The opportunity to serve as the 126th president of the New York State Bar Association is the highest honor of my professional career. It is the culmination of all my work for this association, from my service as Executive Committee liaison to the Task Force on Rural Justice to chairing the Uniform Court Rules Committee … Continued
Readers may recall this column that ran in the Bar Journal from 2004 to 2018. After a five-year hiatus, corresponding to a period of significant changes in New York civil practice, occasioned in part by the pandemic but also by systemic changes, some pre-dating the pandemic, we pick up where the column left off.[1] Our … Continued
It took me five years of practicing trust and estates law to develop my own estate plan. The cobbler’s children have no shoes, right? I spent my days counseling clients on the importance of having a will and advance directives, at the very least, and could not find the time over a period of years … Continued
An attorney has taken on a multifaceted case and can’t decide whether to use artificial intelligence to meet discovery demands involving 100,000 sensitive documents. While AI can save money by selecting only the most pertinent documents, the lawyer does not want to risk the client’s privacy by exposing sensitive documents to AI’s DIALOG DTE computer … Continued
The New York State Bar Association is launching a task force to make recommendations about the legal, ethical, public health and policy considerations involved in helping people make end of life decisions. “These sensitive issues can present a minefield for many families during the most difficult time in their lives,” said New York State Bar … Continued
As the New York State Bar Association urges Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign our legislative priorities into law, we are actively working on our list of priorities for the 2024 Legislative Session. The 2023 legislative session was one of the most successful for the New York State Bar Association in recent years. Several priorities and … Continued
The dominant business news story of the first half of 2023 has been the failures of three large regional banks: Silicon Valley Bank, based in Palo Alto; Signature Bank, based in New York; and First Republic Bank, based in San Francisco. First Republic was taken over by JPMorgan Chase, with assistance from the Federal Deposit … Continued
To the Forum: I am the defendant’s counsel in a federal lawsuit against a New York State trooper being sued for malicious prosecution. This case has been very slow-moving, as plaintiff’s attorneys consistently miss deadlines such as serving the summons and complaint, expert witness disclosure and responding to discovery demands. They also failed to appear … Continued
Many businesses looking to raise capital are understandably eager to engage a good investment banker to assist them in what can be an exciting endeavor. In the process of engaging an investment banker, however, they might overlook a key provision of the agreement – the tail fee. The tail fee provision is intended to protect … Continued
The legal system has never been quick to embrace change. Whether it is electronic research, electronic filing, video depositions or artificial intelligence, most of the legal system will be dragged into the future kicking, screaming and holding on to whatever antiquated methods it can sink its claws into. This is, of course, true not just … Continued