My original reporting on legal events and trends:
Reporting
Reporting
June 26th, 2020
This is a freelance piece I recently wrote for the Rochestser Business Journal:
As much of the working world embraces working from home due to COVID-19, Marisa Zeppieri says she feels a little bit of betrayal that previously many employers refused to provide that accommodation to people with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
“It’s archaic thinking that all positions happen in this 9 to 5 structure,” says Zeppieri, an... Continue Reading
April 29th, 2018
Here is a recent piece I wrote for the Rochester Business Journal about the benefits of continuing education despite the demands of busy personal and professional lives:
When Pamela Black-Colton, the executive director of admissions & student services for University of Rochester’s School of Education, was earning her MBA at night, she never went anywhere without her textbook. She would use any spare minute she could find to keep... Continue Reading
December 16th, 2017
Here is a recent story I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune about changes to the law for corporations and LLCs that went into effect earlier this year:
While Delaware remains the hub of corporate law with a large number of publicly traded companies choosing to incorporate there, Connecticut is aiming to compete with the state and other large commercial jurisdictions, as recent reforms have been made to state laws governing... Continue Reading
October 15th, 2017
Here is another recent article I did for the Rochester Business Journal:
Rochester may be known as a leader in imaging and optical science, but a lot of people don’t know about its active presence in medical clinical research by standalone facilities and area hospitals.
Dr. Scott Feitell, a cardiologist and director of heart failure for Rochester Regional Health’s Sands-Constellation Heart Institute, notes that even though it... Continue Reading
October 15th, 2017
Here is a recent piece I wrote for the Rochester Business Journal:
The Rochester region is open for business for women-owned enterprises, and several local female business leaders report that they have been able to find success for their companies no matter what type of industry they work in.
“The (Rochester business) climate is on fire for women,” says Lauren Dixon, chief executive officer of Victor-based ad agency Dixon... Continue Reading
March 11th, 2017
My latest piece for the New York Law Journal:
Despite efforts to reduce the number of people entering New York City's criminal justice system for low-level crimes, the number of women arrested for misdemeanors has not been reduced at the same rate as for men, according to a new report.
The study, by the New York Women's Foundation and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice's Prisoner Reentry Institute, found that 42,... Continue Reading
March 4th, 2017
My latest piece for the Connecticut Law Tribune:
Legislation that would provide a wholesale update to Connecticut arbitration law for the first time in a half-century, an effort that's failed several times already, recently received a hearing in the General Assembly and appears ready to gain traction.
Advocates of adopting the model "Revised Uniform Arbitration Act" (RUAA) are hoping that 2017 will be the year the... Continue Reading
February 17th, 2017
Here's a freelance piece I did today for the New York Law Journal about New York City's ground-breaking plan to use city funds to ensure that tenants earning less than 200 percent of the poverty level will have lawyers when facing eviction:
New York City's plan to offer free counsel to low-income Housing Court tenants facing eviction doesn't mean tenants who fail to meet income requirements won't receive any help... Continue Reading
October 21st, 2016
Here is my piece just published by the Connecticut Law Tribune about a new pro bono program aiming to help close the access to justice gap:
The power of the internet is being harnessed to make it easier for low-income Connecticut residents to access legal advice, and to make it easier for pro bono attorneys to volunteer to help people who can't afford to pay for attorneys.
Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut is one of the... Continue Reading
October 20th, 2016
Here's a recent piece I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune about reforms to that state's power of attorney law:
Sweeping changes have been made to Connecticut's power-of-attorney law, including making it harder for banks to upend the wishes of people who do estate planning by rejecting power-of-attorney forms.
Reforms to the law came into effect Oct. 1. Leaders in the Connecticut field say this is the first time the law... Continue Reading
September 14th, 2016
Here's a recent piece I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune about a bizarre scenario: a litigant suing for alleged personal injury has been charged with perjury because he allegedly falsely claimed his mother had died in order to excuse his absence from court. Sometimes, you can't make the world of law up.
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An Arizona man sued Dollar Tree Stores, alleging that he fell due to a hole in the floor of one of the chain's... Continue Reading
August 28th, 2016
Here is a recent piece I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune about the limits on liability for mass shootings:
The debate over guns usually brings to mind the Second Amendment and legislators passing laws about background checks and keeping guns out of the hands of people on the terrorist watch list or with mental health problems.
An event last week at the American Museum of Tort Law in Winsted highlighted the role of tort law in... Continue Reading
August 15th, 2016
Here is a freelance piece published last month by the Connecticut Law Tribune:
Vacant, foreclosed homes have become a bane in many neighborhoods in the United States. There are currently 896,913 properties in some stage of foreclosure in the United States, according to RealtyTrac.
The impact of vacant, foreclosed homes is affecting Connecticut too. Two homeowners in Wyndham County have been living through the experience of having a... Continue Reading
March 20th, 2016
The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that a negative review of a wedding venue is protected by the First Amendment. In doing so, the court also set precedent for how to distinguish whether speech is protected opinion or a defamatory assertion of fact.
Justice Richard C. Baldwin, writing for the court, applied a Ninth Circuit test in Unelko Corp v. Rooney: "whether a reasonable factfinder could conclude that an allegedly... Continue Reading
February 21st, 2016
How do you overcome the ax murderer taking care of Grandma problem?
Lawyer Peter H. “Tad” LeVan knows a thing or two about that.
A few weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, sitting en banc, ruled that the state's ban on former convicts working in elder care was unconstitutional.
LeVan gave me a recent interview about this litigation. It started with a challenge to the law's constitutionality on an... Continue Reading
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
