Law

Law

I am an attorney and have served time in prison. I witnessed inmates spending every moment inside the prison library accessing computers and combing through court decisions. These inmates hold themselves out as jailhouse lawyers. The law library is their sanctuary where they search for ways to get released but also prey on other inmates who look to them for their freedom.

In this episode of the Jabot podcast, I chat with Sandra Cohen, co-managing partner at Cohen & Buckmann. Sandra shares her journey from HR to law, specializing in executive compensation and employee benefits. Discover the challenges and rewards of running a boutique law firm and gain insights into the niche legal field of ERISA. It's a must-listen for those curious about dynamic law careers and the evolving landscape of boutique legal practices!

Manhattan's Appellate Division courthouse, located at 27 Madison Ave., is an example of Beaux-Arts architecture, a time capsule of Progressive Era aesthetic values and recently a canvas for its contemporary leadership to imprint modern attitudes. Photo by Dean Moses [Editors note: Welcome to the amNew York Law Bench Report, where we will feature notable rulings from state and federal courts, brief news bulletins that impact the judiciary and announcements from judges' chambers. Are we missing anything? Contact editor-in-chief Andrew Denney at adenney@schnepsmedia.com]

The state's police oversight board has suspended the certification of former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the embattled investigator who was fired earlier this year over his conduct during the Karen Read case. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, or POST, said it has "concluded by a preponderance of the evidence that the suspension is in the best interest of the health, safety, or welfare of the public," according to a Dec. 18 order. Proctor had been certified through July 1, 2026.

When Brian Susbielles, 35, disembarked in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducted a border search of his iPhone and MacBook and found illicit images and videos of children engaged in sexual acts along with sexual online conversations regarding the pictures and videos, according to a criminal affidavit. Susbielles had been sailing on Holland America Line's Volendam for 30 days, leaving from New York.

Dianne Hensley filed the suit against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on Friday, claiming that the 2015 ruling that legalized marriage equality nationally, Obergefell v. Hodges, is somehow unconstitutional. The lawsuit states, via The Texas Tribune, that "the federal judiciary has no authority to recognize or invent 'fundamental' constitutional rights." Hensley's lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell, acknowledged in the filing that federal courts do not have the authority to overturn marriage equality,

Budget should have inspected the van when you returned it and quickly given you a detailed invoice explaining the $450 fee. Budget's own policy states that its cleaning charges will be reasonable (although it reserves the right to determine what is reasonable). California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act also prohibits deceptive claims, including vague fees. You should've taken photos of the van at pickup and return, even if you thought nothing was wrong,

John Foster is a respected lawyer and public sector legal leader with more than thirty years of experience in government and education law. He grew up on military bases across the United States, where a childhood shaped by discipline, duty, and resilience set the tone for his career. His father was a decorated Marine Corps officer, and his mother was an English immigrant who survived wartime evacuation before building a long career as a paralegal.

The Delaware Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling, reinstating Elon Musk's 2018 compensation package originally valued at $56 billion but now worth approximately $139 billion due to Tesla's soaring stock price. The unanimous decision criticized the prior total rescission as "improper and inequitable," arguing that it left Musk uncompensated for six years of transformative leadership at Tesla. Musk quickly celebrated the outcome on X, stating that he felt "vindicated." He also shared his gratitude to TSLA shareholders.

An elder law attorney from Florida has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing nearly $2 million from his clients' accounts. Polk County, Florida, Judge Cassandra Denmark also sentenced Jason Penrod, the founder of the now-closed Family Elder Law in Florida to 15 years of probation following his prison sentence, according to USA Today. Penrod pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft and 19 counts of money laundering on Dec. 12, USA Today also reports.

