Daily Record (Rochester, NY) articles from April 2007

Daily Record (Rochester, NY) archives from April 2007

Monroe County Bar Association seeks nominations for Raymond J. Pauley Award.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The Board of Trustees of the Monroe County Bar Association in 1999 created the Raymond J. Pauley Award to perpetuate his name and commitment to the members of the legal profession. To recognize bar association...

Rochester Legal Briefs: April 2, 2007.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Helen Nguyen The following case was recently decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. CRIMINAL LAW Mail fraud -- Sentencing -- Case remanded In December 2002, the defendant pleaded guilty to charges of...

Flower City Habitat for Humanity helps to reshape the City of Rochester.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer Flower City Habitat for Humanity (FCHH) has helped to reshape the City of Rochester for more than 20 years. FCHH's mission since 1984 seeks the elimination of poverty and substandard housing in Rochester. The...

Rochester law firm Brenna & Brenna adds personal injury attorney Sheldon W. Boyce.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck The 53-year history of Rochester law firm Brenna & Brenna changes today with the addition of personal injury attorney Sheldon W. Boyce. Robert L. Brenna Jr. said Thursday the name of the firm his father started should...

Monroe County's Volunteer Legal Services Project offers unique IRS clinic.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck The Volunteer Legal Services Project recently received $20,000 from the Internal Revenue Service to provide a tax clinic for low-income taxpayers who are also deaf or hard of hearing. Program coordinator Fawn Ta said...

U.S. Senator calls judges' salaries stagnant.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Reprinted from The Third Branch (Vol. 38, No. 3 -- March 2007), the newsletter of the federal courts, with permission from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Calling stagnant judicial salaries a threat...

Commentary: Solo lawyers should understand a little about computers.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Craig Napier If you are going to practice law as a solo, you had better know a thing or two about computers. My partner and I have been dealing with the minutiae of purchasing, with another attorney, a few computers in an effort to...

GRAWA, MCBA accepts nominations for bi-annual Family Friendly Employer Award.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Dailly Record Staff Report Has your legal employer allowed you or someone in your office to work from home, or to have flexible or reduced hours so that you could spend more time with your family? Have they accommodated your request...

Alcott urges study of specialist certification in N.Y.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck New York State Bar Association President Mark H. Alcott on Monday announced the association will undertake a study to determine whether lawyers should be given the option to qualify as certified specialists. Alcott...

ABVI-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester, Inc. honored.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks named the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI)-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester, Inc. as the county's Business of the Month for April. The business will...

Construction is a family affair for Ontario-based Gerber Homes, Inc.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer Gerber Homes, Inc., headquartered in Ontario, N.Y., is a family-owned and operated construction company that builds and renovates homes in Wayne, Monroe and Ontario counties. Gerber is led by owner and President...

Commentary: Purchasing a competitor's trademark as an online keyword.
April 4, 2007... Byline: John E. Ottaviani Your client wants to purchase Internet advertising that is triggered when her company's trademarks are typed into a search request. She also wants to purchase the trademarks of some of her competitors for the same...

Unified Court System in N.Y. launches youth site.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman on Monday announced the launch of a youth-focused Web site as part of this year's Law Day celebration, to be held at the...

N.Y. State Bar Assn. age discrimination report released.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff On March 31, the New York State Bar Association's House of Delegates unanimously approved a report by the Special Committee on Age Discrimination in the Profession, which calls on law firms to end the practice of...

N.Y. State Health Commissioner visits lead abated homes.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, MD, on Monday kicked off National Public Health Week in New York with a visit to Rochester, where he met Monroe County Health Commissioner Andrew S. Doniger, MD,...

American College of Trial Lawyers' seeks 100 percent raise for federal judges.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck The American College of Trial Lawyers' recently released report on judicial compensation calls for a 100 percent raise for federal judges. Echoing similar requests made by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, New York...

Commentary: The top 10 things for tax procrastinators to avoid.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Mike Boyd If you're like me and still haven't found the time or patience to file your federal income tax return, there are a few things to keep in mind when you do finally get around to crunching the numbers. The National Society...

Pending home sales show effects of weather, subprime mortgages.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A forward-looking index based on pending home sales indicates that bad weather, and possibly the loss of some subprime lending, will dampen sales closed in March and April, according to the National Association...

