Archives: News

Landau Quoted in Article on Ability of Cannabis Businesses to Operate Successfully

James K. Landau, a member of our Cannabis Law, Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice groups, was recently quoted in an article entitled “Cannabis is Poised to Rescue the Economy From Collapse“. Jim had this to say about the impact of tax rates on the ability of a cannabis business to operate successfully: “such high tax rates coupled with the lack of available deductions and prohibitive license fees make it virtually impossible for a cannabis business to operate successfully in the legal marketplace,” Jim said.  “Intelligent regulation is needed at both the federal and state level if we are going to be successful in bringing the legacy cannabis market above-ground.”

Landau Elected President of White Plains Bar Association

James K. Landau, a member of our Cannabis Law, Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice groups, was sworn in as President of the White Plains Bar Association (WPBA). A member of the WPBA Board of Directors since 2014, Jim previously served as Vice President and Secretary. Jim joins current and former McCarthy Fingar attorneys, Dolores Gebhardt, Joel M. Aurnou, Kathleen Donelli, Joseph P. Harrington, Martin Drazen and John G. McQuaid, all of whom served as WPBA President.

Rosh Wins Summary Judgment on Contest of Will and Revocable Trust

McCarthy Fingar’s Surrogate’s Court Litigation lawyers represent clients in Will and Trust Contests. In Matter of Burrows (Surr. Ct., Herkimer County 2020), Robert H. Rosh and Howell Bramson, representing the decedent’s surviving spouse and the decedent’s financial advisor, won a summary judgment motion, upholding the decedent’s Will and his separate Revocable Trust Agreement. Here, Robert demonstrated, through voluminous documentary and testimonial evidence, that the decedent was cognitively alert, oriented, and otherwise fit and able to execute the disputed instruments, and that the instruments were not the product of undue influence or duress.

Kutzin Wins Appeal on Guardianship Matter Involving Dispute Between Divorced Parents

McCarthy Fingar lawyers represent clients in the most difficult guardianship cases. In Matter of A.A. v. A., 2020 NY Slip Op 03468 (1st Dep’t 2020),  Michael S. Kutzin, a partner of the firm whose areas of concentration include guardianship and trusts & estates, represented, on a pro bono basis, the mother of an incapacitated child in an appeal to the Appellate Division, First Department, of a lower court decision in which, after a divorce, the mother had been named the guardian for her daughter, J.A. Michael succeeded in having the father’s appeal denied on the grounds that the lower court had properly exercised its discretion in naming the mother as guardian and that he had no independent right to have his adult child brought to a physician of his choice to prove his case.

Kutzin Named as Co-Chair of NYSBA Task Force on Remote Notarization and Witnessing of Estate Planning Documents

During the COVID-19 health care crisis, McCarthy Fingar lawyers have remotely supervised the execution of many Wills, Trust Agreements and related documents. We are pleased to announce that Michael S. Kutzin, a member of various groups, including our Guardianship Practice, Trusts & Estates and Surrogate’s Court Litigation groups, has been named as a co-Chair of the NYSBA Joint Elder Law and Trusts & Estates Sections Task Force on Remote Notarization and Remote Witnessing of Estate Planning documents.

Gebhardt Elected as Vice President of the Westchester County Bar Association

Dolores Gebhardt, a member of our Appellate Practice, Cannabis Law, Collaborative Law and Matrimonial & Family Law groups, was elected to a second term as a Vice President of the Westchester County Bar Association (WCBA). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WCBA’s 2020-2021 slate of officers and directors were sworn in via Zoom. WCBA, established on February 11, 1896, is a not-for-profit corporation with a voluntary membership of more than 2,000 lawyers. WCBA’s purpose is to promote the ends of justice, cultivate jurisprudence, afford access to the courts to all who seek redress, facilitate the administration of justice, elevate the standards of integrity, honor, competence and courtesy in the legal profession, and participate with all members of society in seeking and perfecting the common good. Dolores has been active in the WCBA for many years and served as Secretary from 2017-2019 and Vice President from 2019-2020.

Gebhardt & Miller Speak on Parent Education in Custody Cases

Dolores Gebhardt and Hon. Sonda M. Miller, both members of our Matrimonial & Family Law, Appellate Practice and Collaborative Law groups, presented “Mandatory Parent Education in Custody Cases: The Pilot Program” at the Westchester County Courthouse. This CLE program, sponsored by the Family Law Section of the Westchester County Bar Association, described the requirements of the new initiative in which judges must refer divorcing parents to OCA-approved classes that assist the parents in putting their children first.