A federal judge in Brooklyn has denied a bid by New York City and the estate of former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes to throw out a civil-rights lawsuit brought by Hasidic sex-abuse whistleblower Sam Kellner, clearing the way for a jury to hear claims that top prosecutors helped engineer his arrest to benefit a convicted child molester. The 82-page ruling, by Judge Nina R. Morrison of the Eastern District of New York,

The turn of a new year always brings a certain energy: an invitation to pause, breathe, and take stock of where we've been. For solo practitioners juggling every role, small firm owners navigating growth, law students dreaming of their future practices, and managing attorneys leading teams through constant change, the new year is more than a calendar shift. "Stepping up" is about doing what matters with intention.

Cadwalader, Wall Street's oldest firm, has had a rough go of things this year. In the wake of the firm's deal with Donald Trump, the firm started losing lawyers left and right, with key partner groups lateraling out at a rapid pace. Rumors of the firm's interest in a merger began to spread, and just one month ago, we reported that Cadwalader was in merger talks with Atlanta-based Alston & Bird. Cancel those plans, because the distressed firm today announced its partnership with Hogan Lovells.

This should be an open and shut case in his favor. The lawsuit will (hopefully) memorialize a strange moment in America's history where a man's public murder was used as part of a larger campaign to whip up a frenzy and inspire more calls to violence against minorities until it was discovered that the alleged shooter was "demographically uncooperative." The weeks following Charlie Kirk's murder sent everyone into a sentiment censorship frenzy where even paraphrasing his words could cost you your job.

For many businesses, vehicles are an essential part of daily operations. Whether it's company-owned cars, leased vans, or employees using their personal vehicles for work-related travel, road usage is deeply intertwined with modern business activity. Yet, when accidents happen, many business owners are unclear about where responsibility lies - and how far their liability extends. Understanding how business liability works in road accidents is not just a legal concern; it's a financial and operational one.

Rights to guaranteed hours and payment for short-notice cancellation of shifts will mean employers will have to plan carefully for staffing needs - this may impact the availability of work for those in casual work as employers limit their exposure. Not since 1974 has the qualifying period for unfair dismissal been as low as six months with the current limit at two years. But, following yesterday's final battle in the House of Lords, the new Employment Rights Bill will do just that from January 2027.

You are absolutely not wrong for wanting to keep what was legally and intentionally left to you. Your father made a deliberate choice in his will, and wills exist precisely to prevent these kinds of disputes. At 52 with only $25,000 in annual income, this $60,000 collection represents more than two years of your total earnings and crucial financial security.

A French court on Thursday sentenced a doctor to life in jail for poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, in an alleged attempt to discredit co-workers. Frédéric Péchier, 53, worked as an anaesthetist in two clinics in the eastern city of Besançon, when patients went into cardiac arrest in suspicious circumstances between 2008 and 2017. Twelve could not be resuscitated. Péchier's youngest alleged victim, four-year-old Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil surgery in 2016.

Silver, a 55-year-old North County resident, said he was appreciative of the support from county leadership, adding that his appointment preserves vital continuity in the office that will help them maximize their mission to help vulnerable and indigent people disproportionately ensnared in the criminal court system. The office has a long tradition of being very client-centered and focusing all decisions through the lens of what's best for the community and the specific clients we serve, Silver said in an interview.

By August 2025, top executives of auto lender Tricolor knew they were in trouble: The company had pledged approximately $2.2 billion of collateral to lenders and investors, but only had approximately $1.4 billion of real collateral, Manhattan federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. Founder Daniel Chu and the company's Chief Operating Officer David Goodgame, who were arrested and charged with bank fraud and wire fraud on Wednesday, planned to frighten at least one lender into a favorable deal, prosecutors allege.

Howard "Howie" Rubin, a once-prominent Salomon Brothers investment banker featured in the 1985 Wall Street expose "Liar's Poker," must remain in a federal jail in Brooklyn indefinitely as he fights sex-trafficking charges, a judge ruled on Wednesday. It was the third bail denial for Rubin, accused of paying women, many of them former Playboy models, $5,000 to engage in "fetish play," then constraining and torturing them, including by electrocuting them against their will.