful death, premises liability, and general negligence.

In addition, Savage has handled appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court and currently serves as an appointed arbitrator for the Eighth Judicial District Court's Annexed Arbitration Program. He received his B.S. from John Carroll University and his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law.