Items tagged with 'Albany Law'

Alexander Hamilton documents will be on display at Albany Law

letter signed by Alexander Hamilton on display at Albany Law

The image above, via Albany Law, is from the letter signed by Hamilton.

A collection of documents related to Alexander Hamilton will be on display to the public at Albany Law May 14-21. The docs are part of the corporate art collection for the bank BNY Mellon. Blurbage:

The collection includes:

+ A letter, signed by Hamilton and dated March 31, 1784, advising a client on the right of ferriage. The letter was dated during the time that Hamilton and others were organizing the Bank of New York (now BNY Mellon).
+ A certificate of subscription to the trust for the benefit of Hamilton's family, issued in 1804, after his death at the hands of Vice President Aaron Burr. Certificates No. 61-62 were issued to John B. Church, husband of Angelica Schuyler and Hamilton's brother-in-law.
+ Trust certificate No. 226, also dated 1804, issued to Washington Morton, husband of Cornelia Schuyler and Hamilton's brother-in-law.
+ An early 19th century $5 bank note, Bank in the City of Albany.
+ An early 19th century $3 bank note, Saratoga County Bank.

The small collection will be on display in the foyer of Albany Law's 1928 Building -- it's the older stone building that fronts the campus at the intersection of New Scotland Ave and Holland Ave.

As you no doubt know by now, Hamilton had many links to Albany. He married Elizabeth Schuyler at the Schuyler Mansion, and he studied and practiced law in Albany. (Aaron Burr also had a law office here.) At its commencement ceremony May 18, Albany Law will be conferring an honorary (posthumous) degree to Hamilton.

No precedent: The life of Kate Stoneman

Kate Stoneman composite

By Justin Devendorf

The bar exam is one of the toughest tests anyone seeking a professional license must take. Imagine spending months studying for this one test, cramming different areas of complicated law and legal principles into your brain, hoping you only have to take the test once. And, congratulations, you did it!

Now imagine going to apply for membership in the state bar association -- and you're denied the ability to practice law solely because of your gender.

That exact scenario happened to Albany resident Katherine "Kate" Stoneman in 1886.

And here's what she did about it.

(there's more)

LGBT Law Series at Albany Law

albany law school exteriorAlbany Law School starts a series of informational events about legal issues in LBGT communities next week. The lineup:

January 30: The State of LGBT Rights in 2017 panel discussion (6-7:30 pm) and reception (7:30-8 pm)

February 16: Legal issues facing LGBT older adults

March 23: Legal issues facing transgender individuals

April 20: Legal issues facing LGBT military personnel and veterans

All events are from 6-7 pm (except where noted) and include networking afterward. See the first link for registration info.

The series is presented by the LGBT Pro Bono Project of Albany Law School, Pride Center of the Capital Region, and In Our Own Voices.

Startup Law Day at Albany Law 2017

albany law school exteriorAlbany Law School is hosting a Startup Law Day January 28 with info sessions on various issued related to running a business. It's organized by the law school's pro bono program. Here's the lineup:

9:30 am -- Legal Formation
10:00 am -- Human Resources (Regulatory Issues, Hiring, Working with Contractors)
10:00 am -- Intellectual Property (Patents, Technology Transfer, Licensing)
11:30 am -- Working with Banks
11:30 am -- Building a Capitalization Structure to Work with Investors
12:45 pm -- Lunch and Panel: Words of Wisdom from New and Seasoned Business Owners

There will also be free legal consultations available -- by reservation -- with representatives of Tully Rinckey PLLC and Hoffman Warnick LLC.

Registration for the event is required. Details are at that first link above.

Discussions about the sharing economy at Albany Law

albany law school exteriorThis might be a bit wonkish*, but it's a topic that a lot of people here are interested in: Albany Law is hosting an event next Tuesday, April 19 about regulating sharing-economy services such as Uber, Lyft, and AirBnB.

The event includes a series of talks and discussions about various topics. Here's the lineup for an afternoon panel discussion at 1 pm about "ride sharing and the future of transportation":

Moderator: Dean Antony Haynes
John T. McDonald III, NYS Assemblymember
Josh Gold​, Esq., Senior Policy and Research Associate, Uber
Peter Mazer, Esq., General Counsel, Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade
Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director, New York Taxi Workers Alliance

As you might remember, taxi-app services such as Uber don't currently operate in New York State outside of NYC because of the way state law is currently structured. There's been a push to change that, though publicly at least, it appears the effort has recently been in the slow lane because of the budget.

