NY Daily Record Since 1908

Federal lawmakers gave the U.S. patent system its first major overhaul since 1952 last week, when the U.S. Senate passed the America Invents Act 89 to 9. But will the law, which has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will now go to President Barack Obama ...

Tagged with: America Invents Act Congress overhaul

A plan to allow the controversial process of high volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract natural gas deposits from New York’s Marcellus Shale region moved one step closer to reality this week. The Department of Environmental Conservation ...

Tagged with: DEC fracking Marcellus shale natural gas report

Rochester Institute of Technology’s Saunders College of Business will be seeing a new face in the dean’s office next year; current Saunders head Ashok Rao will be stepping down at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

Tagged with: resignation RIT

If a proposal now under consideration by the American Bar Association’s Section on Legal Education is enacted, law schools would have to publish the percentage of their students that have had merit scholarships revoked.

Tagged with: ABA

The long anticipated final portion of New York State Department of Conservation’s report on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas has been delayed due to Hurricane Irene. Agency officials cited the need to tend to disaster relief and recovery from flooding and fire this week.

Tagged with: fracking hydraulic fracturing Marcellus shale New York State

Can anonymous commenters and the websites they post to be sued for defamation? In the case of one local dispute, the answer is no. Monroe County Supreme Court Justice David Barry ruled last month that Democrat & Chronicle parent company ...

Tagged with: defamation Internet

Could laws like Alabama’s new legislation restricting illegal immigration complicate how immigration law is practiced in the United States? Yes, say some local experts – but the law’s future remains uncertain.

Tagged with: immigration Law

What does First Niagara Financial Group’s acquisition of 195 branches of HSBC Bank USA across upstate New York and Connecticut mean for the regional banking industry? More competition, according to one local expert, and more opportunities for those who can capitalize on them, said another.

Tagged with: acquisition branches First Niagara Bank HSBC upstate New York

Genesee Regional Bank is one of 20 community banks across the country to receive part of $253 million in capital through the Treasury Department’s Small Business Lending Fund. Through GRB’s holding company, Greater Rochester Bancorp Inc. ...

Tagged with: federal funding small businesses Treasury Department

Law schools will soon be asked to submit more information on the employment status and placement of recent graduates. Last week, the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar adopted the recommendation of its Questionnaire Committee ...

Tagged with: ABA American Bar Association graduates Jobs law schools

Taking aim at a U.S. Supreme Court ruling they say strips workers and consumers of their right to redress against powerful corporations, lawmakers in both houses have reintroduced the Arbitration Fairness Act, which would bar pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer and employment contracts and in civil rights disputes.

Tagged with: Arbitration ban House Senate

In a time of tightened budgets on the municipal, county and state levels, does it make sense to switch from live court reporters to digital or tape recorders in order to save money?