April 2011 - Bar Association of Erie County

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Vol. 50 | No. 8 | April 2011
Bar Association of Erie County
BULLETIN
w w w. e r i e b a r. o r g
President’s Letter
By Scott M. Schwartz
Abrams to Deliver Keynote Address on Law Day
Floyd Abrams, an expert on
constitutional law and preeminent First Amendment attorney,
will deliver the keynote address
at the BAEC’s 2011 Law Day
luncheon, to be held on
Thursday, April 28 at the Hyatt
Regency Buffalo. The luncheon
will begin at 12:00 noon and the
ticket price is $25. Watch your
mail for an invitation or call
Sharlene Hall at 852-8687 for reservations.
The national 2011 Law Day theme is “The Legacy
of John Adams: From Boston to Guantanamo.” The
theme is intended to foster greater understanding of
the historical and contemporary role of lawyers in
defending the principle of due process and the rights of
the accused.
Don’t Let Them
Try This at Home
“Daddy, could you (fill in the blank)?
“No, Jonathan, you’ll have to do it yourself.”
I could “fill in the blank” with 5,000 things
asked by Ben or Jonathan over the years. How
many times have our kids or a spouse asked us
or did we, as kids, ask our parents or we, as
adults, ask a spouse or significant other to do
something to which the response was “you can
do it yourself.”
Adams is but one example of many noteworthy cases in
American history in which lawyers have stepped forward to defend unpopular clients and the fundamental
principles of our system of justice. Such representation
of unpopular clients is an obligation that we take seriously, one that plays out in courts in this community
and across the nation on a daily basis.”
Annual Awards Presented at Luncheon
Each year, as legal communities across the country
pay tribute to the justice system, the Bar Association of
Erie County honors those who have distinguished
themselves in service to the law.
John Adams became our nation’s first lawyer-president in 1797. Just five years before the American
Revolutionary War began, he represented the British
officer and soldiers charged with firing into a crowd of
protestors and killing five civilians in the Boston
Massacre. Adams ably defended those soldiers, despite
risks to his own safety and livelihood, and regardless of
the fact that many saw them as agents of an oppressive
British rule. He did so because of his faith in the due
process of law, in what he would later famously phrase
as “a government of laws, not of men.”
The Liberty Bell Award, presented annually in
recognition of service that has strengthened the
American system of justice, will be presented to John J.
“Jack” O’Connor, Mentor Coordinator, Buffalo
Veterans Treatment Court, Peter Reibel Mentor Group.
Established in 1964, the Liberty Bell Award is the
highest award bestowed at the Law Day program. The
purpose of this award is to recognize community service that has strengthened the American system of freedom under the law and to accord public recognition to
those who, among other criteria, have encouraged a
greater respect for the law and the courts; fostered a
better understanding and appreciation of the rule of
law; and stimulated a deeper sense of individual
responsibility so that citizens recognize their duties as
well as their rights.
“Law Day is a day on which we take time to reflect
upon and renew our commitment to the rule of law,”
according to BAEC President Scott M. Schwartz. “John
Upon retirement from his position as Director of
Medicaid Services for the Erie County Department of
Social Services, O’Connor helped City Court Judge
continued on page 4
WNY Trial Lawyers Elect Officers
There are a lot of things we can do ourselves,
though personally, I exclude anything to do
with carpentry, plumbing, electricity or cars,
other than driving and even that’s questionable (ask Mary Wydysh!) We can go to Car
Repairs for Dummies or some of us (excluding
me) can go to Home Depot or Lowe’s to learn
how to do some of those fairly elementary
tasks. In addition to neurosurgery, there is
another task that people can’t do for themselves – and that is effectively be their own
lawyer.
Just ask Mo Hassan. While this legal community provided him one of our finest jurists,
an excellent and respectful legal advisor, and
fair and honorable prosecutors, he failed miserably to convey to the jury whatever cockamamy legal defense he was trying to present.
He got his day in the spotlight, but did not
effectively present himself or represent himself.
Perhaps no lawyer - save for Perry Mason,
Matlock, or my cousin Vinny - could have done
much for him, but I am confident no lawyer
would present a defense which would help to
convict their own client or would present a civil
case against a client’s interests.
continued on page 2
Seated at left is newly-elected president Kevin D. Walsh and at right, vice president Michael F. Perley. Standing from left to
right are director James D. Schultz, Jr., secretary Courtney G. Scime, deputy treasurer David M. Goodman, director Michael
Applebaum, director Therese R. Wincott, treasurer Regina A. DelVecchio and director Daniel J. Marren. Not pictured are directors Frank LoTempio, III and Michael C. Scinta. Photo by Susan L. Kohlbacher
PAGE 2
www.eriebar.org | April 2011
Vol. 50 | No. 8 | April 2011
BAR ASSOCIATION OF ERIE COUNTY
Organized 1887
438 Main Street, Sixth Floor | Buffalo, New York 14202
(716)852-8687 | fax (716)852-7641 | www.eriebar.org
Bulletin correspondence: obrian@eriebar.org
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor ............................................Bonnie D. O’Brian
Law Editor ....................................Jeffrey A. Spencer
Tax Notes Editor ..........................Gary D. Borek
Art Editor ......................................Giles P. Manias
Hon. David J. Mahoney
(1960-2008)
Photography ................................Susan L. Kohlbacher
Glenn Edward Murray
Editorial Assistant ........................Susan L. Kohlbacher
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS | 2010-2011
President ......................................Scott M. Schwartz
Vice President ..............................Arthur A. Russ, Jr.
Treasurer........................................Vincent J. Moore
Deputy Treasurer ..........................Paula M. Eade Newcomb
Executive Director........................Katherine Strong Bifaro
“For your retirement ... I suggest that you not retire!”
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lawrence C. Franco, Daniel J. Henry, Jr., E. Michael Semple, Kevin W.
Spitler, Patrick J. Brown, Jennifer M. Dillon, Lynn D. Gates, Bridget M.
O’Connell, Emilio Colaiacovo, Paul V. Crapsi, Jr., Howard Frank, Brenda M.
Freedman.
LIFE MEMBERS
Mark A. Adrian, Carol J. Alaimo, Brian D. Baird, Lynn A. Clarke, William J.
Cunningham, Eric P. Doherty, Victor J. Gagliardi, Sharon Stern Gerstman,
Jean E. Gittler, Donald J. Holzman, Stanley Kwieciak III, J. Eldon Owens,
Lauren D. Rachlin, Jeffrey A. Spencer, James M. Wadsworth.
Would you like to see your name here? See page 6 to find
out how to become a contributing member.
CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS
Joan Casilio Adams, Peter S. Aiello, Donald A. Alessi, Grace Marie Ange,
Richard J. Attea, Hon. Rosalie M. Stoll Bailey, Hon. Tracey A. Bannister,
Stephen E. Barnes, Edwin T. Bean, Jr., Thomas R. Beecher, Jr., Ronald P.
Bennett, Leonard Berkowitz, David W. Beyer, Richard S. Binko, Richard N.
Blewett, Michael M. Blotnik, Harold J. Brand, Jr., Peter J. Brevorka, Phillip
Brothman, T. Alan Brown, Joel Brownstein, David Buch, James P. Burgio,
Michael C. Burwick.
John F. Canale, John J. Carney, Peter B. Carr, Alan S. Carrel, Thomas R.
Cassano, Stephen E. Cavanaugh, Ferdinand J. Ciccarelli, John F. Collins,
William B. Collins, Anthony J. Colucci, Jr., Robert B. Conklin, Robert N.
Convissar, Edward C. Cosgrove, Peter L. Costa, Paul Crapsi, Jr., Douglas S.
Cream, Hon. John T. Curtin, Steven P. Curvin, Roger T. Davison, John M.
Dempsey, Richard F. DiGiacomo, Anne C. DiMatteo, David A. Doll, Dean M.
Drew, Hon. Timothy J. Drury, Marvin T. Dubin, Robert E. Dwyer, Donald B.
Eppers, Leo J. Fallon, Victor N. Farley, Mark G. Farrell, Gabriel J. Ferber,
Michael E. Ferdman, Robert P. Fine, Peter J. Fiorella, Jr., Brian P. Fitzgerald,
Richard E. Forrestel, Jeffrey M. Freedman, Maryann Saccomando
Freedman, Robert Friedman, John J. Fromen.
Thomas J. Gaffney, William H. Gardner, Eugene M. Gaughan, Stuart A.
Gellman, Robert M. Goldstein, Wayne R. Gradl, Josephine A. Greco, Hon.
Samuel L. Green, John C. Grennell, Richard F. Griffin, John J. Gruber, Mark
W. Hamberger, Barbara Ellen Handschu, Thomas J. Hanifin, James P.
Harrington, John E. Haslinger, Mary Louise Hayden, Herbert J. Heimerl, Jr.,
William R. Hites, Susan S. Hogan, Edwin P. Hunter, Melvyn L. Hurwitz,
Norman E. Joslin, James B. Kane, Jr., Judith D. Katzenelson, Daniel L. Kaye,
Christopher C. Kerr, James J. Kirisits, William J. Kita, Wells E. Knibloe,
Christian G. Koelbl III, Dan D. Kohane, Ellen M. Krebs, Karl W. Kristoff,
Thomas E. Krug.
Stephen R. Lamantia, John P. Lane, Richard J. Lehner, John N. Lipsitz,
Richard Lipsitz, Arthur A. Lorenzo, William J. Love, Jr., Leo M. Lynett, Jr.
James L. Magavern, Irving C. Maghran, Jr., Mark J. Mahoney, Arthur J.
Maloney, Giles P. Manias, Richard C. Marcus, John Markarian, Mary Dee
Martoche, Hon. Salvatore R. Martoche, Hon. Jeremiah J. McCarthy,
Maureen A. McCready, Thomas I. McElvein, Jr., Diane J. McMahon, Hon.
John A. Michalek, Raymond T. Miles III, Joseph D. Mintz, Albert J.
Mogavero, Richard E. Moot, Peter J. Murrett, Jr., Arthur F. Musarra, Joseph
M. Nasca, Paul T. Nesper, Stephen M. Newman, Anthony M. Nosek, James
J. O’Brien, Robert L. O’Connell, Hon. John F. O’Donnell, Timothy M.
O’Mara, Francis J. Offermann, Jr., William J. Ostrowski.
Carl P. Paladino, Frank R. Papa, Thomas C. Pares, James A. Partacz, Robert
E. Pearman, Hon. Erin M. Peradotto, Robert H. Perk, Jeffrey A. Perla, Joel
M. Poch, Samuel G. Puleo, Theodore J. Pyrak, James P. Renda, Mary K.
Roach, Earl T. Robinson III, Jay N. Rosenthal, Marcella Rosinski, Hon.
Mario J. Rossetti, Victor A. Rossetti, Richard P. Rosso, Arthur J. Rumizen,
Ross L. Runfola, Louis J. Russo, Thomas Santa Lucia, Scott M. Schwartz,
Edward J. Schwendler, Jr., Richard B. Scott, Donald P. Sheldon, Richard J.
Sherwood, David Siegel, Louis H. Siegel, Myron M. Siegel, Robert G.
Sillars, Richard Charles Slisz, Charlotte Smallwood-Cook, Oscar Smukler,
Robert B. Sommerstein, Gregory Stamm, Robert S. Stephenson, Milton J.
Strebel, David L. Sweet.
Dominic J. Terranova, Phillip A. Thielman, Gordon D. Tresch, Thomas V. Troy,
Frederick D. Turner, Dimitri J. Tzetzo, Peter A. Vinolus, Joseph C. Vispi, Dale
M. Volker, Matthew X. Wagner, Jr., James R. Walsh, John B. Walsh, Neil
Weinberg, Peter C. Wiltse, Wayne D. Wisbaum, Raymond V. Wylegala,
Richard D. Yellen, George M. Zimmermann, H.A. Terri Zionts.
continued from page 1
Unrepresented parties can’t do it themselves. They
can’t effectively litigate or negotiate an equitable
divorce or family court dispute, devise and preserve an
estate, buy or sell real property, buy or sell a business,
negotiate a contract or protect themselves in court as a
civil or criminal litigant. These can be life altering circumstances – people just can’t do it themselves. No
“Custody Matters for Dummies” or Foreclosure Depot.
sarial matters are entitled to representation because
they cannot effectively do it themselves. We have the
Assigned Counsel Program for criminal defendants, we
have our Lawyer Referral & Information Service for
those with means but no lawyer, we have Legal Services
for the Elderly and Neighborhood Legal Services.
Notwithstanding these fine and necessary programs,
there remains a low-income population whose needs do
not fall within these programs. The ECBA Volunteer
Lawyers Project (VLP) is our pro bono program to fulfill
that need. While there are some staff attorneys, the
Volunteer Lawyers Project primarily relies upon volunteers to take referrals of their cases. We can be regular
volunteers or special project volunteers, such as the
Attorney of the Morning Project for low-income tenants
facing eviction or in-house volunteers working within
VLP’s offices with clients and VLP staff.
That, when it’s all disassembled, is our professional
identity as lawyers. We hold the legal rights of our
clients in our hands. That is our responsibility – our
place in the professional circle of life. And while we talk
about “cases” or “files,” we are talking about people.
Files and cases are inanimate objects – people are not.
I am tired of anti-lawyer rhetoric. We represent people who come to us, whether by advertising or otherwise, to protect, preserve, or advance a client’s
interests. Whether it’s Cellino and Barnes or any firm
representing injured persons, whether it’s Sam Maislin
or another member of the criminal defense bar, that’s
what we do. That’s what we are obligated to do.
The legal system works when each side in an adversarial matter is represented. It would have worked better for Mo Hassan. At least he may have been able to
present a defense, if he didn’t feel the perverse need to
do it himself. I urge all of us to contact the Volunteer
Lawyers Project at 847-0662 to see how we can fulfill
our professional obligation. If 3,800 members of the
Bar Association of Erie County each take one case per
year, it would further promote our self-respect as attorneys, along with the public’s respect for us.
While we owe it to each other to respect and defend
our profession, we also owe legal representation to
those in our community who need, but cannot afford
legal representation. Chief Judge Lippman is pressing
legislation for civil Gideon, the right to counsel in specific civil matters such as housing, foreclosure, Family
Court, and access to health care. As Bob Dylan wrote in
“Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “… you don’t need a
weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” The
state of the state is such that it will be a long wait
before we have assigned counsel for needy civil litigants.
Pentagon Papers, Party Leaders
and Other Happenings
What are your officers and directors working on these
days? There is Law Day (see article on page one), with
our awards for special services to the legal community
and public. Our Awards Committee has proposed and
the board has selected very worthy recipients. Floyd
Our bar association and we, its members, must make
a value judgment that the unrepresented in civil adver-
continued on page 4
Letters to the editor and short articles of general interest to our readers are always
welcome. All materials submitted for publication in the Bulletin are subject to editing
for reasons of style, space and content.
Send all submissions as Word documents to obrian@eriebar.org (preferred) or by mail
to: Bulletin Editor, 438 Main Street, Sixth Floor, Buffalo, NY 14202.
•
DEADLINE
•
•
May 2011 Bulletin D E A D L I N E
•
•
•
The next deadline for ALL Bulletin contributors and advertisers is
Friday, April 1, 2011.
Call Susan Kohlbacher at Bar Headquarters for more information, 852-8687.
PAGE 3
April 2011 | www.eriebar.org
bench and bar in the news
How to place an announcement:
If you are a BAEC member in good standing
and you’ve moved, been promoted, hired an
associate, taken on a partner, or received an
award, we’d like to hear from you. Talks,
speeches (unless they are of national stature),
CLE presentations and political announcements are not accepted. In addition, we will
not print notices of honors determined by
other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best
Lawyers, etc.). Notices must be submitted in
writing and limited to 100 words. They are
printed at no cost to members and are subject
to editing. E-mail your notice and high resolution photo (300 dpi) to obrian@eriebar.org.
Richard A. Grimm, III, a partner in Magavern Magavern Grimm
LLP, has been named to the 2011
board of directors of Upstate New
York Transplant Services (UNYTS).