"Law and The Sharing Economy: How to Regulate Collaborative Consumption" is Tuesday, April 19 with events from 12:30 pm through 6 pm. It's free and open to the public. It's a presentation of the Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology and The Government Law Center.

*Not necessarily a bad thing.

Earlier on AOA: A few more thoughts about the push for Uber, Lyft, and similar services upstate

LGBT Law Day at Albany Law

albany law school exteriorAlbany Law's annual LGBT Law Day is coming up this Saturday. Blurbage:

At LGBT Law Day, Albany Law students and volunteer attorneys will provide attendees with free legal assistance on such issues as: name changes, adoptions, child custody, immigration, employment discrimination, gender marker changes, and upgrading dishonorable discharges under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

This year's keynote speaker is state Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell.

The event is October 17 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Albany Law campus. It's free to attend, and "advance registration is appreciated."

"Bridging the Gap: Police and Community Relations" at Albany Law

albany law school exteriorAlbany Law is hosting an event -- Bridging the Gap: Police and Community Relations -- this Wednesday (September 16) to "to discuss police relations with minorities and young adults in the community."

Panel members include:

+ Albany Law professor Christian Sundquist, moderator
+ local attorney Gaspar Castillo
+ Albany police commander Michael Hicks
+ Jasper Mills, assistant district attorney in the Albany County DA's office
+ local attorney Mark Mishler
+ Reverend Edward Smart, chair of the Albany Citizens' Police Review Board
+ Albany Law professor Donna Young

Questions for the panel can be submitted to bridgingthegappoliceforum@gmail.com.

The discussion is in the Dean Alexander Moot Courtroom (80 New Scotland) at 5:30 pm. It's an open event -- no pre-registration required.

LGBT Law Day at Albany Law

Thumbnail image for albany law school exteriorAlbany Law School has organized its first LGBT Law Day for this Saturday. The day is free and open to the public.

The keynote speaker will be Cathryn Oakley from the Human Rights Campaign -- she works with state and local legislators on issues that affect the LGBT community and heads up the org's Municipal Equality Index.

Also: "Albany Law students and volunteer attorneys will provide attendees with free legal assistance on such issues as name changes, adoptions, child custody, immigration, employment discrimination and civil rights."

LGBT Law Day is this Saturday, March 21 from 10 am-3 pm. Albany Law says advance registration is appreciated.

James C. Matthews: New York State's first black judge, Albany Law graduate

james_campbell_matthews- Albany Law.jpg

A sketch of James Campbell Matthews, New York State's first black law school grad and first black judge.

Each Friday this February we'll be highlighting people and stories from the Capital Region in honor of Black History Month.

In 1871 the first African-American to graduate from a New York State law school obtained his degree from Albany Law. Six years after the end of the Civil War, James Campbell Matthews was admitted to the New York Bar and became one of just a handful of black lawyers in the country -- and one of the most successful. Matthews went on to become the first African-American judge in New York State.

Oh, and in his first act as a lawyer, he may, or may not, have sued the city of Albany to desegregate its public schools. That part is tough to tell.

Almost a century and a half later, in a time when we're complacently led to believe that all the world's history is available on a device we can carry in our pocket, the search for the Matthews story is a reminder that there are many important stories that still remain virtually untold.

(there's more)

New dean for Albany Law

Albany Law Alicia OuelletteAlbany Law School announced Thursday that Alicia Ouellette is its new dean and will become its next president in July. Ouellette has been the school's interim dean since last fall.

The past handful of years have been challenging for law schools across the country as the job market for attorneys has shrunk and in turn enrollments dropped, forcing schools to adapt. Albany Law has been no exception to this trend. The school offered buyouts last year as part of a tense situation between the administration and some faculty. [ABA] [Biz Review] [Above the Law]

More recently, Albany Law had been in talks with UAlbany about some sort of partnership. [Biz Review]

Ouellette replaces Penny Andrews, who had headed up the school since 2012. Andrews announced last year that she'd be steeping down as president and dean at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

Ouellete -- who's name is pronounced "wull-ett" -- is an Albany Law School alum (class of 1994) and her academic focus has been the field of bioethics.