Take advantage of family-friendly tax credits in N.Y.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff State taxpayers should take advantage of a host of family-friendly credits that may lower tax bills and increase refunds. Some tax breaks, like the Earned Income Tax Credit, may result in a refund even when no...

N.Y. State Court of Appeals lists more March filings.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on the merits because of dismissal on...

Commentary: Book Review: Dennis DeConcini's 'From the Center of the Aisle'.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Don Harris Dennis DeConcini's political memoir carries a most appropriate title, one that captures his somewhat rocky yet successful political career. From the Center of the Aisle is where DeConcini spent much of his time, playing...

H.Todd Bullard's return to law firm in Rochester a major milestone.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck When H. Todd Bullard was growing up, his parents kept photographs of John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in their home. While he didn't realize it at the time, those photographs, an open dialogue with his...

Residential real estate market works down an excess of inventory.
April 6, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale For years, homebuilders kept up with demand for housing by constructing units at breakneck speed. Today many of those homes are empty, while property owners turn to gimmicks to shed the real estate. Welcome to the...

Rochester Legal Briefs: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff 'Qui tam' -- False Claims Act The False Claims Act's original source provision requires Relators to have direct and independent knowledge of the information on which their allegations are based at all stages of...

Commercial real estate industry in Rochester looks stable.
April 9, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Investment in commercial real estate reached record levels in 2006, with $306.8 billion in transactions. NAR expects the flow of capital to continue to be...

Meetings & More.
April 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff April 9 Climbing the Highest Peaks Mountain climber Kevin Flynn, a partner of Martino Flynn LLC in Pittsford, will share slides, video clips and stories of his adventures climbing the highest peaks on seven...

South Wedge Planning Committee awarded grant for new playground in Rochester park.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer The South Wedge Planning Committee (SWPC) recently was awarded a grant to build a new playground at Marie Daley Park. KaBoom! is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a great place to play...

Book by author Jeffrey Krivis brings litigators and mediators together.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl Litigators and mediators are not exactly birds of a feather. Although both deal with conflict resolution, they have radically different notions about what constitutes a successful outcome and how to achieve it. The...

New York State Bar Association calls for e-filing.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The New York State Bar Association's House of Delegates recently approved a report issued by the Task Force on the Electronic Filing of Court Documents, created by Past President A. Vincent Buzard, recommending...

U.S. Supreme Court rules in 'qui tam' case.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The False Claims Act's "original source" provision requires that relators have direct and independent knowledge of the information on which their allegations are based at all stages of the litigation, the U.S....

Syracuse University College of Law team places second at national trial competition.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The trial team from Syracuse University College of Law placed second at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) National Student Trial Advocacy Competition held recently in New Orleans. Sixteen other teams...

N.Y. State Chief Judge Kaye says state judiciary held hostage, treated 'shabby'.
April 11, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye issued a scathing reminder on Monday that compensation for the state's judges has fallen 23 percent behind that of their federal counterparts, whose compensation also was...

'Mass. v. EPA': A bunch of 'hot air' about global warming?
April 11, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck Scott Turner, managing partner at Nixon Peabody and a member of the firm's environmental practice group, said Monday it is probably too soon to assess the fall-out from the recent U.S. Supreme Court's decision in...

Commentary: To make the right hire, use an employment agency.
April 11, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll We've emphasized before that even the smallest practices benefit from hiring the right administrative help to free attorneys' time for practicing law and winning new clients. However, the hiring process is complex and...

When is the right time to fire a client?
April 11, 2007... Byline: Randy Tuminello Although I'm not the type to readily recommend the burning of a bridge, there are occasions when the only option is to get out the blowtorch. Though rare, there are some clients that should be fired. I reserve this...

Fight for fair housing in Monroe County continues every day.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck When the town of East Rochester enacted a law that requires evicting tenants after police are called to their residence three times, no leeway was provided for victims of domestic violence. Laurie Grape, an East...

ID theft bill introduced in the N.Y. Senate.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A bill introduced in the Senate would require businesses to notify consumers if a security breach compromises their personal information. The measure, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act," also seeks...

Profiles in History: Woods Oviatt Gilman, serving the Rochester for more than 150 years.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Robbi Hess Commitment to customer service is what James McElheny, managing partner of Woods Oviatt Gilman, recently cited as the firms' "secret to success." Since its origins in the mid-19th century, when William H. Bowman and...

