ABC News affiliate WKBW Channel 7 invited me to their studio to provide legal analysis on the most recent developments in the case of Dr. James Corasanti, who has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. You can watch my commentary by clicking on the the video above, courtesy of WKBW.
ABC News affiliate WKBW Channel 7 invited me to their studio to provide legal analysis on the recent DWI arrest of former Buffalo Sabres player Matthew Barnaby. You can read about my comments in Business First by clicking here or watch the video below, courtesy of WKBW.
Liz Kahn, former Assistant Managing Editor of the Buffalo News, recently contributed a wonderful article to the Buffalo News that eloquently captured the thoughts and emotions of a loving but broken hearted Penn State alumni and formerly devoted Joe Paterno worshiper (click here for a link to the article). Liz underscored the urgent need for the university to "...quickly and efficiently overcome this tragedy and get back to doing what I know it does well -- molding young men and women into adults to be proud of." A great piece. The path forward will certainly be painful, but university officials must understand that the speed, courage and transparency of that path will dictate the level of recovery. A must read article!
Social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace often provide the opposing party with crucial information regarding events that bear directly upon the underlying litigation and/or the credibility of litigants or witnesses. A common concern for attorneys, however, is whether they are ethically permitted to visit an opposing party's social media sites, and, if they are, whether there are any restrictions upon their behavior. In Formal Opinion 843, issued Sept. 10, 2010, the New York State Bar Association provided the first New York State ethics committee opinion to address these issues and opined that a lawyer may visit the public areas of an opposing party's social media site that are accessible to all members of the network as long as the lawyer does not engage in any form of deception (for example, deception in order to become a member of the site). New York's Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 8.4(c) prohibits...
Read More Post a comment (0)The Penn State sexual abuse scandal is yet another tragic situation grabbing headlines that reinforces civic, moral, and legal truths we can ill afford to ignore. First as parents, this story emphasizes our primary duty to protect the safety and security of our children. The innumerable sex abuse scandals from seemingly reputable institutions undermine any notion that we can trust our children to others, no matter how trustworthy or reputable the organization to which they belong. Predators lurk everywhere and feed upon the illusion of safety, serenity and security. The days of confidently leaving our children in the care of others have unfortunately long since passed. The second reoccurring lesson, for both individuals and institutions, is that the "cover-up" almost inevitably leads to unnecessary moral, civil and criminal liability. All too often reputable organizations dealing with allegations such as sex abuse or embezzlement focus on the short-term embarrassment of disclosure (such as...
Read More Post a comment (0)This is the first installment in what promises to be a continuing theme: the dangers associated with the digital age and the importance of understanding the technology that you are using before you attempt to use it. I recently represented two unrelated clients that were the unwitting victims of predators who utilized their unsecured wi-fi routers. An innocent couple in Buffalo, NY, and an innocent family in Milford, MA, both had their homes raided by armed law enforcement agents who repeatedly accused them of being pedophiles in possession of child pornography. After hours of searching my clients homes and subjecting them to offensive statements and questions, the armed agents left with my clients computers and cell phones. Incredibly, in both instances law enforcement agents eventually arrested a neighbor that had allegedly used my client’s unsecured wi-fi router to download child porn. You can read more about these case by clicking here...
Read More Post a comment (0)New York has recently enacted a new controversial system for calculating interim maintenance awards in matrimonial actions which has come under fire. My Partner, Christopher S. Mattingly, the current President of the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyer's New York Chapter, provided a letter to the Law Revision Commission on behalf of AAML clarifying the status of the AAML proposal that apparently served as a model for the NYS legislation. Chris's letter was referenced in a recent New York Law Journal article which discusses the controversy. The New York Law Journal article can be found at this link: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202518570304&slreturn=1
Current SLA licensee's, outside of NY City, who are filing for a license renewal and/or a license alteration are no longer required to provide 30 day advance notification to their local municipality! The 30 day municipal notification requirement was a major headache for licensee's and the failure to provide that notification often led to significant fines. Click here for the detailed announcement: http://www.abc.state.ny.us/system/files/Notice-S4161-A6732.pdf Click here for bill text: http://abc.state.ny.us/system/files/Chap560-2011.pdf