He formerly served on the board
from 1999 through 2005. UNYTS
Grimm
assists organ and tissue donor families throughout the eight counties of western New York,
coordinates the donation process, and works to increase
community awareness and knowledge about transplantation. The group also operates Community Blood
Services, which offers blood banking to area hospitals.
Amy J. Vigneron, a partner at
Cohen & Lombardo, has been elected president of the board of directors
of the Joan A. Male Family Support
Center for a two-year term. A nonprofit organization founded in 1973
by three volunteers, the Center is
Vigneron
now the only 24-hour phone and inhome crisis intervention program in
Erie County. The group works to support families in
crisis and to “end the generational circle of violence”
and empower families through confidential assistance
programs that are provided without charge. A graduate
of SUNY Oswego, Vigneron holds a JD from Syracuse
University College of Law and focuses her practice on
corporate and business law.
Speaking Out
About the Law
James P. Domagalski has been
re-elected to a three-year term as
managing director of the Buffalo
office of Hiscock & Barclay.
Domagalski chairs the firm’s construction and Surety practice area
and focuses his practice on construcDomagalski
tion law, labor and employment law,
discrimination defense, general business and municipal litigation. A graduate of the
University of Notre Dame, he received his JD from
Syracuse University College of Law. Domagalski formerly chaired the Erie County Republican Committee
and also received the Am-Pol Eagle’s Citizen of the
Year for Law award.
Barbara E. Handschu has
announced the closing of her Buffalo
law office after 40 years of practice in
Erie County. She will continue to
practice law as special counsel to
Dobrish Zeif Gross, LLP, in New York
City. Handschu has served in this
Handschu
capacity for the past three years,
handling the firm’s matrimonial trials and appeals. She will continue to spend some time
at her Buffalo home and “hopes that this will be a long
goodbye.” Handschu can be reached at 757
Third Avenue, Suite 1500, New York, NY 10017,
212-532-4000, Handschu@Dobrishlaw.com or
Dvdxtra@aol.com.
The Bar Association wishes to thank the following members of the Speakers Bureau who
volunteered their time to help make particular
areas of the law more comprehensible to students and other lay people in western New York.
Kevin W. Spitler
Criminal Justice/Law as a Career
Lovejoy Discovery School #43
Kevin S. Mahoney
Law as a Career
Niagara University
If you haven’t already done so, why not consider becoming a member of the Speakers
Bureau? Take the opportunity to share your
valuable insight on the legal topics of your
choice. Not only is speaking out about the law a
great community service, but it is also an effective practice-building technique. Call Maureen
Gorski at the Bar Association (852-8687 ext.
118) to sign up today!
Law Day 2011
J. David Sampson has been
appointed by Governor Cuomo as
executive deputy commissioner of the
NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV). Sampson is responsible for
managing the overall operations of
the DMV with direct supervision of
Sampson
the divisions of Operations and
Customer Service; Safety, Consumer
Protection and Clean Air; Administration; Legal
Affairs; Integrity; Audit and Communications. The
DMV employs 2400 employees, titles over 10 million
vehicles, examines and licenses nearly 12 million drivers and serves more than 28 million customers each
year. It also administers the state’s Vehicle and Traffic
Law and promotes highway safety through a variety of
programs. Sampson previously served as deputy attorney general in the NYS Attorney General’s Office, folcontinued on page 24
The Company of
The Erie County Bar Foundation exists
to provide a helping hand to lawyers in need.
The Legacy of John Adams:
From Boston to Guantanamo
Pay tribute to America’s first
lawyer-president
at the Law Day luncheon
on April 28
(see story on page one).
Law Day…another great way
that your Bar Association
helps people learn about the law.
The need may be based on medical problems,
job loss, emotional difficulties, family crises or
many other situations. No person or problem
is categorically excluded.
If you need assistance – or know a friend or
colleague who does – please call Kelly
Bainbridge at 628-4892. All services are
individualized and completely confidential.
It’s great to belong to
something this good.
PAGE 4
Abrams, a preeminent First Amendment attorney (New
York Times v. United States - the Pentagon Papers
case), will be our speaker. We have approved a program
with Verizon to market to our members a discount on
firm phone lines and attorney wireless lines. Our judicial evaluations are being tabulated, with a meeting
scheduled with Justices Feroleto, Whalen and Caruso to
promote the constructive use by our judges of your
evaluations and to hear their concerns. Rather than
issuing only a written report to all the respective
judges, I have offered to meet with any judge interested
in a more specific review of their results.
Speaking of judges, Art Russ, Nelson Zakia, our
Judiciary Committee Chair, and I recently met with the
leaders of the Democratic, Republican and
Conservative parties. We wanted to promote greater
awareness and consideration of our judicial candidate
ratings. We were somewhat surprised to hear that only
one of the parties has a screening committee for
Supreme Court candidates but they do for judicial
races for which there is a primary. We resolved to get
our ratings out earlier, to get them directly to the parties, and the parties have agreed to notify us of those
who have expressed to them an interest in running.
We also talked about the new proposal of Chief Judge
Lippman, to disallow any judge who receives a campaign contribution of $2,500 or more from an individual or attorney from being assigned for two years to
any case involving that party or attorney. The limit for
an attorney and his or her firm collectively is $3,500.
There is a 60-day comment period – through April 29
- and I trust that a number of additions or corrections
will have to be made to address reverse judge shopping, that is, contributing to a judge to insure disqualification. Personally, I think the need illustrates the
problems with our system of selecting judges, where
not only are we absent merit selection or screening
committee involvement but also what the New York
Law Journal termed, “the often choreographed judicial
nominating system for Supreme Court seats…”
Lastly, we continue our efforts to keep our CLE programs interesting and topical, to look for member benefits on services you can use, provide events for social
interaction among the membership, and to be the voice
of our legal community. Barring a Mubarak-type
uprising, we will continue to do so. As always, we look
to you for your membership, your CLE enrollment,
your committee participation and your attendance at
our events.
[B]
Abrams to Deliver Keynote Address (Law Day)
Robert T. Russell, Jr. to establish a unique problemsolving court to assist veterans in the criminal justice
system. The Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court was the
first of its kind in the nation and has served as a model
for similar courts across the country. As a veteran of the
Vietnam War who served with the 82nd Airborne
Division, O’Connor understood that veterans respond
better to fellow veterans in difficult circumstances. He
now serves as Volunteer Chief Coordinator and mentor
for the Peter Reibel Veterans’ Mentor Group. The group
has grown to include 47 mentors who assist 146 veterans in the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court. O’Connor
regularly travels across the county - as a volunteer at
his own expense - to assist in establishing similar veteran mentor groups and veterans’ courts.
“We would be hard pressed to try to count the innumerable lives Jack has made better by his dedication
and service to the Veterans Treatment Court in
Buffalo,” according to Chief Administrative Judge
Paula L. Feroleto.
The Justice Award is bestowed only when circumstances warrant and not necessarily on an annual basis.
It is given to either a lawyer or non-lawyer whose
efforts have contributed substantially to improvements
in the justice system. This year’s award will be presented to Colleen M. Rahill-Beuler and Michael J.
Quarantillo, Senior United States Probation Officers
for the Western District of New York.
“Both have earned the respect of not only their colleagues in the Probation Office, but also of the judges,
court staff, prosecutors and defense attorneys with
whom they come into regular contact,” according to a
report of the BAEC Awards Committee chaired by E.
Michael Semple.
Rahill-Beuler and Quarantillo currently work in the
pre-sentence unit which requires them to interact with
defendants and their counsel, prosecutors, crime victims, law enforcement personnel and members of the
public. They must also deal with the intricacies of the
United States Sentencing Guidelines and the reports
they generate are relied upon by the court in imposing
sentence. The two were chosen for “their ability to deal
with a myriad of conflicting issues in a professional and
pleasant manner which substantially contributes to the
improvement of the justice system,” the report says,
adding that “the principal beneficiary of their high
level of technical competence and professionalism is the
justice system itself.”
The Special Service Award is traditionally presented each year to a non-lawyer connected with a
governmental agency or the court system who has provided outstanding service to the legal community. This
year, the award will be presented to Oliver C. Young,
Principal Court Attorney Referee for the Eighth
Judicial District. Young has served in this capacity since
1980 and one of his duties is ensuring that the 100 plus
pro se applications received each month - including
habeas corpus and prisoner complaints - are in proper
form. His efforts directly preserve the Constitutional
and due process rights of these individual and assure
them their “day in court.”
Among his other responsibilities, Young oversees the
Unified Court System’s Student Ambassador Program
which helps educate high school students about the
justice system. He also supervises the Judicial
Internship Program, which is designed, in part, to
attract dedicated lawyers into the professional ranks of
the court system. A member of the Eighth Judicial
District Gender and Racial Fairness Committee and the
Diversity Steering Committee further, Young is “always
willing to stimulate a deeper sense of individual
responsibility and to foster recognition in fellow citizens
of their duties and rights under the Constitution,”
according to the BAEC Awards Committee.
The Police Officer Award is presented to a member of the local law enforcement community in recognition of service that strengthens the justice system;
encourages respect for the law; and demonstrates a
concern for society and appreciation of the dignity of
all people. The 2011 recipient is Kevin Kendall,
Senior Investigator for the New York State Police’s
Violent Felony Warrant Squad. For the past seven
years, Kendall has dealt with violent offenders every
day, leading a team of investigators who pursue and
capture violent felons on the run from the law. He
“consistently brings a level of professionalism and dignity to his work that is a credit not only to all in law
enforcement but to our system of justice as a whole,”
according to the Awards Committee report. “He treats
those he apprehends not as “bad guys” who need to be
subdued, but as actual citizens.”
A 1988 graduate of the New York State Police
Academy, Kendall was promoted to his current position
in 2003. He has received five Superintendant
Commendations and 15 Troop Commander Letters of
Commendation for various cases, including a heroic
attempt to save the life of a woman in a burning car
that had been struck by a tractor trailer on the
Thruway. Throughout his career, Kendall “has exemplified the spirit of the Constitution which imposes
upon police officers the unique duty to balance the
rights of society against the rights of the accused.”
The Media Award is intended to recognize exceptional achievement in the print and electronic media
which strengthens our system of justice under the law.
The 2011 award will be presented to Michael Beebe,
a retired reporter from The Buffalo News. A veteran
news reporter, columnist and published author, Beebe
covered local news and criminal law in the courts for
three decades. He is the recipient of statewide and
national awards for excellence in investigative journalism from the Associated Press, New York Newspaper
Publishers Association and the National Press Club. He
closely followed and reported on a wide range of high
profile cases, including WNY’s Bike Path Rapist, which
ultimately led him to co-author a novel entitled “The
Bike Path Killer.” He also covered the Lackawanna Six
continued on page 6
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
Abrams to Deliver Keynote Address (Law Day)
case, the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, and the crash
of Flight 3407.
Beebe “was absolutely one of the toughest reporters
I ever worked with,” according to fellow Buffalo News
reporter Dan Herbeck. “But as tough as he was, being
fair and accurate were just as important to him. He
cares about people and about his community.”
Student Awards are presented each year for a variety of law-related education
programs sponsored by the
Bar Association. Elementary
and high school students who
submitted the top designs in
the Association’s annual poster
contest based on the Law Day
theme will receive their
awards at the luncheon. The
winning team from the 2011
high school mock trial tournament will be recognized as
well.
Candidates running for officer and director positions in
the Association’s upcoming
annual elections are allowed
to begin “campaigning” at the
luncheon.
About Floyd Abrams
Floyd Abrams is a partner
and member of the executive
committee at the New York
City law firm of Cahill Gordon
& Reindel LLP. A member of
the litigation practice group,
Abrams has a national trial and appellate practice and
extensive experience in high-visibility matters, often
involving First Amendment, intellectual property,
insurance, public policy and regulatory issues. He has
frequently argued Supreme Court cases dealing with
such issues as the scope of the First Amendment, the
interpretation of ERISA, the nature of broadcast regulation, the impact of copyright law and the continuing
viability of the Miranda rule. Most recently, Abrams
prevailed in his argument before the Supreme Court on
behalf of Senator Mitch McConnell as amicus curiae,
defending the rights of corporations and unions to
speak publicly about politics and elections in Citizens
United v. Federal Election Commission. His clients have
also included The McGraw-Hill Companies, The New
York Times in the famed Pentagon Papers case and others, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Time Magazine, Business
Week, The Nation, Reader’s Digest, Hearst, AIG, and
more in trials, appeals and investigations.
Abrams defended the Brooklyn Museum of Art in its
legal battles with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; he represented two of the nation’s largest insurers in litigation
under Section 17200 in
California; he has represented
one of the nation’s largest
credit rating agencies; and
has frequently testified before
congressional committees and
prepared clients to do so. In
1998, he represented CNN in
investigating and issuing a
report on its broadcast accusing the United States of using
nerve gas on a military mission in Laos in 1970, and
again in 1999 in seeking to
persuade the United States
Senate to permit the public to
view its deliberations as it
determined whether or not to
convict President Clinton of
alleged high crimes and misdemeanors. He represented
Nina Totenberg and National
Public Radio in the 1992
“leak” investigation conducted by the United States
Senate arising out of the confirmation hearing of Justice
Clarence Thomas and, in 2004 and 2005, Judith
Miller and Matthew Cooper in their efforts to avoid
revealing their confidential sources.
A graduate of Cornell University and Yale Law
School, Abrams was recently elected to the American
Academy of Arts & Sciences and is the recipient of
numerous awards, among them the William J.
Brennan, Jr. Award for outstanding contributions to
public discourse; the Learned Hand Award of the
American Jewish Committee; and the Thurgood
Marshall Award of the Association of the Bar of the City
of New York.
SPECIAL THANKS
TO OUR SPONSORS!
The Bar Association of Erie County
gratefully acknowledges the following for
their generous support of the Law Day
luncheon.
2011 Law Day Sponsors
GOLD
Avalon Document Services
Counsel Press, LLC
Jack W. Hunt & Associates, Inc.
M & T Bank
Settlement Professionals, Inc.
Verizon Wireless
SILVER
Apex Engineering
Legal Med
LAW FIRM SPONSORS
Anspach Meeks Ellenberger, LLP
Brown Chiari LLP
Colucci & Gallaher, P.C.
Greco Trapp, PLLC
Hagelin Kent LLC
Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
HoganWillig
Hurwitz & Fine, P.C.
Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP
Nixon Peabody LLP
Become a
Contributing
Member!
The BAEC bylaws confer “contributing member”
status on any member who resides or maintains an
office in Erie County and elects to pay an additional
$40 in annual dues to help support Association programs. Contributing members have the same rights
and privileges as regular members and “such additional rights and privileges as the board of directors
shall bestow,” including special recognition in the
Bulletin, annual dinner program and other publications.
PAGE 7
What are These Funny Icons Doing in my Bulletin?!
By Elizabeth M. Midgley
Tzu, are still completely anonymous.
Okay, okay, you caught us. We’ve
been scattering new icons and information on social network sites through
the last couple of Bulletins. And there’s
nothing you can do about it!
Here is where you can find us: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Bar-Association-ofErie-County/160544025069. Then click “Like” at the
top.
Or can you?
The Bar Association of Erie County has gone all high
tech. Sorta. And we want you to join us.
Here are some interpretations and explanations
(I know, I know, of course you know what all of these
things mean. But here they are just in case you have to
find out “for a friend”):
This funny little icon means we’re on Facebook.
Yes, this almighty movie-inspiring page can be a little
daunting. But trust me, it’s not that scary. If my 82year-old grandmother can work it, so can you. Get one
of your law clerks to help you out during one of their
hourly must-check-Facebook-status-updates sessions.
Oh, you’re already on Facebook, you say? Well then,
why aren’t you a fan of the Bar Association’s Facebook
page? Did you know there are 3,800 of us bar members and only a measly 206 people “like” the Bar
Association? Poor showing, guys.
Here’s what “liking” the page will get you:
reminders about upcoming events, access to photographs for recent events that just didn’t make the cut
for inclusion in the Bulletin, links to the electronic version of the Bar Bulletin and other articles, CLE information, links to surveys and submission forms, and
much, much more.