National Association of Realtors: Tighter lending standards good for housing, will dampen sales.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Tighter lending criteria and fallout from the subprime loan debacle will lead to a healthier housing market with greater assurance that owners can handle mortgage adjustments, but higher loan standards will slow...

Commentary: Immigration law shouldn't be a foreign concept.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Rich Meneghello Problem: Hardly a day goes by without a news report of the country's immigration problem and the latest proposed legislative solution. You know that new immigration laws are in our future, you just don't know which...

Commissioner of New York State Division of Criminal Justice summons experiences for new role.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck Through the course of her professional career, Denise O'Donnell has been a social worker, a judicial law clerk, a U.S. attorney, a politician and policy advisor and more. Late last month, she was confirmed as the new...

Commentary: Even the big frauds start small.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Tracy Coenen Take a look at the frauds in the news, and most of them are huge. Huge frauds make huge news. As investors and the general public demand more transparency from companies and executives, the issue of fraud is being...

End is near for West Ridge Road improvement project in Rochester.
April 14, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer Rochester's West Ridge Road reconstruction project is nearing its end. The project was started by the City of Rochester and the New York State Department of Transportation in 2004 and was expected to be finished...

End is near for West Ridge Road improvement project.
April 14, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer Rochester's West Ridge Road reconstruction project is nearing its end. The project was started by the City of Rochester and the New York State Department of Transportation in 2004 and was expected to be finished...

Federal prosecutor, kidnapped, lives to tell harrowing story.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Peter Elikann The veteran New York police detectives and FBI agents debriefing Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley Alpert late one winter night nine years ago weren't buying his story for a minute. His tale of being a crime victim...

Mock trial competition in Rochester helps students excel.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck The mock trial team at Our Lady of Mercy High School is heading to regionals, having won first place at the recent Sydney R. Rubin High School Mock Trial Competition. The students won't have to travel very far,...

Rochester home sales up in March, total listings decrease.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Year-to-date existing single-family home sales are up 4.6 percent compared to 2006, and up by 19.5 percent compared to last month. According to the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, the average sale...

Post-verdict juror interviews:.
April 17, 2007... Although the most important work an attorney performs takes place before and during the trial, litigators have an important opportunity to learn about their effectiveness after the trial is over. Did the themes you chose to emphasize resonate...

UB Law School podcasts focus on law and society.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff As a conversation starter, legal research may seem too esoteric of a topic. But add to the discussion a little atmosphere -- lunch at an Italian cafe, the chattering of fellow diners, a touch of jazz music in the...

New York State AG reaches settlement with student loan lender.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Last week, New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced a settlement with Sallie Mae, the nation's largest student lender. Sallie Mae will contribute $2 million to a fund devoted to educating college...

Rochester chapter of NAWIC empowers women in construction.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer The National Association of Women in Construction's (NAWIC) Rochester chapter has been trying to get the word out to women in the industry for more than 20 years. "We are the best kept secret, but we don't want...

Nothing personal: Leave the loan alone.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll A new and growing law firm often seeks a bank loan when cash needs exceed cash-generation ability through client receipts and partner capital. An unexpected tax liability, new equipment purchases and unanticipated...

Bankruptcy filings in U.S. plunge in 2006.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Bankruptcy filings in the federal courts dropped 70 percent in calendar year 2006, according to data released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. However, bankruptcies filed for the last three months of...

University at Buffalo Law School Dean Nils Olsen to step down.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Nils Olsen announced Monday that he will step down in December as dean of the University at Buffalo Law School to attend to personal and family health issues. Olsen has served since 1998 as the 18th dean of the UB Law...

How to recycle in your law practice.
April 18, 2007... As Earth Day 2007 approaches, here's a strategy for reducing waste, re-using paper and recycling those materials that can be saved -- three R's to follow in the cause of preserving the environment. The first step in cutting down that waste is...

Felder not funny, says N.Y. Governor Spitzer.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck Gov. Eliot Spitzer this week called on the chairman of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct to step down in light of a unanimous finding of "no confidence" by nine other commission members. Chairman Raoul...

Commentary: It might be time to save for stagflation.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Linda Stern Here's a multiple-choice question for savers and investors: What's a more frightening prospect now, inflation or recession? The answer, of course, is both. Accelerating prices and a slow- or no-growth economy is a...

