It’s been more than 50 years since the outside world first saw the horrific, inhumane treatment of disabled children at the Willowbrook State School. The 1972 television expose by journalist Geraldo Rivera led to sweeping changes and sparked the beginning of the disability rights movement. When interviewed about his groundbreaking work in a 2023 documentary, … Continued
As we move further and further into the digital age, gone are the days when a fiduciary could merely collect the decedent’s mail to discover assets and claims, review the decedent’s address book to find potential heirs, and collect photographs to distribute to family members. Increasingly we as a society are relying on our often … Continued
A decision by the New York State Court of Appeals in an Ulster County animal abuse case and other developments at the appellate level are the focus of an upcoming New York State Bar Association CLE. The Nov. 12 program, Charging Cruelty: Prosecuting Crimes of Animal Abuse and Neglect, features Jed Painter, general counsel to … Continued
New York State Bar Association President Kathleen Sweet is speaking out about the need to have U.S. Attorneys vetted by the Senate in a new episode of the Miranda Warnings podcast. In a follow-up to her nationwide OpEd in Bloomberg Law, Sweet details how Congress is giving up its oversight powers by not thoroughly investigating … Continued
Surrogate’s Court controversies create the perfect environment for grieving family members – whether bloodline, marital or chosen – to escalate any existing conflict and emotional strain between them. Surrogate’s Court proceedings routinely concern the probate of wills, administration of estates and complex trust proceedings. Given the inherent familial nature of the parties to these types … Continued
The New York State Bar Association has endorsed a bill that establishes a way to prove the existence of a lost or destroyed trust. The association’s governing body, the House of Delegates, adopted the recommendation following a report from the Trusts and Estates Law Section. Lindsay Feuer, counsel at McGuireWoods and co-chair of the Legislation … Continued
Attorneys looking for a new role should go into interviews with a plan to show how they can fulfill the needs of their prospective firms. Attorney Rena Barnett Matthews, a career coach, shared this advice and more in a free seminar hosted by the New York State Bar Association. “You are essentially marketing your skills … Continued
A New York State Bar Association task force is recommending removing age-related bias from job applications, training older workers in new technologies, and increasing penalties for employers who discriminate. The association’s governing body, the House of Delegates, adopted a report from its Task Force on Ageism in the Legal Profession on Saturday. The 50+ and … Continued
To combat opioid deaths, the New York State Bar Association is recommending expanding treatment and prevention, lowering the cost of drugs that treat addiction and increasing the appeal of jobs in the field. The House of Delegates on Saturday approved a report produced by the association’s Task Force on Opioid Addiction, which was appointed by … Continued
Buffalo attorney David Colligan has been named the winner of the Root Stimson Award for his decades of service to the people and parks of Western New York. Colligan supports the burgeoning innovation and entrepreneurial business climate in Buffalo while protecting Western New York’s natural resources. His passions range from helping start-up businesses to encouraging … Continued