Albany Law has advertised on AOA in the past.

photo via Albany Law School

"Game of Drones" at Albany Law

drone with cameraCould be interesting: "Game of Drones," an event at Albany Law March 20 focused on discussing the "uses and potential abuses" of drones in this country and abroad. Blurbage:

Presented by the Albany Government Law Review, Game of Drones will bring law professors, practicing attorneys and other experts together to discuss such topics as the use of drones for targeted killing, domestic drone use, and drone journalism.
Nicholas Rostow, Distinguished Research Professor at the National Defense University, will deliver a keynote address on the use of drones within the context of the laws of war, as well as the President's constitutional authorities.

The Albany Law event is from 1-5 pm on March 20 (a Thrusday), and includes two panel discussions and the keynote. (Speaker list at the link.) It's free and open to the public.

Drones have gotten a lot of attention over the last few years because of how the US has used them in places such as Afghanistan. But the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in this country will also probably be a not-small topic of conversation eventually, as local police agencies, media orgs, and regular citizens make use of them.

There was an interesting Verge article last year about how regulation of drones is lagging behind their current and potential uses. And last year there was a bill introduced in the New York State legislature that would have limited how drones could be used.

When you think "drones," you might first think of surveillance and security state type stuff (and not without reason). But there are a lot of potential uses for the devices. We met a pro photographer last year who had mentioned he hoped to use them for commercial aerial photography -- it's just that the rules weren't clear about what was allowed.

ALS advertises on AOA.

photo: Flickr user Don McCullough (cc)

Carnivore, Locavore, Grocery Store

albany law carnivore locavore posterThis upcoming event at Albany Law caught our eye: "Carnivore, Locavore, Grocery Store: The Economics, Politics, and Regulation of Sustainable Meat Production." It's a panel discussion and community forum November 7. Panel members:

+ Parke Wilde, Associate Professor of Food Policy, Tufts University, and Author, Food Policy in the United States
+ Jerry Cosgrove, Associate Director, Local Economics Project of the New World Foundation, and Author, Agricultural Economic Development for the Hudson Valley
+ Naftali Hannau, Co-founder and Owner, Grow & Behold Kosher Pastured Meats, New York City
+ Anna Hannau, Co-founder and Owner, Grow & Behold Kosher Pastured Meats, New York City, and Author, Food for Thought: Hazon's Sourcebook on Jews, Food, and Contemporary Life
+ Timothy Lytton, Albert & Angela Farone Distinguished Professor of Law, Albany Law School, and Author, Kosher: Private Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food

There seems to be growing public interest in where food comes from and how it gets to us, not just ends but also means. So this even could have some interesting threads for a range of people.

The discussion starts at 7 pm on November 7 at Albany Law. It's free and open to the public.

Judges to discuss "inner workings" of the Court of Appeals at Albany Law

nys court of appeals exteriorJudges from the New York State Court of Appeals -- the state's highest court -- will be at Albany Law March 21 for an event titled "The New York Court of Appeals: The Untold Secrets of Eagle Street."* The judges will "discuss the court's procedure and inner workings."

All of the court's current judges are schedule to participate: Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, Judge Victoria Graffeo, Judge Susan Phillips Read, Judge Robert Smith, Judge Eugene Pigott, Jr., Judge Jenny Rivera. (Rivera was confirmed just this past month.)

The event is from 5-7 pm in Albany Law School's Dean Alexander Moot Courtroom. It's free and open to the public. It's part of the Albany Law Review's annual Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke State Constitutional Commentary Symposium.

*Because, you know, the court is on Eagle Street in Albany. It's across Pine Street from Albany City Hall.

Albany Law advertises on AOA.

Lawsuit against Albany Law dismissed

Thumbnail image for albany law school exteriorA New York Supreme Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit in which recent graduates of Albany Law School alleged the school misrepresented employment statistics about its graduates. [Reuters]

The school's employment stats include grads who are working in jobs that are either part time or don't require a law degree -- and the plaintiffs argued that is a deceptive business practice. [New York Law Journal] From the decision by judge Richard Platkin (himself an Albany Law alum) [New York Law Journal]:

Here, the alleged deceptive acts or practices are directed principally at college graduates deciding whether to pursue a legal education at ALS ... These individuals are called upon to decide whether to pursue a legal education and, if so, which law school to attend. While highly consequential in their own right, these decisions generally are intertwined with an individual's choice of career. Thus, in considering a reasonable consumer acting reasonably under the circumstances, the Court is mindful that it is dealing with a reasonably well-educated (though not necessarily sophisticated) group of consumers who are called upon to make major life decisions. As such, this case is unlike those involving representations made to the general public in connection with the sale of modestly priced consumer goods (cf. Guggenheimer v Ginzburg, 43 NY2d 268, 273 [1977] [sale of dictionary]).