Don’t worry. By “liking” the page, your inbox will
not be taken over by the listserv for the Bar Association.
It will simply include any posts made by the Bar to
your news feed on your Facebook home page. And
really, who can’t use a few friendly reminders of when
those nominations are due?
Even better – if you “like” the Bar, no one even has
to know! The general public or friends of the BAEC
can’t even see the other people who “like” it. So you,
and your profile picture of you and Rita, your Shih
Now, how about this little guy?
This means you
can follow us on Twitter. For all of you Tweetheads, or
whatever you’re calling yourselves these days, follow
the Bar Association and be kept up to date on what’s
going on, just like on the Facebook page. If you’re on
Twitter already, no further explanation is needed. If
not, it’s a great way to stay updated on current events
– it’s like having a living, breathing CNN send you the
most up-to-date news. And I hear that Charlie Sheen is
looking for more followers, too. Help a guy out.
So you should start to follow us here: http://twitter.com/BAECBarAssoc#
THIS is where the networking happens.
If you’re looking for a safe and relatively low-information-generating social networking experience, this, my
friends, is for you. Join the BAEC group, where members can share articles they have written, upcoming
Bar Association or committee events, links to articles in
local newspapers and media about bar members and
committees, and so much more.
The BAEC LinkedIn group is a great way to find and
connect with other local attorneys. And with the opportunity to share your newest article on “The Impact of
the Wherefore Clause,” you never know what kind of
employment opportunity will fall in your lap with these
new connections.
Alas, there are still only 116 members of this group.
Here’s to hoping this article makes a difference.
Find this page, become a member of the group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid
=2318537
Well…? What are you waiting for? Save yourself
from the threat of paper cuts and check us out online.
Or - like most bulk mail you get - pass this on to your
secretary and have him do it for you. You’re going to
like what we’ve done.
It’s a Brave
New E-world…
…and
your
favorite
Bar
Association is now available on your
favorite social networking sites!
In addition to our Web site,
www.eriebar.org, news, information
and updates can now be found on
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
As part of our ongoing effort to
communicate timely information to
our members, you will also receive
e-newsletters from us about
upcoming CLE programs, career
opportunities and news items
that come to our attention between
issues of the Bulletin. If for any reason, you have not been receiving
these materials or choose not to
receive them, please contact Susan
Kohlbacher at 852-8687 ext. 121 or
skohlbacher@eriebar.org.
As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are invited.
PAGE 8
Martinsen v. Camperlino, 913 N.Y.S.2d
454 (4th Dept., 2010)
death and taxes
Compared to Bleeker Street Tenants, this case is
rather straightforward.
By Peter J. & Jillian E. Brevorka
Recent Surrogate’s Court Decisions and Other
Estate Planning Matters
As those of you who have seen the movie Body Heat
will recall, a thorough knowledge of the Rule Against
Perpetuities is vital for every lawyer. Two recent cases,
one from the Court of Appeals and one from the Fourth
Department, re-emphasize that.
The Court of Appeals, in a decision by Judge Jones in
which four of the judges joined, reviewed the history of
the Rule Against Perpetuities as it related to options,
and noted that the established rule under common law
is that options to purchase land are subject to the rule
against remoteness in vesting.
Bleeker Street Tenants Corp. v. Bleeker
Jones LLC, 2011 NY Slip Op1360 (2011)
“It is that uncertainty of title which renders the
property inalienable for an unreasonable period of
time,” the decision reads. But the court held that this
does not apply to options to renew which are appurtenant to a lease.
In this case, the Court of Appeals held that the Rule
Against Perpetuities does not apply to options to renew
leases.
The plaintiff/landlord leased the subject premises to
the predecessor of the defendant/tenant. The lease provided for an initial term of 14 years, with nine consecutive options to renew for a 10-year period. The landlord was supposed to give notice of the option to renew
seven months prior to the end of the term. The tenant
then had 60 days to exercise the renewal option. If the
term expired, the tenant could remain as a month-tomonth tenant.
The original 14-year term did expire, and the tenant
continued on a month-to-month basis for over 10
years.
Without giving any notice with respect to the renewal options, the landlord sued seeking summary judgment that the renewal options violated the Rule Against
Perpetuities [EPTL 9-1.1(b)]. The tenant crossmoved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The Supreme Court granted the tenant’s crossmotion and dismissed the complaint.
The Appellate Division reversed, declaring the
renewal options void under EPTL 9-1.1(b). The First
Department determined that the lease term had
expired prior to the renewal option being exercised,
and concluded that the option could not be appurtenant to the lease.
The court held because the Rule Against Perpetuities
did not apply to options to renew leases under
American common law, and since EPTL 9-1.1 purported to codify American common law, it follows that
options to renew leases also fall outside of the scope of
EPTL 9-1.1.
The court noted that the option in this case is exercisable pursuant to the lease, and thus, it is inherently
appurtenant to the lease. The court also noted that the
option lacks power to divest title of the property to the
option holder.
In a concurring opinion, Judge Read held the option
to renew a lease is not an exception to the Rule, but
simply is outside of the Rule because covenants to
renew leases, without time limit, do not suspend the
power to alienate the land.
In her dissent, Judge Graffeo pointed out that the
court’s 1996 decision in Symphony Space v. Pergola
Props. recognized a three-pronged exception to the
application of the Rule for an option appurtenant to a
lease: (1) it must originate in the lease; (2) it may not
be exercised after lease expiration; and (3) it is incapable of separation from the lease. Judge Graffeo
viewed the subject lease as permitting renewal after the
term had expired, thereby imposing an impediment
upon the owner’s ability to sell the property, and thus,
violating the Rule against Perpetuities.
In 1981, Marie-Louise Tiffany sold 115 acres of land
to the defendant, a developer. Ms. Tiffany retained an
adjoining parcel of about 8.5 acres, upon which her
residence was located. As part of the transaction, Ms.
Tiffany gave the defendant a right of first refusal with
respect to the 8.5 acres. It provided that if Ms. Tiffany
or her heirs ever attempted to sell the parcel, the defendant would have a right to match the offer up to
$250,000, or, if a higher price was offered he could
purchase for $250,000.
After Ms. Tiffany’s death, the property passed to the
plaintiff, who commenced the within action to have the
right of first refusal declared invalid. The trial court
found for the plaintiff, holding the right of first refusal
violated the Rule Against Perpetuities (EPTL 9-1.1).
On appeal, the Fourth Department in an opinion by
Justice Smith unanimously affirmed.
The Rule provides that (1) any present or future
estate is void if it suspends the absolute power of alienation for a period beyond lives in being at the creation
of the estate plus 21 years; and (2) any estate in property is invalid unless it must vest, if at all, within the
same period.
The Fourth Department held that:
“This Right of First Refusal violates the rule
against remote vesting because it purports to
bind Tiffany’s heirs and assigns without temporal limitation, and thus defendant’s interest under the Right of First Refusal could vest
against those unknown possible owners more
than 21 years after Tiffany and defendant
had died.”
The defendant claimed that the Right was personal
to him, and therefore, did not violate the Rule because
he is a life in being. But the court noted that the Right
purported to be a covenant running with the land,
which would continue to encumber the subject property even in the event that the defendant declined to
exercise the Right.
The defendant also argued that the Right was
exempt from the Rule because it involved a commercial
transaction. But the Fourth Department cited the
Court of Appeals decision in Morrison v. Piper that the
commercial exception to the Rule contained in
Metropolitan Transp. Auth. v. Bruken Realty Corp.
would not be extended to private, non-commercial
transactions between individuals in which there is no
governmental or public interest. The Appellate Division
noted that the Right of First Refusal in this case prohibited Ms. Tiffany and her heirs from using the
continued on page 18
St. Thomas More Guild Inc.
An Organization for Lawyers
in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York
President
Directors
John J. Aman
K. John Bland
Laurie Styka Bloom
Vice President
Craig R. Bucki
Michael L. McCabe Cornelia Farely
Hon. Sharon M. LoVallo
Daniel T. Lukasik
Secretary
J. Michael Lennon II Hon. Patricia A. Maxwell
Hon. Jeremiah J. McCarthy
Paula M. Eade Newcomb
Treasurer
Mary L. Slisz
David C. Mineo
Vincent J. Sorrentino
Kevin W. Spitler
Donna Hoelscher Suchan
J. Patrick Lennon
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION,
call J. Patrick Lennon at 854-1300 or write to:
PO Box 35, Buffalo, New York 14201-0035
PAGE 9
Full Service at the Erie County Bar Foundation
By Timothy P. Noonan
If you are a regular reader of the
Bulletin or familiar with what goes
on at the Erie County Bar
Foundation, you know the great
work that the Foundation does for
local lawyers and their families. We
often see attorneys suffering through
the hardship of unemployment or families devastated
by illness or disease. And we see families suffering
through depression, alcohol abuse, and ethical or business concerns. But we’re also able to help qualifying
applicants with another common problem faced by
many in our profession: tax issues.
Yes, that’s right. I fill the obligatory spot on the board
designated for a “tax guy.” Some may suggest I’m a
necessary evil. So in addition to assisting attorneys and
their families facing the hardships discussed above, it’s
possible that we can also assist in helping to resolve tax
issues. Indeed, this is no time to be lax on tax responsibilities. Officials at the IRS and especially those in the
New York Tax Department are cracking down on professionals - including lawyers - who fail to file returns
or pay their taxes on a timely basis. New York state has
gone so far as to initiate numerous criminal investigations of attorneys who don’t file their tax returns (like-
Welcome
New Members
The Bar Association
of Erie County is pleased
to welcome the
following new members:
Denise M. Brown
Elizabeth A. Bruce
Alexander C. Collichio
Thomas R. Elliot
Holly A. Erick
Jeffrey P. Gleason
McKenzie M. Higgins
Margaret A. Hurley
Amy Kaslovsky
Julie Kruger
Victor Mui
John C. Nelson
Jason D. O’Hare
Erinn K. Prestidge
Rebecca E. Sarles
Daniel J. Schuller
Keisha Williams
Adam S. Wynn
It’s great to belong to something this good.
ly recognizing the public support they
might get from going after lawyers!).
“ if you’re fortunate
In fact, Bill Comiskey - who used to
enough to never
head-up tax enforcement at the New York
Tax Department but has since become one
need the services
of my partners at Hodgson - wrote a piece
last year in the New York Law Journal
of the Foundation,
addressing this very issue (see
Comiskey/Scarsella, Note to Attorneys: File
that’s okay too.”
Tax Returns or Face Consequences, New
York Law Journal, 4/13/10). Nice title,
right? In the article, Bill mentions that 17
attorneys were arrested in 2009 and
charged with failing to file returns. The
article also points out the disciplinary consequences
this can cause, including the potential for automatic
disbarment over a felony conviction. So again, we
attorneys need to be extra careful about issues like this,
even when we fall on hard times.
The good news is that the Foundation has a tax guy
who can help qualifying applicants. More good news?
The Tax Department does have a “voluntary disclosure” program that allows non-filing taxpayers to come
forward and resolve open tax issues free of civil and
criminal penalties. You just have to get to them before
they find you. So don’t let these
issues linger. If you or a colleague
are struggling with this issue, now is
the time to fix it.
This is one of the great things
about the Foundation’s board. We
come in all shapes and sizes. In my
short term so far on the board, there
hasn’t been a problem that someone
wasn’t able to handle. We exist to
help members of the bar and their
families. And if you’re fortunate
enough to never need the services of
the Foundation, that’s okay too. Just
send us some money, and be assured
we’ll put it to good use!
PAGE 10
New Admittees Welcomed
The Bar Association of Erie County recently sponsored a reception at Harry’s Harbour Place Grille to
welcome newly-admitted attorneys to the practice of
law in Erie County and introduce them to members of
the local bench and bar.
Photos by Susan L. Kohlbacher
Hon. T. Robert Russell, Jr., Charles R. van Ee, Scott D. Woodruff, BAEC vice president Arthur A. Russ, Jr., Jordan Walbesser,
BAEC president Scott M. Schwartz, Hon. Frederick J. Marshall and Neil A. Pawlowski.
New members of the bar Yimell M. Suarez and Scott D.
Woodruff.
Pictured from left to right are Kristen L. Schaub, Cory J. Weber, former BAEC president and chair of the Admission to the Bar
Committee Stephen R. Lamantia, Melanie J. Beardsley and Matthew S. Baszkowski.
Hon. Susan M. Eagan and Michael J. Lombardo, who chairs
the BAEC’s Real Property Law Committee.
Lee M. Sobielski, Hon. Deborah A. Chimes, Hon. Gerald J. Whalen, BAEC Awards Committee chair E. Michael Semple and BAEC
president Scott M. Schwartz.
Rodney O. Personius, at left, who chairs the BAEC’s
Criminal Law Committee, is pictured with Hon. John M.
Curran, at right.
Special thanks to the following sponsors
for their generous support of this event:
Gold Sponsors
Avalon Document Services
Counsel Press, LLC
Jack W. Hunt & Associates, Inc.
M&T Bank
Settlement Professionals, Inc.
Verizon Wireless
Law Firm Sponsors
Anspach Meeks Ellenberger LLP
Brown Chiari LLP
Colucci & Gallaher, P.C.
Greco Trapp, PLLC
Hagelin Kent LLC
HoganWillig
Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP
Nixon Peabody LLP
Hon. David Manz, BAEC Young Lawyers Committee vice chair Leah R. Nowotarski, Hon. Frederick J. Marshall, and BAEC Young
Lawyers Committee vice chair Joshua E. Dubs, are pictured with newly-admitted attorney Emma L. Buckthal.
Peter C. Obersheimer, Joseph P. Heins, former BAEC president Hon. Jeremiah J. McCarthy, Soyoung Ahn and Alan J. Bozer, who
chairs the BAEC’s Human Rights Committee.
PAGE 11
cyberlaw: the brave new e-world
By Anne F. Downey
YouTube
You videotaped a terrific legal presentation on
Incorporeal Hereditaments by a senior partner at your
firm’s main office and now you want to share it with
the world. All you need to do is upload the video at
www.YouTube.com and it will be available for viewing
by anyone and everyone. But first you may wish to edit
out the scene where the associate in the third row
dozed off and drooled on his tie.
YouTube is a video sharing Web site that allows anyone to upload a video, share it, and view videos posted
by others. The videos cover a vast array of topics, from
the sublime to the ridiculous. Want to watch hilarious
videos of really bad drivers? YouTube has that. Cute
kittens? Got it. Environmental law seminars? Sure.
Symptoms of mesothelioma? No problem. The classic
film footage of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show?
It’s there. Wide right? Still painful to watch.
Some videos on YouTube go viral. One of the most
popular videos is “Charlie Bit My Finger,” a 56-second
home video showing one-year-old Charlie biting the
finger of his three-year-old brother, Harry. I just know
that half of you are going to stop reading this article
right now and jump on your firm’s Internet to watch
the dang thing. And then, after wasting time watching
the original, you can watch the parody videos, the
interview of the boys’ parents, the musical remix version, and the animated version. When your IT administrator terminates your Internet access, please don’t
blame me.
YouTube also has many helpful videos on topics like
how to sell something on eBay, how to create a
Facebook fan page, how to prepare a PowerPoint presentation, and how to defrag a computer. Often the
videos are sweet homespun creations, just ordinary
individuals filming themselves explaining a topic. But
there are plenty of professional videos too, and corporations, politicians, unions, non-profits and newspapers
are among the many entities using YouTube today.
YouTube content includes not only short videos but
also full-length movies and television shows from companies like MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment and CBS.
You can watch the entire one hour and 54 minutes of
“Ripper: Letter from Hell,” so
long as you log in claiming to be
at least 18 years of age.
pany announced that more than 65,000 new videos
were being uploaded every day, and that the site was
receiving 100 million video views per day. According to
data published by market research company
comScore, YouTube is the dominant provider of online
video in the United States, with a market share of
around 43 percent and more than 14 billion videos
viewed in May 2010. YouTube says that 35 hours of
new videos are uploaded to the site every minute, and
that around three quarters of the material comes from
outside the U.S. It is estimated that in 2007, YouTube
consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in
2000. Alexa (a Web information company) ranks
YouTube as the third most visited Web site on the
Internet, behind Google and Facebook.”
