On January 18, 2014, Mark Peters was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigations. Prior to this appointment, Commissioner Peters was a partner at the law firm of Edwards Wildman, and had earlier served as Chief of the Public Integrity Unit from 2001-2004 and as Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau from 1999-2001 at the New York State Attorney General’s office under Eliot Spitzer. … <Read More>
CityLaw
Lawyers, Trials and Judges: Tales from the Southern District
When trial lawyers gather they tell stories. When older trial lawyers gather they tell the same stories over and over, only they tell them better and better. James Zirin, trial lawyer and an assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District during the 1960’s, is a born story teller. His new book, The Mother Court: Tales of Cases That Mattered in America’s Greatest Trial Court (ABA Publishing 2014) tells the tales of lawyers … <Read More>
Municipal Liability: The Court of Appeals Clarifies Immunity Law
When municipalities are sued in tort, two of the most powerful bars to recovery are the public duty principle and the governmental function immunity defense. When these two principles are applicable, the City will not be made to pay compensation even if a City employee had been negligent and caused an injury.
Maya Wiley: Civil Rights Lawyer Becomes Counsel to Mayor de Blasio
On February 18, 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney and co-founder of the Center for Social Inclusion, as counsel to the mayor. In addition to serving in the traditional role of the counsel, Wiley will also focus on investing in the City’s technology infrastructure and expanding broadband access across the City.
Maya Wiley was born in Syracuse, New York, and raised in Washington, D.C. Her parents, active in the … <Read More>
Paid Sick Leave Act
New Yorkers may start using earned leave time next month. On April 25, 2014, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce hosted a Paid Sick Leave Forum at the Brooklyn Public Library to help explain the City’s newly implemented Earned Sick Time Act, also known as the Paid Sick Leave Law. The forum focused on helping employers understand their responsibilities under the law and ensuring their compliance with the rules. Representatives from the Mayor’s Office and Department … <Read More>
New York State’s New System for Tracking Prescription Drugs
On June 19, 2012, one lone gunman entered a small pharmacy in Medford, Long Island. Seven gunshots later, four people lay dead—killed at close range without signs of resistance. Three days later, David Laffer and his wife, Melinda Brady, were arrested. Laffer was charged with first-degree murder. Melinda Brady, driver of the getaway car, was charged with third-degree robbery.