Class Action Fairness Act boosts federal cases.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Federal courts are handling more class action cases since the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) was enacted, a study shows. "In the 16 months since CAFA went into effect on Feb. 18, 2005,... we find a...

Commentary: The push for financial aid is on ...
April 19, 2007... Byline: Linda Stern Financial aid season is in full swing, and parents of campus-bound students have only a few weeks left to line up their best deals or start finding alternative sources of cash for the fall. This year is more...

N.Y. State Court of Appeals lists filings for March 16 through 22, 2007.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on the merits because of dismissal on...

New York State Assembly approves Rockefeller Drug Law reforms.
April 20, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Correction Committee Chairman Jeffrion Aubry and Codes Committee Chairman Joseph Lentol on Wednesday announced the passage of legislation to update the state's drug...

New Small Business Administration rules discover who's big, who's not.
April 20, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy New rules are on the way to discover who is small, who is big and who is just pretending. It's all part of a Small Business Administration's efforts to figure out if small businesses are really getting their fair...

Commentary: Mr. Spitzer's learning curve.
April 20, 2007... Byline: James L. Larocca As Eliot Spitzer undergoes the transition from campaign poetry to government prose (to paraphrase Mario Cuomo's locution), his sky-high approval ratings are experiencing the inevitable pull of political gravity. He...

New York State Court of Appeals lists more filings for March 16-22, 2007.
April 20, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on the merits because of dismissal on...

Commentary: Curb lawsuits with the right hire.
April 23, 2007... Byline: Mitch Baker Question: It seems as though there are so many lawsuits filed against employers these days, many of which turn out to be completely frivolous. Is there anything we can do to try to prevent them? Answer: Yes. Many...

New York State Court of Appeals lists more filings for March 23 through 29.
April 23, 2007... Byline: Daily Record A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on the merits because of dismissal on motion, sua...

Subprime mortgages in N.Y. from a different view.
April 23, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer Mortgage delinquencies are on the rise in Monroe County and most of the blame is being placed on banks and lenders, who some say have lenient qualifications when it comes to subprime mortgages. "I would not say...

Women and minorities struggle to advance in top law firms.
April 24, 2007... Byline: Kimberly Atkins Rising to the top at the nation's most powerful law firms is a tough job, especially for minorities and women, according to two recent studies focusing on diversity at the nation's top 200 law firms. The surveys...

Monroe County DA seeks greater penalties for use of fake bombs in robberies.
April 24, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Monroe County District Attorney Mike Green, along with Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle (D-Irondequoit) and Sen. Joseph E. Robach (R-Greece) last week announced the introduction of legislation aimed at cracking down...

New York State Bar Association to present 'pro bono' awards.
April 24, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The New York State Bar Association on April 30 will present the President's Pro Bono Service Awards, which this year will honor attorneys representing 11 of the state's 12 judicial districts. In addition, two...

U.S. Supreme Court: Does an injunction winner deserve attorney fees?
April 24, 2007... Byline: Kimberly Atkins The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments about whether a plaintiff who wins a preliminary injunction, then ultimately loses the underlying civil suit, can be considered a prevailing party entitled to...

Summer associates are ready for work.
April 25, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck It's that time of year again: Law school students will soon descend on law firms, public offices and legal aid providers for summer jobs. The work is considered "a first step in the student's overall career plan" by...

Victor-based landscape design company offers trends and advice.
April 25, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer As more and more warm days arrive, the region's design and construction industry turns toward landscape design. The use of more natural/ organic products and larger outdoor living spaces are trends the...

Victims' Rights Week at Monroe County Hall of Justice: Silent witnesses still tell their stories.
April 25, 2007... Byline: Tara E. Buck Stories of 16 Monroe countians -- including Hatice Peltek -- who died as a result of domestic violence since 2005 will be on display on Thursday at the Civic Center Plaza of the Hall of Justice. The county's third...

Family is still a large part of the business for Rochester-based Hilbert Realty Inc.
April 26, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer Karen Hilbert, owner of Hilbert Realty Inc., always had an inkling that she was supposed to work in the real estate industry. "I have a bachelors of science degree and I'm a registered nurse, but as soon as I...

Rochester-based construction company focuses on community involvement.
April 27, 2007... Byline: Danielle Derringer The Nichols Team construction company will soon enter its 25th year in business. James Nichols started the The Nichols Team with his sons, John and Brad, and led the company until 2002 when he was diagnosed with...