COVID-19 RESOURCES
For media inquiries, contact Diane Paoletta at DPaoletta@PhillipsNizer.com.
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How to Protect Your Co-op When Granting Share Transfers to a Trust11/01/2022
by Mark Axinn
As part of their estate planning, elderly shareholders often want to transfer their shares into an entity for the benefit of their adult children or their grandchildren. For a long time, boards have tended to bar shareholders from transferring their shares to trusts. -
Alan Behr Publishes New York Law Journal Article on the Impact of the Proposed New York State Legislature's Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act03/09/2022 | New York Law Journal
Alan Behr published a New York Law Journal article on the proposed New York State Legislature's Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, a bill that stands to have a major impact on fashion companies operating in New York state as well as show hints of what may arise elsewhere.
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Condominium and Cooperative Practice Chair Mark Axinn Discusses Coop Meeting Rules in a Q&A for the Cooperator News New York12/21/2021
Condominium and Cooperative Practice Chair Mark Axinn answers a reader question for Cooperator News New York on coop meeting rules.
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New York Law Journal - Biden Administration Increasingly Focused on Crypto Exchanges, By: Ilene Jaroslaw, Matthew L. Levine, Jeremy B. Siegfried11/29/2021
The Biden Administration has increasingly focused on cryptocurrency exchanges by ramping up its monitoring and enforcement across various agencies. This article will review some recent developments at these regulatory and prosecutorial agencies.
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New York Law Journal: In NYSBA Program on Britney Spears Case and Guardianship Law, Veteran Lawyer Laments Misperceptions About the Work (July 22, 2021)07/22/2021
“We are a practice that really I think the public doesn’t have confidence in what we do,” said Elizabeth Adinolfi, a Manhattan-based partner at Phillips Nizer, who led the program. “We have decided privacy rights outweigh the public knowing.”
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Good News for Co-ops and Condos: Sponsors Are Selling, as seen in Habitat Magazine (July 8, 2021) By: Mark N. Axinn, Phillips Nizer LLP Condominium and Cooperative Law Chair07/08/2021
After decades of fighting their sponsors, New York City co-ops and condominiums may finally be catching a break. Almost 20 years have passed since the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, decided the landmark Jennifer Realty case, holding that co-op apartment corporations may sue their sponsor-developers for breach of an implied promise to sell their unsold shares in the corporation. Despite the ruling, most owners of unsold apartments continued to rent rather than sell their unsold units, especially when the rental market remained strong.
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New Jersey Lawyer: Title IX and The Continuing Fight for Gender Equity in Athletics02/22/2021
This article was originally published in the February 2021 issue of New Jersey Lawyer, a publication of the New Jersey Bar Association, and is reprinted with permission.
The right of every girl to have an equal opportunity to participate in sports—one of the many guarantees of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—remains unfulfilled even as we enter 2021. The fight for this right has been taken up over the past decades by numerous brave individuals and social justice organizations. Yet the law’s promise of equality remains out of reach for far too many talented and deserving girls, especially girls of color, including in New Jersey. -
Marc Landis is quoted by Inman Property Portfolio: 1031 like-kind exchanges: On the chopping block, or here to stay?02/21/2021
Researchers, Realtors and industry action groups argue that the rippling economic effects from changes made to Section 1031 would be a blow to the real estate industry and investors.
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My Flight With Ruth Bader Ginsburg, New York Daily News
09/23/2020Eleven years ago, I boarded the flight home to New York late on a Friday afternoon in late May with my heavy briefcase slung from my shoulder. It had been a tough day of meetings in the D.C. area as in-house counsel for a software company, and I was tired and anxious to get home.
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Navigating a Divorce in New Jersey During a Pandemic: Insights From Wealth Advisors and Family Law Attorneys06/15/2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting families and relationships across the country, now more than ever, working through the realities of divorce can be incredibly challenging. In addition to the multitude of difficult decisions to be made, families are forced to determine how best to proceed when economic and social norms have been turned upside down.
Due to the challenges facing us in these unprecedented times, individuals considering or going through a divorce should keep in mind several factors. In this article, various topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic will be explored from the different perspectives of New Jersey family law attorneys from Phillips Nizer and wealth advisors from Mariner Wealth Adivsors. -
From Succession Planning to Office Space, Law Firm Leaders Discuss Industry Concerns01/30/2020
Phillips Nizer Managing Partner Marc Landis weighs in on challenges facing the legal industry during Managing Partners Roundtable at the NYSBA's annual meeting.
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Is Philanthropy the Right Word Anymore? New Approaches for Donors and Their Advisors
Thomson Reuters Taxation of Exempts Journal (Jan/Feb 2020)January/February 2020This article examines how to advise wealthy families and the nonprofits they support to adjust the strategy in the new environment for philanthropy.
