“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The words of Benjamin Franklin perfectly describe the transactional attorney’s ideal role in the negotiation and drafting of contracts. In practice, complex agreements are routinely negotiated and signed within days ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Kamran F. Hashmi

Most discovery skirmishes arise after commencement of an action. On occasion, the battle is waged before an action is commenced, which brings into play CPLR §3201 (c). Pre-action discovery is available to aid in bringing an action, to preserve information ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Mary Jo S. Korona

I have recently observed a trend in employment litigation: employers attempting to enforce covenants not to compete or solicit clients (“restrictive covenants”) that are contained in employee manuals, as opposed to discrete contracts. Employers should reconsider this practice if they ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Jeremy M. Sher

Attorneys help their clients forge a path to the future, and nothing is as affirming as when a client says their attorney gave them hope in what was an otherwise indecipherable dilemma. Helping people with problems is what attorneys do. ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Paul Leclair

The Federal Labor Standards Act places minimum wage and hour requirements on employers. Unless an exemption applies, the FLSA requires overtime pay for employees working more than 40 hours in a workweek. If an employee works more than 40 hours, ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Robert P. Yawman III

Introduction There is something about social media that causes people to instinctively share, post and tweet whatever is on their mind (ask Donald Trump). As a result, social media accounts are a potential evidentiary goldmine for litigation attorneys (ask Robert ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Kamran F. Hashmi

When I last wrote about unmissable deadlines, I described CPLR and NYCRR provisions setting deadlines that normally can’t be forgiven. If you’re defending a state court action, there’s another deadline you must remember: the 30-day deadline to remove an action ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Jeremy M. Sher

With rising water levels in Lake Ontario damaging homes and businesses locally, and the active hurricane season of 2017 impacting properties across the country, many people and business are asking about flood insurance. Who offers flood insurance? Generally, flood insurance ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Stacey E. Trien

In certain personal injury cases, plaintiffs rely upon expert witnesses to prove that a defendant created a dangerous condition. For example, in a trip-and-fall case, a plaintiff may retain an engineering expert to opine that a roadway was improperly constructed, ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Robert Yawman III

In construction disputes or other personal injury or property damage matters, counsel is often asked if the payment of alleged damages can be passed along to another entity or person. The typical legal avenues for passing along risk are contribution, ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Laurie A. Giordano

The availability and lure of social media to quickly find information about individuals involved in the legal system, and in particular prospective or sitting jurors, can overshadow the need to be aware of the ethical considerations imposed by the New ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Mary Jo S. Korona

Trials are clashes of ideas and attitudes. Attorneys condense complex theories into characterizations and themes. Jurors consider what witnesses do on the stand in addition to what they say. But the jury’s memory of arguments and testimony can be fleeting. ...

Tagged with: Advocate's View Jeremy M. Sher