Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, is based on an exhaustive annual survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
Because Best Lawyers is based on a peer-review survey, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Steven Naifeh, president of Best Lawyers, said, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for 28 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of recognition in the legal profession.”
Faraci Lange LLP announced today that David L. Cook has joined the firm as a partner.
Cook focuses his practice on commercial and real estate litigation, environmental law, agriculture law, labor and employment, and personal injury law. Before joining Faraci Lange LLP he was an equity partner at Nixon Peabody LLP and previously served as the chair of the real estate litigation team.
Once you have plotted your strategy there are techniques that can be used to help you execute that strategy effectively. Below are a number of techniques to keep in mind.
a. The rule of probability in human behavior
For a truly effective cross examination the examiner must be knowledgeable and aware of common principles of human behavior. In a trial you will be called upon to instantly analyze and react to a witness’s use of a certain word, phrase, or obvious body language. The examiner’s questions test what the witness is saying against widely known common experiences. You do not have to have direct knowledge to ask the witness certain questions since common human experience provides us with a probable answer. More…
Posted by Stephen G. Schwarz, Managing Partner, Faraci Lange
V. Features and Use of Trial Presentation Software
As stated above, the crown jewel of audio-visual presentation at trial is trial presentation software. The software I am most familiar with is Sanction, so I will refer below to features of Sanction. However, Trial Director is very similar and does most, if not all, of the same things and pretty much in the same way. I am sure there are slight variations between the two products, but none that would be relevant to this general discussion.
The first step in using Sanction is set up a case file. This will save everything related to one case in one place so you can work on multiple cases and save your work. Once a new case file is opened, you then start loading all of your data into that case file, or put more precisely, linking the files together. More…
Posted by Stephen G. Schwarz, Managing Partner, Faraci Lange
Back in September of 2008, we posted an article about Kash v. Jewish Home & Infirmary of Rochester, a case scheduled to be heard by the Appellate Division, Fourth Department in its upcoming term. The appeal was argued in December and was recently decided by a 3-2 majority of the justices in favor of victims of neglect or abuse in nursing homes. The Appellate Division held that a nursing home resident injured due to the negligence of the staff could bring a medical malpractice claim against the nursing home together with a claim under New York Public Health Law §2801-d. See Kash v. Jewish Home & Infirmary of Rochester, N.Y., Inc., 2009 NY Slip Op 1041, 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1065 (4th Dept. 2009). (For more infromation about §2801-d, read the September 19, 2008 posting). More…
Posted by Carol A. McKenna, Associate, Faraci Lange
Section 3420 of the New York Insurance Law, which sets forth requirements for liability insurance policies issued in New York State, was amended recently in two important ways that will help injury victims. Liability insurance policies, including automobile and homeowner’s insurance policies, typically require that the negligent party inform his or her insurance company of any possible claims within a particular period of time. These notice provisions are designed to ensure that the company has an opportunity to investigate claims right away, while witnesses can still be located and evidence has not been lost or destroyed. More…
Posted by Stephen G. Schwarz, Managing Partner, Faraci Lange
New York Public Health Law§2801-d provides a statutory remedy to nursing home patients for injuries suffered as a result of the deprivation of certain rights or benefits granted by contract, or by applicable federal and state law. The statute mandates an award of compensatory damages of no less than twenty-five percent of the nursing facility’s daily rate for each day the patient’s injury exists. In addition, it provides for punitive damages and attorneys’ fees in appropriate circumstances.
Posted by Stephen G. Schwarz, Managing Partner, Faraci Lange
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and predominantly trichloroethylene (TCE) have long been recognized as dangerous and persistent groundwater pollutants. Numerous epidemiological studies have established that TCE is a likely human carcinogen with the strongest evidence supporting a causal link to kidney, liver and lymphoma cancers. In the past, the most common route of exposure was through contaminated well water, whether by ingestion, inhalation of vapors or though contact with the skin. In many jurisdictions, government regulators were less aggressive where a plume of TCE or other VOCs was discovered in an area serviced by a public water supply, believing that residents were not being exposed.
In recent years, however, the danger of vapor intrusion is finally getting the attention it deserves from regulators and legislators across the country. One of the largest vapor intrusion sites discovered to date is in Endicott, New York. A plume of TCE and other VOCs are contaminating the air in hundreds of Endicott homes, requiring the installation of hundreds of individual vapor intrusion remediation systems. Faraci Lange, LLP, a Rochester, New York law firm, is involved in toxic chemical exposure litigation commenced against IBM on behalf of the victims of this contamination. More…
