Category: Latest News

How Child Support Complicates Benefits for Adult Developmentally Disabled Children

Receiving and distributing child support for developmentally disabled children is complicated. And it gets more complicated as a child ages into adulthood, changing their eligibility for benefits. The New York State Bar Association’s Family Law, Elder Law & Special Needs and Trusts & Estates Law sections hosted a continuing legal education course to discuss this … Continued

Don’t Get Lost in Loss Transfer Arbitration

There is nothing worse than an unwanted surprise. After settling the bodily injury lawsuit in a trucking or automobile claim, your insurer/client happily closes their file, satisfied with the settlement you’ve negotiated. Until…surprise! They receive a demand letter from another insurance carrier for $50,000 in loss transfer. They call you in a panic saying, “I … Continued

Forest Bathing: How Time in Nature Can Improve Your Health  

Ask anyone who spends time outdoors hiking, bicycling or fishing and they will tell you that there is something restorative about spending time in nature. Recently, the Lawyer Assistance Program of the New York State Bar Association held an informational event on these benefits. Brooke Mellen of Cultured Forest led the session. A risk assessment … Continued

Homelessness in New York: Keeping a Crisis From Becoming a Catastrophe

The crisis of homelessness is felt in nearly every community across New York State – and it’s getting worse. Just a year ago, state and local officials were bracing for an increase in homelessness as the COVID-19 eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs ended. What they didn’t anticipate were weekly busloads of migrants from the … Continued

Diamonds in the Rough Notes: The Importance of Obtaining Informal Notes of Witness Statements

For the trial attorney, familiarity with prosecution witnesses’ statements is fundamental to effective trial preparation. A recent federal health care fraud case in Texas underscores just how critical it is for defense counsel to vigorously pursue discovery of witness statements – not just those formalized in memoranda written by government agents, but also those contained … Continued

New York State Bar Association Wins National Award for Excellence for its Web3 Metaverse Program, Offers Second Metaverse Event This Fall

The Association for Continuing Legal Education presented the New York State Bar Association with one of its highest honors this summer ― the Best Award for Programs ― for the bar association’s Web3 Metaverse Symposium. “Deep Dive into the Metaverse and Web3: The First Global Law Symposium” took place in-person and virtually in April 2023 … Continued

Fighting Hate: Addressing a Wave of Antisemitism, Anti-Asian Hate

Vincent Chang and Brian Cohen, co-chairs of the Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Asian Hate After former President Donald Trump called COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” in a tweet on March 16, 2020, tweets with anti-Asian hashtags rose dramatically in the week that followed. In 2022, the Anti-Defamation League reported the highest number of antisemitic … Continued

New York State Bar Association Applauds Appointment of Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick as Independent Monitor

Richard Lewis, president of the New York State Bar Association, issued the following statement today about the appointment of former Court of Appeals Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick as the New York court system’s independent monitor on racial bias in the courts: “The New York State Bar Association applauds the appointment of Judge Ciparick as the … Continued