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Thomas Jackson, Chair of the Technology Practice, was mentioned as a data privacy expert in the article “20 Questions on the CCPA with Answers from Privacy Experts” published in the DataGrail blog.01/10/2020 | https://datagrail.io/blog/20-questions-on-the-ccpa-with-answers-from-privacy-experts
The article addresses some of the key questions raised by California’s new privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect on January 1, 2020, including what is covered by and who must comply with the new law and how it compare with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) implemented in May 2018.
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Stolen Corporate Funds, Habitat Magazine (November 2019) Lisa Radetsky, Real Estate Co-Chair and Ilene Jaroslaw, White Collar Chair
11/07/2019Stolen Corporate Funds and how co-ops and condo boards can prevent theft - and immediate steps when fraud or criminal activity is suspected - Lisa Radetsky, Real Estate Co-Chair and Ilene Jaroslaw, White Collar Chair
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Phillips Nizer partner Eileen Millett was quoted in Law360's article, "NY Climate Legislation Would Stress Building, Power Sectors."07/17/2019 | Law360
Phillips Nizer partner Eileen Millett was quoted in Law360's article, "NY Climate Legislation Would Stress Building, Power Sectors."
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Celebrating Five Distinguished Members of the College of Law Community7/10/2019 | Syracuse University Law
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Article - Ruling Highlights Narrow Path in Defending Sexual Harassment Complaints (Legal Intelligencer)05/24/2019 | The Legal Intelligencer
The #MeToo era has prompted employers across the country to review their internal mechanisms for screening and investigating complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace. Federal, state, and local laws—and more recently, cultural mandates—require companies to implement prophylactic and remedial procedures to address or mitigate sexual misconduct.
Those procedures often require in-house counsel to participate in crafting defensible measures to address employee complaints, perhaps with the assumption that involvement by counsel will provide a cloak of privilege surrounding internal investigations. However, a recent decision from the Southern District of New York, Barbini v. First Niagara Bank, No. 16-cv-7887, highlights the challenges companies can face in protecting attorney-client privilege when defending claims that arise from or turn in some way upon internal investigations involving in-house counsel. -
Article - The New York Law Journal publishes “Canada Proposes Requiring Consent for Transfers of Personal Data Across Its Border,” an article authored by Patrick Burke, Chair, Data Technology & Cybersecurity Group, and Anne-Sophie Hutteau-Hiltzer, referendare with the Group. (Subscription Required)05/15/2019 | New York Law Journal
Authored by Patrick Burke, Chair, Data Technology & Cybersecurity, and Anne-Sophie Hutteau-Hiltzer, referendare with our Data Technology & Cybersecurity, German and Corporate & Business Law Practices
Excerpt:
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, Daniel Therrien, recently announced his intention to obligate companies to obtain Canadians’ consent before an organization engaged in commercial activities may legally transfer their personal information across the border for processing, including to the United States. Canada’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) released a consultation paper on April 9, 2019 communicating this proposed change of direction, and calling for stakeholders’ commentary by June 4, 2019 (April 9, 2019 OPC Consultation on Transborder Data Flows). It is unclear at present whether the anticipated consent requirement will be applied to transborder transfer for processing of employees’ personal information by employers, which until now has not explicitly been required.
This is a significant turnabout for Canada. Consent for such transfers is not explicitly required under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Document Act, S.C. 2000, c.5 (Can.) (PIPEDA). Until now, the OPC did not require the consent of consumers or other “data subjects” for transborder transfers of personal information for processing. Instead, it applied an “accountability principle” that was satisfied if a Canadian-based entity informed data subjects of transborder transfers in its posted privacy policy and remained legally accountable for the protection of personal data sent abroad to a third party for processing. Principle 4.1.3 of schedule 1 of PIPEDA provides as follow: “An organization is responsible for personal information in its possession or custody including information that has been transferred to a third-party for processing. The organization shall use contractual or other means to provide a comparable level of protection while the information is being processed by a third party.” -
Media - Thomas Jackson, Chair of the Technology Practice, is quoted in "Challenges Facing Hospitality In the Next Five Years - An Inhospitable Environment" published in the D/SRUPTION Magazine report, The Future of Hospitality. | Read here04/24/2019 | D/SRUPTION Magazine
To read the full Hospitality Report, click here.
Thomas Jackson, partner at Phillips Nizer LLP, explains that the industry’s extraordinarily rich data market brings with it a much higher risk of identity theft. This is particularly the case, he says, “when the breach involves dates of birth, passport numbers, travel itineraries, and other kinds of discrete data that one would not expect to see in a typical payment system.”