Guidelines Include Not Doing “Bad Stuff”
or Making REALLY Bad Pizzas
The YouTube Terms of Use specify that users retain
ownership of the content that they upload
to the site, but the user grants YouTube “a
worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free,
sublicenseable and transferable license to
As discussed last month,
“When
your
IT
use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivaYouTube is one of many busitive works of, display, and perform the
nesses (including Blogger and
administrator
Content in connection with the Service and
Gmail) owned by Google.
YouTube’s (and its successors’ and affiliterminates your
Searching YouTube is similar to
ates’) business, including without limitation
searching Google, and both sysfor promoting and redistributing part or all
Internet
access,
tems use Google Instant. For
of the Service (and derivative works
example, if you start typing
please don’t
thereof) in any media formats and through
“Andrew Cuomo,” the YouTube
any media channels.” In addition, users are
blame me.”
search system will suggest varideemed to grant “each user of the Service a
ous topics such as “Andrew
non-exclusive license to access your
Cuomo State of the State
Content through the Service, and to use,
address” and “Andrew Cuomo
reproduce, distribute, display and perform
budget.”
such Content as permitted through the
YouTube was created in 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve
functionality of the Service and under these Terms of
Chen and Jawed Karim, all employees of PayPal (a
Service.”
subsidiary of eBay). The company started out above a
Users are prohibited from uploading copyrighted
pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo,
materials
without permission of the copyright owner.
California. The first video, “Me at the Zoo,” features
Also
prohibited
are materials that violate the YouTube
18 seconds of inane commentary by Karim at the San
Community
Guidelines,
which instruct users not to
Diego Zoo and can still be seen at YouTube. (Now the
post
sexually
explicit
materials,
graphic violence, spam,
other half of you have quit reading this article and
hate
speech,
and
“bad
stuff”
(that’s
the YouTube terrushed to watch the video.)
minology), such as animal abuse and bomb making.
After the 2005 launch of the site, YouTube grew rapcontinued on page 12
idly. According to Wikipedia, “[I]n July 2006, the com-
PAGE 12
Cyberlaw
Violations can be brought to YouTube’s attention by
other users who “flag” the video. YouTube staff reviews
the flags and will take down videos that violate the
Guidelines. There has been controversy when political
videos have been flagged and taken down.
Businesses are waking up to the possibilities and
challenges presented by YouTube. In 2009, when two
Domino’s Pizza workers posted a YouTube video showing the making of a pizza with filthy bodily substances,
Domino’s not only fired the workers, pressed charges,
and had the offensive video taken down (although it
has resurfaced on YouTube), Domino’s also posted its
own public relations video discussing the extensive
efforts that Domino’s takes to ensure quality food and
services. (N.B. Domino’s does not control user comments posted below its video, many of which are highly
critical of the company and its food.)
Two months ago, we discussed the Tiffany v. eBay
case, in which the Second Circuit shot down Tiffany’s
claim that eBay should be held liable for contributory
trademark infringement because of the acknowledged
high volume of sales of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry on
eBay. There is similar litigation involving YouTube, in
which Viacom has sued YouTube because of the
acknowledged high volume of copyright infringement
at the video Web site. Viacom seeks $1 billion in damages, alleging that it has found more than 150,000
unauthorized clips of Viacom material on YouTube that
have been viewed “an astounding 1.5 billion times.”
In June 2010, the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York denied Viacom’s motion
for summary judgment and granted summary judgment to YouTube on grounds that, under the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, general knowledge of copyright infringement is not enough to impose liability.
Viacom has appealed to the Second Circuit, and three
big guns are representing Viacom in the appeal: Jenner
& Block, Shearman & Sterling, and former Solicitor
General Ted Olsen of Gibson Dunn. For its own part,
Google states that it has spent $100 million on the case
so far. Many amicus briefs have been filed with the
Second Circuit. Stay tuned.
[B]
lost in (techno) space
By Martha Buyer
A Call to Action on a National Public Safety Network
On a single day during a late January snowstorm in
the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (Prince
George’s and Montgomery Counties, MD, precisely),
Verizon Wireless dropped a whopping 10,000 calls to
911 from its network. That’s right. According to the
FCC, 10,000 calls made over a five-hour period to 911
disintegrated before making it to the first responders
whose raison d’etre is to answer calls and solve crises
quickly. Thankfully, this issue didn’t happen in western
New York. But it easily could have, and the consequences could have been monumental.
What is amazing (and not in a good way) is that five
and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, there is still
no nationwide wireless network for public safety. Even
more surprising is that there remains no federal 911
law. The FCC’s Emergency Access Advisory Committee
(key word is “advisory”) defines its mission as making
“recommendations to the FCC regarding policies and
practices for the purpose of achieving equal access to
emergency services by individuals with disabilities, as a
part of the migration to a national Internet protocolenabled emergency network, also known as NG911.”
That’s nice, but certainly without power or teeth. To
me, this is a serious concern.
This block will link public safety networks nationwide
while supporting next generation 911. This section of
spectrum also has the ability to support the transmission of specific and critical incident data, like location,
building floor plans, and medical telemetry data to first
responders. In addition, it will provide links between
the public and first responders, and first responders
and their back links (hospitals), so that the back links
are in the best position to manage crises as they
develop.”
“Without the D block,” Fletcher continued, “first
responders must rely on wireline technology to transmit all of the intelligent data. This was one of the problems during Katrina. When the wireline telephone
systems went down (much telecommunications equipment was housed in the basements of buildings in
downtown New Orleans), they were inoperative, and
the wireless networks were not reliable. Wireline
telephony has traditionally been more reliable (the
Katrina example aside), but America’s first responders
are mobile by nature and must be able to respond to
disasters without being tethered in any way.”
If you’re still reading, you’re probably wondering
why these capabilities don’t exist now. You’re also
probably wondering who would oppose legislation that
seems like such a “duh.” No single government entity
has secured the power to take control of a national first
responder’s network. Interested parties include primarily DHS, DoD, the FCC and the NTIA, among
others. Can you say “turf war?”
There is a glimmer of hope. In mid-February,
Congressman Pete King (R-NY), with not only bipartisan support but White House support as well, proposed
H.R. 607, the Broadband for First Responders Act of
2011 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/query/z?c112:H.R.607:). The
Act, which has been referred to the
House Committee on Energy and
“ Until a federal governCommerce, makes several very
ment entity with authorimportant steps toward a national
ity and the budget line is
emergency responders’ network.
in charge, this concept,
which seems so obviousThe Act:
ly critical, will remain on
1. allocates and licenses a set segthe drawing board. Five
ment of spectrum bands (758and a half years after
763 megahertz and 788-793
Katrina is simply too
megahertz), referred to as the
D Block; (Under this proposal,
long to have talked
the D Block would be allocated
about change without
for public safety broadband
implementing it.”
communications.)
2. establishes rules permitting a
public safety broadband
licensee to authorize public safety service
providers to construct and operate a wireless public safety broadband network in the licensee’s
spectrum, if such authorization would expedite
public safety broadband communications;
3. requires that any wireless public safety broadband network be fully interoperable, provide for
user roaming, be disaster survivable, have the
appropriate level of cyber security, and be consistent with the Statewide Interoperable
Communications Plans and the National
Emergency Communications Plan;
4. establishes regulations to authorize the shared use
of the public safety broadband spectrum and network infrastructure by entities that are not
defined as public safety services;
5. establishes regulations to allow use of the public
safety broadband spectrum by emergency
response providers; and
6. develops a public safety agency statement of
requirements that enables nationwide interoperability and roaming across any communications
system using public safety broadband spectrum.
According to Mark Fletcher,* the E911 Product
Manager for Avaya and an expert in emergency
response, “The section of spectrum, the D-Block, is
ideal for first responder utilization for several reasons.
Platitudes are great, but until a federal government entity with authority and the budget
line is in charge, this concept, which seems so
obviously critical, will remain on the drawing
board. Five and a half years after Katrina is
simply too long to have talked about change
without implementing it.
In terms of opposition, ham radio operators,
who currently occupy some of this spectrum
real estate, are unhappy about losing capacity.
In addition, there are those who argue that the
D-Block, with its nationwide capability, should
be sold to the highest bidder, with funds raised
being devoted to closing the federal budget
gap. Okay, this isn’t an unreasonable argument
except for two important facts: If the spectrum
were to be sold and then donated to public
safety officials (or even if part of the sold spectrum
were donated back), there’s an extra layer of complexity and participation, thus extending the amount of
time it will take to actually make the network work.
Secondly, the last time the D-Block spectrum was put
up for auction, bids didn’t even reach the reserve, so it
was pulled off the market. There are a number of reasons why the reserve wasn’t met, but the fact remains
that the national network doesn’t exist yet, and the
spectrum lays fallow.
To encourage this legislation through the system,
push Congress to H.R. 607. If you take the affirmative
step of reaching out to Congressman Higgins or
Congresswoman Slaughter, know that you will be
standing with the public safety industry (including
police and fire chiefs and other first responders, among
many, many others).
When you think about it, what’s more important
than public safety. As Fletcher put it during a recent
conversation, “who has priority parking at the mall?
RVs or ambulances?” It really is a matter of life and
death.
*As an interesting side note, while this area of
telecommunications has always been the focus of Mark
Fletcher’s professional career, his life was saved several
years ago by the first responders who answered his 11year-old daughter Haley’s call to 911 in his New Jersey
community when he suddenly fell ill.
[B]
PAGE 13
Hollywood’s Version of
Mediation and a Mediator
By Nadia Shahram
About a month ago, as I finished
the first session of mediating a
divorce between a couple, the husband looked at his soon-to-be exwife and then at me.
“Nadia, I have a question outside
of what we have discussed,” he said, moving uncomfortably in his seat.
“Yes?” I asked, feeling a little concerned.
“Nadia, is mediation legal?”
I crossed my legs and looked at him and then at his
wife. Both sets of eyes were on me. Without waiting for
a response, he continued.
“Have you watched the episode of “Fairly Legal,”
which is about this sexy mediator who runs in high
heels, holding a cappuccino as she hails a cab to her exhusband’s office, after she just slept with him the night
before? The ex-husband is an assistant district attorney, and she goes to steal a file of a young man accused
of assault with a deadly weapon that she ends up visiting in prison later on that day to try to save him from
falling between the cracks and saving his scholarship to
a prestigious university….”
I almost choked on my last sip of cappuccino as I
uncrossed my legs in a desperate attempt to hide my
high heels from view.
“She pounds with her high heels on an expensive collector’s item watch,” the client continued, “ which she
meant to demonstrate for a couple in her office the sentimental value of things. Is even mediation legal? She
seems like someone who has no respect for the law.”
Not based on what he described, I thought.
For those who may not have seen the new show airing on Thursday nights, it is about resolving conflicts
outside of courtrooms and the confrontational win-lose
environment that the courts created. Interesting to
know that our courts were built upon criminal laws
and that is where criminals perhaps should go. I wonder sometimes why couples with relationship problems
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PAGE 14
Hollywood’s Version of Mediation and a Mediator
should end up in court at all. For those of us who have
resisted the passive watching of TV, we know this show
portrays a stereotype of mediation and mediators.
Although I do have to admit that as a grateful professional, I am happy mediators have made it into
Hollywood for a change, where for years – starting with
Perry Mason – four out of five TV shows involve at least
one lawyer! Let us analyze a scene from the show:
The mediator is in a 7-11 type of store and a robbery
is taking place in front of her. She quickly takes charge
of the situation and the gun, finds out what the basic
needs of the robber are, and convinces the store owner
to pay a certain sum. By satisfying the needs of both
with very little (e.g.: the robber gets beer/beef jerky
and the store owner loses minimal money and no
longer has a gun pointed at his head), she ends the situation peacefully. Both parties get what they hope for
or - as mediators say - their needs are satisfied.
Even great mediators, such as professors Rogers and
Sanders from Harvard, have failed to account for this
scenario in their numerous books on getting to the “need”
from the “position,” giving a number of real life examples. Hollywood’s sensationalization of the profession of
mediation of course highlights some basic differences
between mediation and litigation. The basic difference,
which is marginalized in the show, is the emotional aspect
that the mediator looks for as she confronts a situation. In
contrast, attorneys look for the law to fit the case under
its guidelines. It is a distorted image on the show that a
mediator is a lawless, disobedient, flaky, yet lovable creature. The mediator focuses on the needs of the people in
question, thinking of both parties. In contrast, a litigator
focuses on the position of the person represented, creating a one-sided and combative environment.
Mediation Addresses Emotions,
Disappointments
As an attorney of mediation, I am guided by the law
but not limited by the law. We as mediators give meaning to the law through the uniqueness of the case at
hand and not by the traditional scenarios of win-lose
when dealing with relationships breaking up. This
removes us from the traditional model used in courts,
but only in our approach, as the law still holds. When a
relationship ends, regardless of the situation, there are
usually no winners. For example, when a marriage
comes to an end, a mediator looks at the situation not
from the perspective of formulas and guidelines but of
emotions and disappointments. A mediator then
focuses on how to avoid further damage to other parts
of the relationship as he or she works to gently end the
spousal relationship.
Addressing mistakes does wonders for the healing of
the wounded parties, which ends up resolving the differences in a more meaningful and respectful manner.
When people are hurting, they are also angry. Where
they go to talk about their anger largely determines what
their next moves will be. I as a mediator do not represent
the anger of my client but rather their interest. And if
that interest involves apology, in so many words, I recommend it. Have you heard of an attorney recommending that a client acknowledge his or her mistakes?
In television shows like “Fairly Legal,” mediators are
portrayed as loose cannons and unpredictable. In one
case, a judge refers to the mediator as “just a mediator
who has no respect for the law.” Mediators respect the
intention of our Constitution, which sometimes gets
lost in court.
Recently in a court when the opposing attorney
showed me the spousal maintenance and child support
numbers which would have put my client in the red, I
naively asked, “What about my client?” The attorney
replied, “What about him? That is not my problem.”
I think we as attorneys sometimes look at guidelines
as laws, whereas perhaps we should truly see them as
“guidelines.” Mediators do act outside of the box and
get results - not because we are a lawless group of
flakes - but because we are dedicated to resolving
issues outside of courts. I found myself without hesitation calling an out-of-state client on Valentine’s Day
because I knew she needed to hear a friendly voice and
asking her to get in touch with the soon- to-be ex-husband because he might also need to hear kind words. A
client called me on a Sunday evening to see if I could
call his wife and ask on his behalf to put the whole
thing on hold because - based on my recommendation
- he had called a counselor. I will not hesitate to hug
my clients at the end or even in the middle of a session
or whenever I know it will help them to move on.
You may wonder what I told the client who asked me
if mediation is even legal? I pretended to take off one of
my heels, looked at his wife and asked, “Does he have
a collector’s item watch?”
And of course we are also lovely creatures, just as the
show depicts!
[B]
PAGE 15
B E
G R E E N
—
R E C Y C L E
Y O U R
B U L L E T I N
PAGE 16
Stimulus Funding Causes NLS Caseload to Increase by 27 Percent in 2010
By William J. Hawkes, Executive Director
Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
The much debated American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, (ARRA), also known more
commonly as the “stimulus bill,” was
signed into law in February 2009. It
was the ARRA with which the federal
government bailed out Wall Street investment firms,
major banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies, General Motors and Chrysler, as well as numerous
other major industries.
Few people know that the bill also contained funding
to prevent homelessness across the United States. In
the spring, summer and fall of 2009, NLS’ supervising
attorneys and I worked through multiple applications
for stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, (HUD), which was
made available under a newly created grant program
known as Homelessness Prevention and Rapid
Re-Housing Program (HPRP). We applied in the
various HPRP jurisdictions which were created in Erie,
Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties.
The HPRP program had two primary goals: (1) to
assist people at risk of homelessness, or those already
homeless; and, (2) to stimulate the local economy. The
program was designed to last no longer than three
years, although the grant funding could be exhausted
sooner, depending on the rate of third party payments
made on behalf of people facing homelessness.