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Article - Collecting Biometric Information Just Became Riskier Under Illinois Law (Pratt's Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report, April 2019) authored by Patrick Burke and Alisha McCarthy | Read here04/01/2019 | Pratt's Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report
The authors Patrick J. Burke and Alisha L. McCarthy discuss a recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling, which is a boost to plaintiffs in Biometric Information Privacy Act lawsuits, and carries a cautionary note for companies that collect biometric information from consumers or employees in Illinois.
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Présentation des trusts les plus courants en droit américain
Michael W. Galligan, avocat au Barreau de New York, Partner Trusts & Estates Department, Philips Nizer LLP
Caroline Deneuville, notaire à Paris, coordinatrice de l’action internationale des pays anglo-saxons à la Chambre des notaires de Paris03/21/2019 -
Article - CoinReport publishes, "The Lost Treasure of Quadriga CX: A Teachable Moment," an article by Patrick Burke, Chair of the Data Technology & Cybersecurity Group | Read here03/01/2019 | CoinReport
Customers of QuadrigaCX, the Canadian virtual currency exchange, have been left in limbo without access to their funds after it was reported the company's founder and CEO Gerald Cotton had passed away leaving no other company executive with the private keys to their accounts.
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Article - Recognition of foreign estate fiduciaries and the enforcement of foreign estate determinations within the state of New York (Trusts & Trustees, February 1, 2019)02/01/2019
The purpose of this article is to describe and explain the likely approach that a New York court will take with respect to recognizing the status of fiduciaries appointed under the laws of non-US jurisdictions and the extent to which a New York court will accept and enforce judgments concerning the inheritance of property in accordance with the laws of non-US jurisdictions. We first consider how New York’s approach to these issues must be viewed in the context of New York’s position as a state of the USA. We next consider the ways in which a New York court may assert jurisdiction over the inheritance of property of a decedent who was not domiciled in New York at the time of their death. We then consider the way in which the New York personal property of a foreign decedent may be distributed without court intervention and finally proceed to consider the rules for the administration of the New York property of a foreign decedent where court intervention is necessary and how such property may be distributed, especially when it passes to foreign beneficiaries.
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Zur Information - Tortious Interference with Contracts (Winter 2018/19) | Published in GermanWinter 2018/19 | Phillips Nizer LLP
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Publication - "Trees have no tongues, but the Lorax has one," a blog post authored by Eileen Millett, partner in our Environmental Law Practice, featured by the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL).01/08/2019
Last week, in Cowpasture River Preservation Association v. Forest Service a panel of the 4th Fourth Circuit rejected the U.S. Forest Service approval of a pipeline development that would have crossed 21 miles of national forest land, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trial...more
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Zur Information - Scheinselbstständigkeit nach US-Recht - Employees vs. Independent Contractors (Sommer/Summer 2018)Sommer/Summer 2018 | Phillips Nizer LLP
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Website Accessibility Suits Threaten Omnichannel Sales (Law360)07/30/2018
In the course of the development of the common law, with its unique dependence on a sometimes unholy alliance between enacted and judge-made law, curiosities will arise. Retailers, auction houses and others with consumer websites that support physical sales facilities have seen this recently, as lawyers around the country have driven in fifth gear to their nearest federal courthouses to file lawsuits on behalf of the visually impaired, claiming that those websites exclude the visually impaired from equal access in violation of federal law.
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Article - Intellectual Property Magazine published "Seeking Approval," an article written by Technology Practice chairman, Thomas Jackson, in its June 2018 issue about the harvesting of data gathered from as many as 87 million Facebook user profiles by the former data mining firm Cambridge Analytica.06/14/2018
Excerpt:
"What attracted so much ire in response to the Cambridge Analytica episode was not only that collected personal data of as many as 87m Facebook users in the US but also the nature of the data that was collected and how it was used.
The data was harvested using a personality test that, unbeknown to the Facebook users who took the test, not only gave a third-party access to their personal information but also the personal information of their friends for use in a political campaign." -
Zur Information - Accidental Franchise (Frühling/Spring 2018)Frühling/Spring 2018 | Phillips Nizer LLP
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Understanding The Realities Of The ADA And Your Website (Total Food Service)05/18/2018 | Total Food Service
Website accessibility is a hot topic right now which means you should be checking if your website is compliant with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If your website is not accessible to individuals with disabilities, you might get slapped with an unwanted and expensive lawsuit.
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Article - Making Sense of Four Transatlantic Estate Tax Treaties: US-France, US-Germany, US-Netherlands, US-United Kingdom (Update April 25, 2018)04/02/2018
This is a revised version of an article that originally appeared in the New York International Law Practicum (Spring 2014).
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Zur Information - US Legal Opinions – Bedeutung und Inhalt von Capacity und Enforceability Opinions (Herbst/Fall 2017)Herbst/Fall 2017 | Phillips Nizer LLP