In the fall of 2009, we were notified that we were
awarded separate grants from the City of Buffalo, Erie
County, the Town of Tonawanda and the City of
Niagara Falls. Neighborhood Legal Services then
entered into collaborations with Belmont Housing
Resources for Western New York, Crisis Services,
Catholic Charities, the Buffalo Chapter of the American
Red Cross, the Col. Matt Urban Center, and the YWCA
in Niagara Falls, all of which became our partners in
delivering an array of services in each jurisdiction. The
services were designed to assist people who were facing
homelessness and housing instability due to loss of
income, high utility bills, sudden disability of a wage
earner, inadequate public assistance benefits and similar issues. Each household faced a financial crisis which
made them either at risk of homelessness, or caused
them to already be homeless.
PAGE 17
Bar Association of Erie
County Professional
Ethics Opinion
western district case notes
Opinion No:10-06
By Paul K. Stecker and Kevin M. Hogan
Topic: Retention and Disposal of Client Matter Files
Digest: A lawyer should retain records in accordance
with the instructions of the client, the Rules of
Professional Conduct, and any other applicable rules or
laws.
Rules: 1.15; 1.16; 3.4; 7.1; 7.3; 22 NYCRR 603.7
and 691.20
Question: The inquiring lawyer proposes to send to
clients, following the settlement of their personal injury
claims, the following notice:
We will retain any file materials in connection
with your personal injury case in our possession for thirty (30) days. You may pick these
materials up at any time during office
hours by calling in advance to make arrangements. If we have not received instructions
from you regarding these materials within
thirty (30) days, the file materials will be
destroyed due to space limitations.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
In Santino v. Financial Systems, Inc. (09-CV-982C,
2/23/11), plaintiff sued under the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection
Act of 1991 (“TCPA”), claiming that defendant mistakenly made numerous automated telephone calls to
plaintiffs’ residence for the purpose of collecting a debt
owed by an unrelated third party. The court granted
defendant’s motion to dismiss the TCPA claim based on
repeated rulings by the Federal Communications
Commission that pre-recorded debt collection calls are
excluded from the TCPA, even when the debt collector
contacts a non-debtor in error.
FAIR HOUSING
Opinion: The Rules of Professional Conduct contain
a number of provisions specifically requiring lawyers to
retain for various periods particular types of records
described in those provisions. For example, Rule
1.15(d), entitled “Required Bookkeeping Records,”
states as follows:
In Taylor v. Harbour Pointe Homeowner’s
Association (09-CV-257C, 2/16/11), plaintiff sought
injunctive relief and damages under the Fair Housing
Act (“FHA”), alleging that the defendants, her
Homeowner’s Association and one of its officers, failed
to accommodate her clinical depression, which
allegedly prevented plaintiff from maintaining her residence to the Association’s satisfaction. The court
granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the FHA claim, holding that plaintiff’s statements to the officer did not amount to a
request for reasonable accommodation and that there
was no evidence that having someone else clean her
patio amounted to a denial of plaintiff’s right to the
use and enjoyment of her dwelling.
(1) A lawyer shall maintain for seven years after
the events that they record:
LABOR LAW
The inquiring lawyer requests an opinion concerning
whether the furnishing of such a notice, and the
destruction of the clients’ file in accordance therewith,
is ethically permissible.
(i) the records of all deposits in and withdrawals from the accounts specified in
Rule 1.15(b) and of any other bank
account that concerns or affects the
lawyer’s practice of law; these records shall
specifically identify the date, source and
description of each item deposited, as well
as the date, payee and purpose of each
withdrawal or disbursement;
(ii) a record for special accounts, showing the
source of all funds deposited in such
accounts, the names of all persons for
whom the funds are or were held, the
amount of such funds, the description and
amounts, and the names of all persons to
whom such funds were disbursed;
(iii) copies of all retainer and compensation
agreements with clients;
(iv) copies of all statements to clients or other
persons showing the disbursement of funds
to them or on their behalf;
(v) copies of all bills rendered to clients;
(vi) copies of all records showing payments to
lawyers, investigators or other persons, not
in the lawyer’s regular employ, for services
rendered or performed;
(vii) copies of all retainer and closing statements filed with the Office of Court
Administration; and
(viii) all checkbooks and check stubs, bank
statements, pre-numbered canceled checks
and duplicate deposit slips.
Other relevant provisions in the Rules of Professional
Conduct include Rule 1.10(e) [Records of
Engagements]; 1.15(a) [Property Belonging to
Another]; 1.15(c)(4) [Property that a Client or Third
Person Is Entitled to Receive]; 1.16(e) [Papers and
Property to which the Client Is Entitled]; 7.1(k)
[Advertisements]; 7.3(c)(3) [Solicitation Information].
To the extent that an attorney’s file includes the types
of records referenced in these provisions, the lawyer’s
In Teoba v. Trugreen Landcare LLC (10-CV6132 CJS, 2/15/11), plaintiffs alleged that defendant’s
failure to reimburse recruiting, visa and transportation
expenses of temporary foreign workers hired pursuant
to the H-2B visa program violated the Fair Labor
Standards Act (“FLSA”) and state minimum wage laws
because the expenses amounted to de facto involuntary
deductions from or kickbacks of wages. The defendant
moved to dismiss on the grounds, among others, that
the expenses were primarily for plaintiffs’ own benefit
since they were not integral to the performance of
their job duties. Noting the split of authority as to
whether employers are required to pay recruiting, visa
and transportation expenses of H-2B visa guest workers, the court denied defendant’s motion, observing
that such expenses “are unique costs of doing business,
primarily benefiting employers, which cannot be
passed on to employees either directly or indirectly, if
doing so would reduce the employees’ wages below
minimum wage.”
In Brickey v. Dolgencorp., Inc. (06-CV-6084L,
2/23/11), another FLSA case, the court denied plaintiffs’ motion to certify a collective action on behalf of
plaintiffs who alleged that defendants failed to pay
overtime by reason of “an internal payroll hours allocation policy which gives each store a certain number
of work hours, or ‘labor budget,’ in which typical
functions are expected to be performed, and rewarding managers who are able to stay within their recommended allocation.” Noting that plaintiffs appeared to
concede that defendants’ policy did not on its face violate FLSA, the court found that plaintiffs had failed to
show “that they were subject to a common policy or
practice that violated the law, as opposed to unlawful
actions by individual, anomalous managers.”
RICO
In Ozbakir v. Scotti (09-CV-6460L, 2/10/11), the
court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’
RICO claims without prejudice, finding that plaintiffs’
allegations of fraud, alleging essentially that defendants
engaged in a series of transactions to inflate the apparent value of real property sold to them by defendants,
did not meet the specificity requirement of Rule 9(b),
Fed. R. Civ. P.; because plaintiffs did not allege that they
were injured through the investment of income derived
from a pattern of racketeering activity; and because
plaintiffs’ allegations of a “similar scheme” by defendants did not show a pattern of racketeering activity.
PAGE 18
Stimulus Funding Causes NLS Caseload to Increase by 27 Percent in 2010
HPRP was essentially a program of last resort for
people facing homelessness. In order to qualify, households first needed to apply for any benefits which may
have been available from the Departments of Social
Services before they could become eligible for HPRP
funding. The locally designed HPRP delivery system
had four basic functions: (1) intake and referral; (2)
public benefits analysis and eviction defense; (3) case
management; and (4) financial management/cash disbursements. NLS provided the benefits analysis and
eviction defense components of the services funded by
HPRP.
Death and Taxes
retained parcel for commercial use, and required that
the parcel must be maintained as a residence thusly:
“By structuring the transaction in that manner, the
parties to the agreement created an estate that could
vest well beyond the limit in EPTL 9-1.1(b), and
thereby violated the rule against remote vesting.”
Matter of Estate of Petote, 2011 NY Slip
Op 939 (4th Dept., 2011)
The decedent’s sister petitioned for intestate administration. The Respondent appeared and claimed he
was married to the decedent and, therefore, had priority to Letters of Administration. Pending the determination of that issue, the Surrogate appointed the Public
Administrator to administer the estate.
At trial, the putative spouse presented a certified
copy of a marriage certificate from Orange County,
California. The sister presented the testimony of a
handwriting expert who said that the decedent’s signature on the marriage certificate was a forgery. The
Surrogate in dismissing the sister’s petition, found some
holes in the testimony of the handwriting expert, and
held the presumption of marriage resulting from the
marriage certificate was not overcome. The Surrogate
also awarded the husband costs against the sister for
the fees charged by the public administrator and the
fees of the husband’s lawyer.
On appeal the Fourth Department affirmed the
holding that the sister had failed to rebut the presumption of marriage raised by the marriage certificate. But,
the court reversed the award of costs against the sister
for the fees of the Public Administrator and the fees of
the attorney for the husband: “In our view, petitioner
did not engage in frivolous conduct warranting the
imposition of sanctions against her.... [P]etitioner had a
good faith basis to question whether the decedent was
married to respondent.”
Many of the clients served by the HPRP funding in
Erie and Niagara Counties were people with little or no
prior experience receiving public benefits. Many came
from two wage-earner working class families that suffered the loss of one or more jobs due to layoffs and
were quickly thrust into a financial downward spiral.
Many were people who were facing eviction or utility
shutoffs because their minimum wage jobs were inadequate to cover the cost of rising heating costs or a rent
increase. All were desperate and all needed assistance
to prevent their families from becoming homeless.
Matter of Estate of Stanley, 79 A.D.3d
1620 (4th Dept., 2010)
The decedent, a New York resident, was killed in an
accident in Florida. His wife was named executor of his
estate by the Erie County Surrogate’s Court. She commenced a wrongful death action in Florida, which was
eventually settled. The settlement agreement said that
it was subject to the approval of the Erie County
Surrogate’s Court and the Florida Court.
A proceeding was filed in the Erie County Surrogate’s
Court to approve the settlement of the Florida action,
and guardians ad litem were appointed for the decedent’s minor children. Meanwhile, a proceeding in a
Florida court approved the settlement. The executor
then sought to terminate the proceeding in Erie County
Surrogate’s Court, claiming that the Florida decision
approving the settlement was entitled to full faith and
credit.
The guardians ad litem argued that the settlement
agreement, by its terms, required the Erie County
Surrogate’s Court to approve the settlement, and that
the Surrogate was not required to defer to the approval
of the settlement by the Florida court. The Surrogate
so held, and the executor appealed.
The Appellate Division held that the settlement
agreement did not attempt to confer jurisdiction upon
the Surrogate, but rather made such approval a condition of the settlement. Further, the Fourth Department
held that the Surrogate’s review did not fail to afford
credit, validity and effect to the orders of the Florida
court. Rather, the Florida court approved the settlement in accordance with Florida law. The Appellate
Division noted that the Surrogate would be reviewing
the settlement in accordance with New York law, as
required by statute and by the Agreement.
The Appellate Division also approved the Surrogate’s
exercise of discretion, granting the application of one of
the guardians ad litem to authorize members of his law
firm to assist him and perform various duties on his
behalf. The court noted that any question at this time
concerning reasonableness of the guardian’s fee was
premature.
[B]
Third Party Payments Designed to Prevent
Homelessness
The HPRP payments they received were made on
their behalf to third parties in order to prevent homelessness or to rapidly re-house them once they were
homeless. Thus, landlords, housing authorities, utility
companies, moving companies, and storage facility
companies were the types of local interests which were
paid directly with these “stimulus funds” to prevent the
homelessness of our clients. In 2010, NLS served 2,706
such households.
The HPRP clients and the general increase in
demand for our services created by the ongoing effects
of the recession, created a record number of newly
opened cases at NLS. In 2010, we completed our first
full year of HPRP-related services. In our recent year
end case reporting and compliance activities, we determined that, with the influx of HPRP cases, we’d set a
record for new cases with 9,126 cases closed. That
number was 27 percent higher than the prior year’s
total of 7,181 cases closed.
In one typical case example, NLS represented an
elderly, disabled tenant who was staying in a shelter
after losing her Section 8 subsidy through Rental
Assistance Corporation (RAC). Her Section 8 subsidy
was terminated because she could not find an apartment in the time frame that RAC demanded. We contacted RAC and negotiated with them. The tenant’s
Section 8 assistance was reinstated and she was given
additional time to find an apartment. The tenant was
able to move from a shelter and better afford her own
apartment.
The NLS staff and the staff of our partner agencies
have worked very hard to serve the thousands of people who faced eviction and homelessness in our community. We continue delivering these services, although
the HPRP funding will likely be exhausted this year.
NLS is concerned about the potential for losing large
amounts of additional federal, state and county funding in 2011-12 and the impact those cuts will have on
our ability to respond to the ever-increasing demand
for legal services. We are also concerned that the people who continue to face homelessness may not be
assisted without another federal homelessness program
to pick up when the HPRP program ends later this
year.
Faced with enormous fiscal uncertainty again this
year, civil legal services programs around the state are
relying on the NYS Office of Court Administration Chief
Judge Jonathan Lippman’s funding proposals. He has
included in the OCA budget an amount to replace $15
million dollars of lost New York State Interest On
Lawyer Account Fund (IOLA) funding caused by the
recession and lowered interest rates. He has also added
$25 million dollars for civil legal services to fund programs like NLS and the other local providers, without
which the New York state court system would quickly
become overwhelmed with pro se litigants.
[B]
PAGE 19
in the public service
By Sophie Feal,
Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc.
Supervising Immigration Attorney
With a Little Help from Our Friends
While I may get frustrated that I have relatively limited resources to do my work at the Volunteer Lawyers
Project’s (VLP) Immigration Program, I feel very lucky
sometimes…like now. The New York City law firm
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, LLP is representing one of my clients pro bono before the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (and assuming
all the costs as well), and just filed its very well-prepared brief with the court. Additionally, the Legal Aid
Society of Manhattan has written an amicus brief in the
case. Previously, the Cornell University Law School
Immigration Appellate Law and Advocacy Clinic represented this same client before the Board of Immigration
Appeals (BIA) after I lost at trial before the immigration
court.
Not too long ago, Shearman and Sterling, LLP, also
in New York City, represented another client of mine
before the Second Circuit, obtaining a remand to the
administrative tribunals. We won the case on remand.
Currently, New York University Law School’s
Immigrant Rights Clinic, under the direction of Nancy
Morawetz, who argued a major immigration case
before the U.S. Supreme Court many years ago, is representing another of my clients before the Second
Circuit on a compelling legal issue.
The local pro bono attorneys who handle VLP immigration cases are wonderfully talented. We could not
represent as many clients as we do without their dedication to our program, and their involvement is critical.
Nonetheless, when we are fortunate enough to have
pro bono counsel at the federal Court of Appeals, my
heart really leaps.
The case being handled by NYU Law School involves
an important immigration issue: whether a 32-year
lawful permanent resident of the United States may be
removed from this country for unlawfully registering to
vote many years ago at the insistence of a social services worker who told him he had to register in order to
receive disability benefits under the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993. I met this client at the detention facility in Batavia in October of 1999, only one
month after I had moved back to Buffalo to accept my
current position at VLP, so I am especially committed
to seeing a favorable result for him in this case.
After some back and forth (the matter first went to
the District Court on a habeas motion, and then before
the BIA on eligibility for relief on another issue), Eric
Schultz of Hiscock and Barclay, LLP in Buffalo readily
stepped in to assist me pro bono with the litigation.
Unfortunately, the immigration court held that the
immigration provision regarding unlawful voter registration calls for “strict liability,” and no mens rea is
required to justify deportation.
The BIA affirmed
the decision below without opinion, although New York
Election Law requires willfulness or knowledge for a
conviction (note: our client was never charged nor convicted of any voter-related offense. The government
simply located old voter registration forms he had
signed). Indeed, in 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit held that a noncitizen was deportable
for unlawful voting only if he or she had the requisite
mens rea under the relevant state statute. In that case,
the noncitizen had been urged to register by the
Department of Motor Vehicles to renew her driver’s
license under California’s “motor voter” law.
Recognizing the importance of the issue present in
this case, and the precedent in the Ninth Circuit, I
wanted to get into federal court after we had lost our
administrative appeal. I was extremely pleased when
NYU agreed to take the case after I pitched it to
Professor Morawetz. Indeed, two eager law students
from the clinic traveled to Buffalo a few months ago to
PAGE 20
In the Public Service
pore over the massive file and meet our very affable
client. These days, I get calls from immigration lawyers
nationwide about this important case asking for strategy, to borrow briefs, or for updates on the rulings. We
are anxiously awaiting a decision.
Assistance from NYC Firm Leads to Second
Chance for Wrongfully Detained Client
from deportation for his criminal offense because he
fears retribution in his native country, where the gang
members on whom he “snitched” now reside. Despite
the testimony of two police officers and a supporting
letter from a District Attorney, the immigration court
ruled against my client at trial. Cornell University Law
School students prepared and filed an appellate brief
for my client, but the BIA affirmed the decision of the
immigration judge. Only the U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has thus far extended
protection, under special laws to protect those who fear
persecution and torture, to a noncitizen in this situation, and the issue is controversial.
The matter which Shearman and Sterling, LLP handled for us was finally resolved after 10 years of litigation. It involved another long-term permanent resident
I had met at the Batavia facility in October of 2000.
During the time my client’s case was pending, which
I know that the cost of this extraordinary representaincluded an appeal before the New York Court of
tion runs several thousands of dollars for each client.
Appeals handled by the New York State
However, these are not extravagant
Defender’s Association, his mother passed
defenses we wage, given what is at
away and the youngest two of his five chilstake. It is one that anyone should be
dren were born. Thankfully, after
Shearman and Sterling (adding to a won- “Eighty-four percent of entitled to present when he or she faces
permanent banishment from the
derful team of pro bono lawyers from
detained noncitizens
United States, the country they’ve
Buffalo and Ithaca) became involved, we
called their own for decades, and where
were able to petition for review at the
who face removal
they’ve set deep roots; or when they
Second Circuit, given that both of the
fear persecution, even death, at home.
administrative tribunals below had
proceedings have no
Eighty-four percent of detained nonciwrongly characterized our client as a drug
tizens who face removal proceedings,
dealer undeserving of relief from removal
legal representation.
like the three clients in this article once
despite his numerous equities in the
United States.
As a legal community, were, have no legal representation, not
even for their first hearings before the
Ultimately, on remand, the BIA finally
immigration court, let alone for any
this
should
profoundly
agreed our client deserved a second
appeals. As a legal community, this
chance. It recognized a letter from the
should profoundly trouble us.
trouble us.”
District Attorney in the jurisdiction where
One last but important note: several
our client had pled guilty to marijuana
years ago, before his premature retirepossession, in which the DA cited the negment from the practice of immigration
ative effects of an absent father on the
law in 2007 due to his health, my friend and colleague,
development of children. Additionally, the attorney for
Mark T. Kenmore, was a prolific litigator before the
the Department of Homeland Security conceded, in
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. For incredibly
her appellate response brief, that this permanent resimodest fees and incomparable commitment, he repredent had accrued strong equities, and that he “is a
sented a number of VLP’s immigrant clients and
devoted father and husband, is gainfully employed,
obtained reversals and remands of unfavorable deciand has contributed to his community in a positive
sions. Each and every one of the clients (all of whom
way.”
had fled persecution and torture) whose cases were
At the federal detention facility in Batavia, I also met
remanded by the federal court ultimately prevailed
the man who Akin, Gump et al now represents. His
before the immigration court on remand, sometimes
case raises the novel legal issue of whether a criminal
with the help of a new local pro bono lawyer as trial
informant - in this case, a permanent resident who
counsel. We miss Mark deeply, and in his absence, are
assisted law enforcement in the arrest and prosecution
trying our best to get by.
[B]
of a murderer and a drug dealer - should be spared
Sign me up at the new reduced cost!
LSED Golf Tournament
Monday, June 20, 2011
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Name: __________________________________________________________________
Company:
______________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Phone: ____________________________________E-mail ________________________
Mail or Fax to: Legal Services for the Elderly
237 Main Street, Suite 1015 | Buffalo, NY 14203
Phone: (716)853-3087 x213 or 205 • Fax: (716) 856-5317
County Professional
Ethics Opinion
destruction of the file before the expiration of the period stated in the rules would violate those rules,
notwithstanding the express or implied consent of the
client.
As reflected in Rules 1.15 and 1.16, a client will normally expect the lawyer to return whatever papers and
things were originally entrusted to the lawyer by the
client for use in the matter, rather than unilaterally
destroy them.
In addition, lawyers who handle lawsuits in the First
or Second Departments involving personal injuries and
other specified claims should heed the court rules
found in 22 NYCRR § 603.7 (First Department) and §
691.20 (Second Department). Those rules direct attorneys for both plaintiff and defendant to preserve, for
seven years after any settlement or judgment, the
pleadings and other papers pertaining to the claim.
The inquiring lawyer did not specify whether any of
the personal injury claims he handles are in the First or
Second Department. To the extent that any claims are
subject to those rules, the proposed early destruction of
those files would appear to violate the court rules cited
above, and would thus also violate Rule 3.4(c), again
regardless of whether the client consented to the
destruction of the file.
Additional issues are raised by the inquiring lawyer’s
proposal to destroy files by relying on the lack of any
instructions from the client during the specified 30-day
period. The New York Court of Appeals addressed the
client’s rights in the lawyer’s file in Sage Realty
Corporation v. Proskauer Rose Goetz and Mendelsohn,
191 N.Y.2d 30 (1997). In that decision, the Court of
Appeals held that a client has the right to inspect and
copy any documents possessed by the lawyer relating
to the representation, unless substantial grounds exist
to refuse access. The court further stated that, even
without a request, an attorney is obligated to deliver to
the client, not later than promptly after representation
ends, such documents relating to the representation as
the client reasonably needs. The client’s right of access
has been described as a “property right” in the subject
files. Sage Realty Corporation v. Proskauer Rose Goetz
and Mendelsohn, 294 A.D.2d 190 (1st Dep’t 2002).
Since the client has a property right to the lawyer’s
files, it is the opinion of this committee that the proposal to destroy the file a mere 30 days after the conclusion of the matter, based only on the client’s failure
to respond within that brief period, is not consistent
with the lawyer’s ethical obligations to the client. If the
client gives express informed consent (preferably in
writing) to the destruction by the lawyer of file materials that are not required to be retained by any laws or
rules such as those referenced above, the lawyer would
then be free to destroy those particular records.1 Also,
even without express consent, it may be reasonable in
some circumstances to infer that a client has given
implied consent to the destruction of a file (e.g., when
many years have passed since the conclusion of the
representation, during which the client has not
requested any materials, and the lawyer has determined that the file does not contain any materials the
client would reasonably require in the future).
However, the 30-day unilateral destruction proposal
made by the inquiring lawyer here does not present
such circumstances.
Not all clients will be capable of giving informed
consent to the disposition of the file. Some clients may
be minors or may lack sufficient mental or emotional
capacity to appreciate the ramifications of the various
alternatives, notwithstanding conscientious explanations by the lawyer. The individual differences that
exist among clients and cases weigh against the type of
blanket destruction policy proposed by the inquiring
lawyer here.
There have been several published opinions by other
ethics committees on issues related to the question
raised here. See e.g., ABA Committee on Ethics and
Professional Responsibility in formal Opinion 1384
(1977) (“A lawyer should use care not to destroy or discontinued on page 22
PAGE 21
VLP to Host Family Law Training Series in May
Economic Concerns in Family and
Matrimonial Cases: What Has and Hasn’t
Changed Since Fall 2010
Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm
Main Seneca Building, 237 Main Street, Suite 1000,
Buffalo
Two CLE Credits ~ Program is free of charge in
exchange for commitment to handle one case in the
seminar subject matter.
Trainers:
John Aman, Support Magistrate, has been hearing
and deciding child support cases since his appointment in 1993.
Brenda M. Freedman is a Court Attorney Referee
serving in Supreme Courts in Niagara and Erie
Counties and in Family Court in Erie County.
Representing Non-Parent Custody
Petitioners in Family Court
Buffalo
Two CLE Credits
Trainers:
Tracey Kassman, Family Court Attorney, was a
partner in the firm of Kassman and Kassman for 12
years, concentrating her practice in Matrimonial and
Family law matters.
Brian R. Welsh is a partner at Siegel, Kelleher &
Kahn, LLP, where he has practiced law since 1985
and serves as chair of the firm’s Matrimonial Law
Department.
I.
I. Child Support Modification
Buffalo
Two CLE Credits
Agenda:
Agenda:
Common Tax Issues in Family Law and
General Practice: Avoiding the “Sorry, I
Don’t Know” Tax Law Situation
Trainers:
William Winspear was formerly employed by the
Internal Revenue Service as a revenue officer from
1991 to 2007.
A staff member from the Buffalo office of the
Taxpayer Advocate Service will also present information at this seminar. The Taxpayer Advocate
Service (TAS) is an independent organization within
the IRS dedicated to helping taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS and recommending changes that to
prevent future problems.
Petition Process
Agenda:
a. History and Background
II. Standing, Extraordinary Circumstances & Best
Interests
b. Changes Effective October 2010 and their
Implementation
III. Flow of the Case
a. What’s the difference? – General Overview
IV. Role of the Attorney for the Child
b. Advising Clients in Matrimonial Actions about
Issues of Potential Joint Income Tax Liability
c. Practice Pointers
V.
II. Maintenance
a. Overview: Temporary and Permanent
Maintenance
Services Available through Family Court
VI. Settling the Case
VII. If the Case Goes to Trial
I.
Innocent Spouse vs. Injured Spouse
c.
Practice Pointers on Getting Tax Records (it’s
easier than you think!)
II. Debt Forgiveness: Is it taxable?
b. Changes to Temporary and Permanent
Maintenance since October 2010 and their
Implementation
a. Overview – Insolvency Exception vs.
Bankruptcy Exception
c. Practice Pointers
b. Advising Clients about Debt and Joint
Liability Issues
III. Equitable Distribution of Property
IV. No-Fault as Grounds for Divorce
c.
Practice Pointers
III. Earned Income Tax Credit for Domestic Relations
Clients: Practice Pointers
R E G I S T R AT I O N F O R M
ECBA Volunteer Lawyers Project Family Law Training Series
237 Main St., Suite 1000, Buffalo, NY 14203
Name:
_________________________________________Year Admitted to Practice: ______________
Signature: _________________________________ Phone: ______________Fax: ________________
Law Firm: _________________________________E-mail: __________________________________
Address: _______________________________________City:__________________Zip: __________
Domestic Violence
is NEVER Okay.
I am interested in attending the following programs:
❏
Economic Concerns in Family and Matrimonial Cases and I agree to handle either
(please check one) ❏ a pro bono child support case
or
❏ a pro bono divorce case.
❏
Representing Non-Parent Custody Petitioners in Family Court and I agree to handle a pro
bono non-parent custody case.
❏
Common Tax Issues in Family Law and General Practice and I agree to handle either
(please check one) ❏ a pro bono divorce case
or
❏ a pro bono tax case.
Please detach or photocopy and return to: ECBA Volunteer Lawyers
Project, Inc. ATTN: Amanda Warner, 237 Main Street, Suite 1000, Buffalo,
NY 14203, or fax to 847-0307. Each course in the Family Law Training
series is appropriate as a transitional CLE course. For information about
Domestic abuse doesn’t discriminate. It happens within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds,
and financial levels. If it happens once, it will
happen again. The abuse may occur during a
relationship, while a couple is breaking up, or
after a relationship has ended.
Despite what many people believe, domestic
violence is not due to an abuser’s temporary
loss of control over his or her behavior. In fact,
violence is a deliberate choice made by the
abuser in order to take control of a spouse or
partner.
Look What You Made Me Do! In spite of
the abuser’s efforts to “blame the victim,”
domestic violence is NEVER your fault. If you
or a loved one are suffering, help is just a phone
call away. Please call 852-1777 in complete
confidence today to be referred to a colleague
who can help.
VLP’s hardship policy, please contact Bob Elardo at 847-0662, ext. 312.
Don’t Suffer in Silence.
Let Us Help You Find Your Voice.
PAGE 22
Fourth Department in Mtr. of Nye v. Zoning Bd. of App.
of the Town of Grand Island, __AD3rd__, 2/18/11,
#208.
citations
By Jeff Spencer
RIGHT OF WAY WON’T CARRY THE DAY
Defendant’s car had the right-of-way
As another car backed
Into harm’s way.
Plaintiff passenger thought
Both cars should pay
For the injuries caused that sad day.
The right-of-way driver
Moved the court to be let off the hook
Saying the other car should have looked.
“Denied,” said the judge from his high chair
Right-of-way doesn’t mean
You don’t have to exercise care!
Rost v. Stolzman et al., __AD3rd__, 4th Dept.,
2/18/11, #85. See also Cook v. Suitor et al.,
__AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/18/11, #205.
“ATTEMPTED” STALKING
In a thoughtful opinion by Justice Eugene F. Pigott,
Jr., the Court of Appeals has upheld a conviction for
“attempted” stalking. (Peo. v. Aponte, __NY3rd__,
2/10/11)
PONDERING PERPETUITIES
In Bleeker St. Tenants Corp. v. Bleeker James, LLC et
al., (__NY3rd__, 2/24/11), the Court of Appeals held
that the always fascinating Rule Against Perpetuities
did not apply to options to renew leases (for further
details on this case, see “Death and Taxes” on page 8
of this issue).
DEFINING “DISORDERLY”
An excellent review of the requirements for a disorderly conduct conviction can be found in Peo. v. Weaver,
__NY3rd__, 2/10/11.
LAXATIVE LAWSUIT WON’T GET BOOT
The Fourth Department has reinstated a lawsuit
claiming injuries resulting from an allegedly defective
laxative given to a child. (Diaz v. Little Remedies Co.,
Inc. et al., __AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/18/11, #137)
TAKING STOCK OF INVENTORY DEAL
Whether there was an oral addition to a commercial
contract to sell inventory at two stores was held to be a
factual issue in J.N.K. Machine Corp. v. TBW Ltd., et
al., __AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/18/11, #190.
MISSING A STEP
Admission of transcripts from a prior custody proceeding was held to be inappropriate without first
determining that the witnesses were unavailable. The
court also found extraordinary circumstances sufficient
to consider an award of custody to a non-parent in the
Mtr. of Beth M., __AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/18/11,
#62). See also Peo. v. Montes (__NY3rd__, 2/17/11),
where inability to recall a witness was held to not violate the right to confront witnesses.
TIME LINES REFINED
An application to serve a late notice of claim was held
to be properly granted where plaintiff provided a reasonable excuse for the failure to timely serve the notice.
(Parton v. Onondaga County et al., __AD3rd__, 4th
Dept., 2/18/11, #184)
Concurrent sentences for convictions for DWI and
Aggravated Operation of a Motor Vehicle, rather than
consecutive sentences, were found to be appropriate in
Peo. v. Slattery (__AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/18/11,
#123). See also Peo. v. Hill, (__AD3rd__, 4th Dept.,
2/18/11, #152) and Peo. v. Backus, (__AD3rd__, 4th
Dept., 2/18/11, #219).
ZEROING IN ON ZONING
The denial of a second variance request after construction exceeded the first grant was reviewed by our
SUPPORT REPORT
An award of maintenance was upheld where defendant husband earned $110,000 and the plaintiff wife
earned $45,000. The lower court also was held to have
properly declined to credit payments to the children of
a prior marriage in determining child support. (Jelfo v.
Jelfo, __AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/10/11, #18)
Arrears were substantially reduced and a prior consent order vacated where there was a finding that the
petitioner had been on public assistance during most of
the period of arrears accrual in the Mtr. of Chromik,
__AD3rd__, 4th Dept., 2/10/11, #25.
SLIP TIPS AND STUMBLE BUMBLES
Factual issues as to constructive notice required
denial of summary judgment where plaintiff allegedly
slipped and fell on water on the floor of defendant’s
store. (King v. Sam’s East, Inc., __AD3rd__, 4th Dept.,
2/18/11, #121)
County Professional
Ethics Opinion
card information that the client may need”); NYSBA
Opinion 780 (2004) (“When a lawyer’s employment by
a client ends . . . the lawyer is required to deliver to the
client property, including files, which the client is entitles to receive as a matter of law”); NYSBA Opinion
766 (2003)); NYSBA Opinion 623 (1991); NYSBA
Opinion 460 (1977); Association of the Bar of the City
of New York Ethics Opinion 2008-1; Nassau County
Opinion 2006-02 (“There is strong support for a recommended period of seven years for the general
preservation of files”); Nassau County Opinion 81-10
(1981) (“An attorney should retain all files for a period
of seven years from the time a particular matter is
closed.”) These ethics opinions should be consulted in
connection with the development of any record retention policy by a law firm.
As an alternative to either retention or agreed-upon
destruction, the lawyer may also wish to consider
transferring physical possession of the file to the client
upon completion of the legal services.
Conclusion
The file destruction policy proposed by the inquiring
lawyer does not conform to established ethical responsibilities because: (1) it does not take into account the
requirements in the Rules of Professional Conduct or
other rules governing the particular types of records
described therein; (2) it does not require the client’s
informed consent before the destruction of other types of
records; and (3) it contemplates the unilateral destruction of the entire file by the lawyer after a waiting period far shorter than the periods recommended in the
ethics opinions that have addressed this subject.
[B]
1
The lawyer should, however, be mindful of the risk that he or she may
have need for the records (e.g., to defend against a malpractice claim, to
justify a fee, etc.) The premature destruction of the lawyer’s record of work
on a matter may be contrary to the lawyer’s own interests, as well as those
of the client. The lawyer should also make sure that the disposal of the file
is consistent with whatever record retention requirements may be imposed
by the lawyer’s insurance carrier.
PAGE 23
Young Lawyers Update
By William P. Moore, Chair
BAEC Young Lawyers Committee
At the time this is printed, the High
School Mock Trial Program will have
chosen a 2011 winning team. Led
by Joshua E. Dubs and Leah R.
Nowotarski, the program has been a
great success. Many talented schools
entered and I know it has been a tough decision for our
judges. I would like to thank the coordinators, all
judges who volunteered and everyone else who dedicated their time and talent to make this a success.
Without your hard work, this essential program would
not happen. I know that the high schools greatly
appreciate all you do.
On February 23, our own Melissa Cavagnaro from
Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, LLP presented a CLE
program on behalf of the Young Lawyers Committee.
We try to bring you the best in topics and speakers and
this was surely accomplished. Ms. Cavagnaro focused
on the new no-fault divorce laws and attracted an
audience of over 90 attorneys and professionals. This
was obviously an important topic and I was told that
the presentation was very helpful in demystifying the
new law as it relates to the practice of matrimonial and
family law. Thank you again, Melissa!
Also by the time you receive this, the Young Lawyers
“New Lawyer Orientation” will have taken place. As of
press time, we are still in the process of planning it but
the program will consist of a judge and law clerk
explaining what to expect in the courts, addressing
such issues as decorum and other essential information
to break the ice for a young lawyer facing his/her first
pretrial conference or motion. We will also have a panel
of 10 attorneys, all with less than eight years of experience, to talk to the newly-admitted attorneys about
their experiences in their particular practice areas. We
plan to have attorneys from the public sector and private sector to showcase differing areas of practice. This
should be helpful to the new attorneys who are trying
to determine what area of law they are most interested
in. I will have more on this program in the next
Bulletin.
As you can see, the Committee is hard at work and I
am pleased with the many programs we have been able
to offer. As always, we meet the third Friday of each
month at Bar Headquarters at 12:15pm. I invite you to
join us.
[B]
In Memoriam
“Memory is a way of holding on
to the things you love,
the things you are, the things you
never want to lose.”
Avoiding a Grievance Complaint Can Be as Simple as
Improving Client Communications and Client Relations
By Deanne M. Tripi, Chair
Eighth Judicial District Grievance Committee
The majority of complaints filed
against attorneys pertain to a lack of
overall communication with the
client or a lack of knowledge by the
client about their case. According to
Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4,
attorneys are required to communicate with clients in
the following manner:
(a) A lawyer shall:
(1) Promptly inform the client of:
A. Any decision or circumstances with respect
to which the client’s informed consent, as
defined in Rule 1.0(j), is required by these
Rules;
B. any information required by court rule or
other law to be communicated to a client;
and
C. material developments in the matter,
including settlement or plea offers.
(2) reasonably consult with the client about the
Law Line Educates
Public on Legal Issues
Since 1997, The Law Line has engaged the
minds of thoughtful western New Yorkers who
tune in to WNED-AM (970) at 10:00 on
Saturday mornings. Host Mike Desmond talks
to lawyers and judges from our legal community on wide-ranging topics related to the law.
The program provides a valuable public service
that reaches about 8,400 listeners each week.
We appreciate the time that the following
members of our Association have taken to educate the public about legal matters by volunteering their time to appear on The Law Line.
B. Kevin Burke, Jr.
Recent Developments in New
York’s Non-Compete Laws
Modesto Argenio
New York State Exempt Property
Law for Estates
~ Kevin Arnold
We wish to honor the memory of the following members of our Bar Association. Memorial
gifts to the Erie County Bar Foundation are
an excellent way to remember friends and
colleagues, as gifts are used for the benefit
of the entire profession.
John J. Aman
Child Support
Keisha Williams
Foreclosures and Bankruptcies
The Law Line is underwritten by the Erie
County Bar Foundation and the Lawyer
Referral and Information Service of the BAEC.
If you would like to appear as a guest on the program, please contact Maureen Gorski at 8528687 or by e-mail at mgorski@eriebar.org.
Peter B. Carr
Linda E. White
means by which the client’s objectives are to be accomplished;
(3) keep the client reasonably informed about the
status of the matter;
(4) promptly comply with a client’s reasonable
requests for information; and
(5) consult with the client about any relevant limitation on the lawyer’s conduct when the lawyer knows
that the client expects assistance not permitted by
these Rules or other law.
(b) A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make
informed decisions regarding the representation.
Numerous complaints against attorneys can be
avoided by promptly returning client’s telephone calls
or responding to their correspondence, keeping the
client apprised about the progress of their case and
providing the client with an overall sense of feeling
informed. Another way to keep clients informed about
the furtherance of their case is to send them copies of
all correspondence or documents received by and sent
from your office on their behalf.
PAGE 24
Bench and Bar
lowing 25 years in private practice. A graduate of
Canisius College, Sampson received his JD from Albany
Law School of Union University.
Timothy W. Hoover has been
elected a partner in the Buffalo office
of Phillips Lytle LLP. Hoover joined
the firm in 2008 and focuses his
practice on white collar criminal
defense matters, government and
internal investigations, civil and
Hoover
commercial litigation, and appeals.
Hoover chairs the BAEC’s Federal
Practice Committee and was recently appointed to the
executive committee of the New York State Bar
Association’s Criminal Justice Section. A graduate of
Michigan State with high honor, Hoover earned his JD,
Order of the Coif, from Vanderbilt University School of
Law. He is vice president of the board of Neighborhood
Legal Services, and also serves on the boards of the
NYS Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and
WNY Public Broadcasting Association. He has also been
active in events benefitting AIDS Community Services
of WNY and AIDS Family Services.
Fanizzi
Andrew D. Fanizzi and Paul K.
Barr have formed a new law firm
devoted exclusively to personal injury
litigation. The office is located at
2303 Pine Avenue, Niagara Falls,
New York 14092, phone (716) 2848888. Both Fanizzi and Barr are
graduates of the University at
Buffalo school of law and have
worked in the personal injury area
since 1999. Barr is a retired Niagara
Falls firefighter, who achieved the
rank of battalion chief while attending law school. He previously served
as a fire captain for 10 years.
Resources. The seminar provided perspectives from
both sides on legislative priorities for 2011 and how
clean energy legislation will fit into the national policy
debate. Flynn concentrates his practice in environmental law and energy and heads his firm’s nanotechnology team. He is a member of the executive committee of
the NY Chapter of the National Brownfield Association
and also chairs the Amherst Chamber of Commerce.
Robert Friedman has been
appointed by the Clarence Rotary
Foundation as chair of its Porsche
Raffle Committee (www.clarencerotaryraffle.com). All raffle proceeds
will be used to fulfill the Foundation’s
mission of benefiting health care,
Friedman
youth activities, scholarships and
community projects. A partner with
the law firm of Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC,
Friedman is immediate past president of the Rotary
Club of Clarence and also serves as legal counsel for the
Foundation.
Argenio
Modesto Argenio has joined the
estates and elder law practice of the
Stamm Law Firm of Williamsville in
an Of Counsel capacity after retiring
as associate court attorney in Erie
County Surrogate’s Court. In that
capacity for nearly 15 years, Argenio
was a senior member of the legal
staff who served as a referee and hearing officer and
also wrote legal decisions, a number of which were
published. He has taught as an adjunct professor at
Buffalo State College, Niagara University and Daemen
College; and is a former award-winning writer, editor
and journalist whose work was twice nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize. A graduate of St. Bonaventure
University, Stanford University, and University at
Buffalo Law School, Argenio is a founder of the Buffalo
News Books for Kids program and past president of the
Mental Health Association, among other community
organizations.
William D. Christ, a partner
with Phillips Lytle LLP, has been
selected to chair the board of directors for the New York State Chapter
of the March of Dimes. The national
group works to prevent birth defects,
premature birth and infant mortality. Christ has volunteered for March
Christ
of Dimes since 2001 and formerly
served as vice chair of the state chapter. A magna cum
laude graduate of Boston College, Christ received his
JD from New York University School of Law. He focuses his practice in litigation, including personal injury
defense and product liability, among other areas. Christ
also holds leadership roles with the Niagara USA
Chamber of Commerce, the Diocese of Buffalo, Boy
Scouts of America, and St. Gregory the Great Parish.
HON. VINCENT E. DOYLE MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
SAVE THE DATE!!
Hon. Vincent E. Doyle
Memorial Golf Outing
Barr
William Mattar has been named
chair of the 2011 annual “Fire and
Ice” gala for the Greater Niagara
Frontier Council of the Boy Scouts of
America. An Eagle Scout, Mattar
focuses his practice on auto injury
cases and also chaired last year’s
Mattar
gala. In addition, he was recently reelected president of the Village
Preservation Foundation of Williamsville. Mattar has
been actively involved in the Foundation since its
inception and has held the position of president since
2000. The group sponsors the annual “Taste of
Williamsville” fundraising event, hosts a local farmer’s
market, and promotes the history and culture of the
area.
August 8, 2011
Tan Tara Golf Club
$100 Per Golfer
Includes: Lunch, Golf, Cart, Dinner, Prizes,
Raffles and More! Details to Follow
Committee Members: SuzAnne Hannon & Cheryl Martin, Co-Chairs,
Patty Aldrich, Tom Amodeo, Sue Biller, Genevieve Capizzi, Anne
Carroll, Larry Cataldi, Jeanette Helms, Kevin Kelley, Tonia Lee, Dawn
Lukasiewicz, Sharon Wasielewski
David P. Flynn, a partner at
Phillips Lytle LLP, delivered welcoming remarks at the American
Council on Renewable Energy’s
(ACORE’s) recent Leadership
Council Washington Policy Brief at
The Liaison Capitol Hill in
Flynn
Washington, D.C. Flynn, a member
of ACORE’s Leadership Council, also
co-chaired the event, which featured presentations by
both Democratic and Republican representatives from
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Contributions to the Erie County Bar Foundation provide an excellent
vehicle for recognizing and honoring members of our profession.
Memorial gifts to the Foundation become a lasting tribute to the entire
legal profession, as funds are used exclusively to assist attorneys and
promote understanding of our legal system.
The Foundation gratefully acknowledges
the following contributions:
In Honor of Hon. James B. Kane:
Harold J. Brand, Jr.
In Honor of Hon. Frederick J.
Marshall:
In Memory of Richard S. Kwieciak
(Father of Stanley Kwieciak, III):
John & Sallie Randolph
n Memory of Barbara Ryan (Wife
of Michael J. Ryan):
Jeffrey M. Freedman
In Memory of James Carlo:
Joel Brownstein & Judith
Katzenelson
In Memory of Paul Dolloff:
Coleman Volgenau
In Memory of Joseph E. Joseph
(Brother of Gregory Joseph):
John Ballow
In Memory of Ross Runfola:
Joel Brownstein & Judith
Katzenelson
In Memory of Victoria Lahood
(Mother-in-Law of Kathleen E.
Horohoe):
Flaherty & Shea
In Memory of Hon. Michael F.
Dillon:
In Memory of Peter B. Carr:
Bar Association of Erie County
PAGE 25
News from Kent, Our Sister City in Great Britain
By Jonathan Smithers
You know the old saying that “if
you want something done, ask a busy
person.” It was never my intention to
be this busy but, apart from being a
full-time partner in my firm and all
the Law Society work, both with
Kent Law Society and the National
Law Society, I have had my arm
twisted to get on the lecture circuit.
I wrote in a recent issue of your Bulletin about the
new protocol which the Law Society of England and
Wales has launched for use in real estate sales and purchases. As one of the authors of it, I now have to go and
explain my actions to those whom I serve.
Just as in your great country, so as in my smaller one,
attitudes to certain things vary. Regional views can be
quite entrenched. The reasons may be lost in the mists
of time but for all that are held no less strongly.
My first lecture was to 200 lawyers in the Yorkshire
town of Leeds, some 250 miles north of my humble
abode. The place has what might be described as a
“post industrial” landscape. Old heavy industry long
since disappeared, Victorian factories torn down, their
place taken by smart but soulless apartments, hotels
and the like.
The Yorkshireman has a special place in English
folklore referred by those from that region as “God’s
own county.” They are an especially tribal lot. There is
a joke about Yorkshiremen (please forgive me if this
doesn’t translate very well) which goes “you can
always tell a Yorkshireman but you can’t tell him
much”!
Enough of the stereotypes, these proud men and
women listened intently to what I had to say for an
hour and a half non-stop (actually, they may well have
been asleep because the lights were dim and I couldn’t
see very well from the podium). I am quite sure of my
own material but, at the end, along come the questions. The first couple of easy ones usually come from
people who haven’t been listening very well, then from
the outfield comes a long ball curving overhead,
whistling toward your temple.
Do you try to catch it or duck? The question is sometimes so obscure that a straightforward answer may be
patronizing. If you can catch the eye of some members
The Legal Community on a Roll!
AT
THE
TWELFTH ANNUAL
LAWYERS FOR LEARNING B OWLING TOURNAMENT!
Where: AMF Thruway Lanes, 1550 Walden Avenue, Cheektowaga
When: Thursday, May 12, 2011 / 6:00 registration and warm-up / 6:30 p.m. Tournament bowling
Why:
Benefit the Lawyers for Learning
•
Two games of bowling (third game optional)!
•
Shoes provided! Balls available!
•
Men’s, women’s and mixed teams (five-person teams)
•
Prizes! Raffles! Contests!
•
Trophies!
•
Admission includes pizza, wings, pop
and draft beer (6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)
•
Team and Individual prizes!
•
Prizes for best team outfits/shirts, team names
and other dubious distinctions!
Cost:
$150 per team of five (We also ask that each team bring a either a red or white polo shirt or red or white
fleece in any size to be used by a School 18 student to help them comply with the new school dress code OR a camping item such as a flashlight, water bottle, sleeping bag, duffel bag, blanket, etc. to be used by the School 18 children
that Lawyers for Learning will sponsor at YMCA’s Camp Weona this summer.)
Spectators welcome: Just $20 includes food and bar privileges! First reserved, first served! Reserve early with your payment
by FRIDAY APRIL 29, 2011! Questions? Direct them to Matt Garvey at 854-4800.
Reservations
BECOME A SPONSOR!
Bar Bowling Thursday, May 12, 2011
Call Matt Garvey at 854-4800
Team Name_______________________________
Team Sponsor (includes one team): $500
Team e-mail contact _______________________
Tournament Sponsor: $250
Lane Sponsor: $100
Circle one:
Men’s Women’s Mixed
Bowler (name)_____________________________
Bowler (name)_____________________________
Bowler (name)_____________________________
FULL PAYMENT FOR ENTIRE TEAM IS
NECESSARY TO ENSURE YOUR TEAM’S SPOT!
Bowler (name)_____________________________
Make checks payable to: LFL, Inc.
Send payment to:
Matt Garvey
416 Pearl Street
Buffalo, New York 14202
Spectators @ $20
$__________
Amount enclosed
$__________
DEADLINE : FRIDAY APRIL 29, 2011
Bowler (name)_____________________________
Please indicate if there is another
team you would like to bowl:
___________________________________
of the audience, you can usually tell that they don’t
understand the question either. The best technique is to
resort to political skills and start the sentence with “I
am really glad you asked me that... it is a very interesting question but I think the important thing to
remember is…”. What you then try to do is answer
another question which hasn’t been asked but is reasonably close. With luck, the audience will still be wondering what the question meant in the first place but
will think the lecturer is clever enough to have
answered it. The person asking is probably bemused
because they had misunderstood the point in the first
place.
The lecture organizers collate the feedback forms
very quickly. Anticipating their arrival is like an actor
waiting for his first night reviews. On my first time out,
I had an 88 percent approval rating but, as I was the
only one on the stand, I am already starting to wonder
what the other 12 percent were thinking about. I think
I lost them when I threatened to overrun the break –
some people just cannot do without the coffee and
donuts!
What have I learned from all of this? Simply that
next time I listen to someone up on the stand, I will try
to remember the countless hours it has taken them to
acquire the knowledge which they now seek to impart.
I will try to remember the days they spent slaving with
a pen and pad, writing, re-writing and editing the
notes which are skimmed through in five minutes,
along with the countless hours practicing delivery to try
to make sure they squeeze three hours material into
half that time. I won’t claim that my speaking is as
graceful as a swan but I can guarantee you that there
is a lot of paddling going on underneath the water. [B]
International Alliance
Any BAEC members who would like further
information about our sister city of Kent are
invited to become international members of the
Kent Law Society. Once you become a member,
you will automatically receive regular e-mail
updates from Society Administrator Roger
Cruttenden. If you are interested in joining,
please contact Giles Manias, who coordinates the
Sister Cities Program for the Bar Association, at
Gileslaw@aol.com, or Bonnie O’Brian, Bulletin
Editor, at obrian@eriebar.org.
PAGE 26
ERIE INSTITUTE OF LAW
PROVIDING CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION FOR YOUR PROFESSIONAL ADVANTAGE
PLEASE NOTE: The Erie Institute of Law is unable to issue partial credit for seminars, except for multiple session programs such as the Tax and
Leadership Institutes. If you have questions about whether a program qualifies for partial credit, please call Mary Kohlbacher at 852-8687.
Date/Time/Location
Topic
CLE Credits
Price
Saturday, April 2, 2011
8:30 a.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Millennium Hotel
Walden Avenue, Cheektowaga, NY
Don’t Work Harder, Work Smarter….
in Your Law Practice
Seminar sponsored by the Erie County Bar Foundation
Seminar material sponsored by Key Private Bank
7.0 credits
$145 members
$170 non-members
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Adelbert Moot CLE Center
438 Main St., Buffalo, NY
Nuts and Bolts of Residential Real Estate
1.0 credit
(Noonday Lecture presented by the Real Property Law Committee)
$20 members
$25 non-members
Friday, April 8, 2011
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
A View From the SSA ODAR Bench
(Seminar Presented by the Committee for the Disabled)
2.0 credits
$45 members
$55 non-members
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Brush Up Your Expertise on Experts:
Amendments to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules
(Noonday Lecture presented by Carol E. Heckman)
1.0 credit
$20 members
$25 non-members
8:45 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Templeton Landing
2 Templeton Terrace, Buffalo, NY
Life after Law School: Basic Practice 101 (Day 2)
(Seminar Presented by Admission to Bar Committee)
Sponsored by
8.0 credits
$107 Newly Admitted
$117 Experienced members
$127 Experienced non-members
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Development of a Uniform Fiduciary
1.0 credit
Standard for Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers
(Noonday Lecture presented by the Consumer Protection Law Committee)
$20 members
$25 non-members
1:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Templeton Landing
2 Templeton Terrace, Buffalo, NY
IDV Straight Talk
(Seminar presented by Criminal and
Mattrimonial & Family Law Committees)
$65 members
$100 non-members
3.0 credits
S AV E T H E D A T E S ! WA T C H Y O U R M A I L A N D T H I S S PA C E F O R F U R T H E R D E TA I L S .
(SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Seminars:
Noonday Lectures:
May 6, 2011 – Environmental Adventures in Real Estate, Embassy Suites, Avant Bldg.
May 4, 2011 – Defending your Municipality in a Federal Civil Rights Case
May 13, 2011 – Eighth Annual WNY Bankruptcy Conference, Genesee Community College
May 18, 2011 – Emerging Issues in the Stopping of Motor Vehicles
May 20, 2011 – Court Certified Article 81 Training, Hyatt Regency Buffalo
May 26, 2011 – New York State Surveillance: Statutes, Case Law and Practical Pointers
June 9, 2011 – ADR Spring Seminar, Templeton Landing
June 17, 2011 – Legal Writing and Oral Argument in Civil and Criminal Cases
Mail or fax to: Erie Institute of Law • 438 Main Street, Sixth Floor, Buffalo, New York 14202
(716) 852-8687 • Fax (716) 852-7641
ERIE INSTITUTE OF LAW
REGISTRATION FORM
Name ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please register me for the following
Erie Institute of Law sponsored events:
Firm ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. ________________________________________
2. ________________________________________
City ________________________________________________________ State ____________ Zip ________________________
3. ________________________________________
Phone ___________________________ Fax __________________________ E-mail
Cancellation Policy: If you are unable to
attend a seminar for which you have already
registered, call Mary Kohlbacher at 852-8687
ext. 115. For a full refund, notice of your
cancellation must be received before the
date of the program. Registrants who are
pre-registered and fail to attend will receive
course materials in lieu of a refund.
Enclosed is my check in the amount of $ ____________________❐ Visa
__________________________________
❐ MC
Card Number ______________________________________________________________ Exp. Date ______________________
Cardholder Signature ________________________________________________________________________________________
PAGE 27
LISTEN, LEARN & EARN!
In today’s competitive, fast-paced legal environment, effective time management is essential.
Take advantage of the Erie Institute of Law tape library and start earning your CLE credits when the time is convenient for you.
The Erie Institute of Law is now offering our most recent CLE seminars on Compact Disc, cassette tape and DVD.
All of our seminars are professionally edited and are accompanied by a full set of written course materials.
Among our most recent selections:
Tough Ethics Issues That Matter to You
and to Attorneys You know
New Bankruptcy and Money Judgment
Exemptions
Product Code 2169
Product Code 2171
3.0 CLE Credits: Ethics
Presented on December 10, 2010
Available on Audiotape or CD
$100.00 BAEC Members, $155 Non-Members
1.0 CLE Credit: Areas of Professional Practice
Presented on February 16, 2011
Audiotape or CD
Certain issues of legal ethics come up over and over
again. Many involve the impact of the Rules of
Professional Conduct on the business operations of
a law office, such as the handling of funds, the
retention and disposal of records and client files,
and the marketing of legal services. Other common
issues concern the lawyer’s obligation to preserve
client confidences and avoid conflicts of interest.
The purpose of this course is to address some of
the frequently asked questions on these topics that
have been presented to the Bar Association’s
Committee on Professional Ethics.
New York's law exempting assets from execution
and seizure in bankruptcy proceedings and
judgment enforcement changed on January 21,
2011. Paul Pochepan reviews the new exemptions
available to bankruptcy and judgment debtors, along
with the new option of claiming federal exemptions
in New York bankruptcies. William Savino speaks on
Using Life Insurance and Annuities as another
Fulfilling the Promise: A Forum on
Legal Issues Affecting Veterans
vehicle to protect clients. This program was
sponsored by the Commercial and Bankruptcy Law
Committee.
The New No-Fault Divorce Law
Product Code 2172
1.0 CLE Credit: Areas of Professional Practice
Audiotape or CD
Presented by Melissa Cavagnaro under the auspices
of the Young Lawyer’s Committee of the Bar
Association, this lecture covers the new no-fault
divorce law, temporary maintenance provisions and
the new child support re-calculation provisions.
To order, please send check payable to: The Erie Institute of Law • 438 Main Street, Sixth Floor • Buffalo, NY 14202
Be sure to include your name and address for mailing purposes; add $5 shipping and handling for each tape purchased.
Tapes are mailed via UPS, no P.O. boxes please. To order by phone using your Visa or MasterCard, call Maureen Gorski at 852-8687.
If you haven’t received your copy of our most recent CLE catalog, please call Maureen Gorski at 852-8687.
Product Code 2170
7.0 CLE Credits: 2.0 Areas of Professional
Practice, 1.0 Law Practice Management, 4.0
Skills
Available on Audiotape, CD and DVD
This CLE seminar is designed for practitioners who
represent veterans or who would like to learn how
to represent veterans. The morning session is
devoted to properly representing veterans in filing
claims with the VA. Jeff Cesar from the New York
State Division of Veterans’ Affairs will lead this
advocacy training seminar. The afternoon session
features a variety of speakers addressing issues
affecting veterans in the 21st century. The program
concludes with a round-table discussion with all
panel speakers.
COMPUTER & TECHNOLOGY TRAINING
Computer Classes are continually offered – if these don’t fit your schedule.
Check www.eriebar.org for upcoming programs.
Class (No CLE Credit)
Major Topic
Date
Microsoft Office
2003 Tour
This is an introduction to each
program in the Microsoft Office
Suite. We will explain the tasks for
which each program is designed.
Tuesday
4/5/11
Utilizing the Internet
• Review basic features of
Internet Explorer
• Share some Web searching tips
• Discuss e-mailing hyperlinks
Tuesday
4/12/11
Sign Me Up!
•Call Maureen Gorski at 852-8687 to register.
CLE Passbook Order Form
We’ve Got Your Ticket to Savings!
CLE Passbook Savings
How it Works
Total Saving ............................................................$80
Passes are available in books of six for $400 ~ six seminars for the price of five. Attach a pass when you mail
your advance registration form, or bring the pass with
you when you register at the door. If you intend to use
the pass for a walk-in registration, please be sure to call
ahead and confirm the date, location and available seating. The seminar pass will cover your registration in full.
Guaranteed.
Save money every time
you use a seminar pass.
The passes are completely transferable and can be
shared with other members of your firm, including staff
members and paralegals. If you are a sole practitioner,
you can share the passes with other practitioners.
Number of discount passes........................................6
Total fees for BAEC members
without passbook.................................................$480
Total fees for BAEC members
with passbook ......................................................$400
Simply stated, the Bar Association of Erie County CLE
Passbooks give you the opportunity to attend highquality, convenient, half-day educational programs at a
bargain rate. One pass buys any half-day seminar for
only $67 ($13 off the regular seminar price). If you
want to minimize your CLE expenses and maximize
educational experiences for yourself or your firm, then
the CLE Passbook program is for you. The passbook
guarantees the reduced price of $67 for any half-day
seminar for the next two years, despite any fee increases during that time period.
Guidelines
Passbooks are valid for two years from the date of purchase and are not replaceable if lost. No cash refunds
are available for unused or expired passes. Each pass is
valid for admission to any half-day BAEC CLE seminar.
There is no limit to the number of passbooks an individual or firm can purchase, but all passes must be used
within two years from the date of purchase, or they
become void. If a scheduling conflict arises after you
have registered for a seminar, just inform our office 48
hours in advance of the program, and we will return
your pass for future use.
Please send me _____ seminar passbooks
(one book of six passes: $400)
Total: $ _________________
Name: _____________________________________
Firm Name: ____________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
City: ___________________________________________
State: __________________ Zip: ___________________
Phone: _________________________________________
E-mail: _________________________________________
[ ] Check enclosed; Payable to the Erie Institute of
Law 438 Main Street, Sixth Floor, Buffalo, NY 14202
[ ] Visa
[ ] MasterCard
Credit Card #: __________________________________
Exp. Date: ______________
Signature:______________________________________
BECOME A FAN OF THE ERIE INSTITUTE OF LAW ON FACEBOOK.
PAGE 28
“Joy is not in
things; it is
in us.”
~RICHARD WAGNER
“Orbital” by Glenn Edward Murray
APRIL 2011
ALL MEETINGS HELD IN THE BAR CENTER, 438 Main Street, Sixth Floor, unless otherwise noted.
The Adelbert Moot CLE Center is also located at 438 Main Street, Sixth Floor.
Environmental Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Adelbert Moot CLE
Center
John T. Kolaga, Chair
FRIDAY 1
MONDAY 11
FRIDAY 15
May Bulletin Deadline
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Committee
12:15 p.m. - Steven R. Sugarman,
Chair
Young Lawyers Committee
12:15 p.m. - William Patrick Moore,
Chair
Joshua Dubs and Leah R. Nowotarski,
Vice Chairs
FRIDAY 22
MONDAY 18
Office closing at 12:30 p.m. ~ Good
Friday
Commercial & Bankruptcy Law
Committee
12:15 p.m. - Daniel E. Sarzynski, Chair
TUESDAY 12
MONDAY 4
Professional Ethics Committee
12:15 p.m. - Thomas S. Wiswall,
Chair
TUESDAY 5
Committee on Consumer Protection
12:15 p.m. - Joanne A. Schultz, Chair
WEDNESDAY 6
Legal Nurse Consultants Committee
Center
Christine A. Trojan, Chair
International Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Jason B. Desiderio, Chair
THURSDAY 7
Immigration Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Robert D. Kolken, Chair
Negligence Committee
Center
Gregory V. Pajak, Chair
FRIDAY 8
Committee to Assist Lawyers with
Depression
12:30 p.m. - Bar Center, Brennan
Room
Daniel T. Lukasik, Chair
Board of Directors
8:00 a.m. - Scott M. Schwartz,
President
Matrimonial & Family Law
Committee
12:15 p.m. - 25 Delaware Ave, 5th
Floor
Catherine E. Nagel, Chair
Banking Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Offices of Phillips Lytle LLP
Alexandra E.J. Townson, Chair
Workers’ Compensation Committee
12:15 p.m. - Philip Scaffidi, Chair
TUESDAY 19
TUESDAY 26
Board of Directors
8:00 a.m. - Scott M. Schwartz,
President
Elder Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Adelbert Moot CLE Center
Charles Beinhauer, Chair
Real Property Law Committee
Center
Michael J. Lombardo, Chair
Federal Practice Committee
Center
Timothy W. Hoover, Chair
WEDNESDAY 13
WEDNESDAY 20
Intellectual Property, Computer &
Entertainment Law Committee
8:00 a.m. - Towne Restaurant
Ellen Swartz Simpson, Chair
Erie County Bar Foundation
8:00 a.m. - William Ilecki, President
P&P in Family Court Committee
12:15 p.m. - Family Court Building
Mindy L. Marranca, Chair
Appellate Practice Committee
Room
Edward J. Markarian, Chair
THURSDAY 28
Health Care Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Lawrence C. DiGiulio,
Chair
THURSDAY 14
Criminal Law Committee
Center
Rodney O. Personius, Chair
www.eriebar.org
Unlawful Practice of Law Committee
12:15 p.m. - Harry G. Meyer, Chair
THURSDAY 21
Committee on Veterans’ & ServiceMembers’ Legal Issues
Room
Michael C. Lancer, Chair
WEDNESDAY 27
Human Rights Committee
12:15 p.m. - Alan J. Bozer, Chair
Law Day Luncheon
12:00 p.m. - Hyatt Regency Buffalo
For more information, contact
Sharlene Hall at 852-8687
P&P in Surrogate’s Court Committee
12:15 p.m. - 438 Main Street, 12th
Floor
Catherine T. Wettlaufer, Chair
Solo & Small Firm Practice
Committee
1:00 p.m. - Bar Center, Brennan Room
Alvin M. Greene, Chair

April 2011 - Bar Association of Erie County

Transcription

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