Also from the decision:

(there's more)

Sandra Fluke at Albany Law

sandra flukeA symposium at Albany Law School October 11 -- "From the Page to the Pill: Women's Reproductive Rights and the Law" -- will include Sandra Fluke.

The national spotlight found Fluke earlier this year after House Republicans didn't let her testify at a committee meeting on conscience clauses in health care. House Democrats then let her speak at a different committee meeting. Fluke spoke about the cost of contraceptives and the lack of coverage for them on the student plan at Georgetown, where she was a law student at the time (she's since graduated). Then Rush Limbaugh happened. Then the whole situation blew up.

Fluke was one of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention earlier this month.

The full lineup of speakers and panelists for the symposium, which is organized by the Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology, is after the jump. From the blurbage for the event:

The panelists will be divided into two panels. The first will focus on whether or not the law can and should mandate health insurance provider coverage of women's contraceptives, and the second will focus on legislation currently affecting women's reproductive rights.

The event is from 1-5 pm at Albany Law. It's free and open to the public.

(there's more)

Violence, Vulgarity, Lies

albany law school exteriorThe Albany Law Review has a symposium on free speech issues -- "Violence, Vulgarity, Lies ... and the Importance of 21st Century Free Speech" -- coming up September 27 at Albany Law. And it looks like it's gathered a solid lineup of speakers, including:

Floyd Abrams, First Amendment lawyer, whose wins before the U.S. Supreme Court range from the Pentagon Papers to Citizens United
Dean Alan B. Morrison, George Washington School of Law, who co-founded the Public Citizen Litigation Group with Ralph Nader and who has argued more than 20 cases before the Supreme Court
Susan Herman, President, American Civil Liberties Union, and author, Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy
Robert O'Neil, former President, University of Virginia, and founder, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression
Ronald Collins, Harold S. Shefelman Scholar, University of Washington School of Law
Robert D. Richards, founding co-director, Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, and John & Ann Curley Professor of First Amendment Studies at Penn State
Adam Liptak, Supreme Court correspondent, The New York Times

The symposium is free and open to the public.

Yep, Albany Law does advertise on AOA.

Really, who needs another toaster?

martha kronholm and frank moscowitzThis is cool: when Martha Kronholm and Frank Moscowitz got married last fall they registered not for gifts, but for donations -- to the health law clinic at Albany Law School. Said Martha Kronholm in an article published by the school:

"We never wanted to prompt any of our guests for a gift of any kind, just coming to the wedding and sharing in the day was more than enough ... But for people who wanted to give us a gift, my husband and I were confident that our guests would happily redirect their generosity to a great cause."

According to the clinic's web site, "The Health Law Clinic is designed to teach student interns to identify and address the legal issues which poor individuals living with chronic health conditions often face."

You might know Martha and Frank by another name: Princess Mabel. The two musicians have been a part of the local music scene for a long time. They moved to Brooklyn in 2008 after Martha graduated from Albany Law and got a job at a firm in Manhattan.

According to the ALS article, the wedding gift donations were matched by the firm -- and the money has gone toward a fund to endow an annual award for a health law clinic student.

photo: Ben Karis-Nix / Collar City Records

More budget reaction, power almost completely restored, Kennedy goes upstate, Pine Hills residents upset about crime, police say penis guy wasn't wearing shirt or shoes

A Siena poll reports that 78 percent of people polled support raising taxes on people making $1 million a year or more as a way to help cover the state's budget gap. The Paterson budget plan currently doesn't include such a tax. [SRI]

There's some question as to whether the Luther Forest chip fab would still qualify for all its tax breaks under the Paterson budget plan's proposed adjustment to the Empire Zone program. Yesterday the state approve the transfer of $650 million in incentives from AMD to the spin-off company that will be building the fab. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Proposed cuts to state subsidies for Amtrak could halt service between Albany and Montreal. The line that runs between Rutland and Albany could also be in jeopardy, which -- when combined with the possible cut of the Montreal route -- would mean the station in Saratoga Springs would be left with no trains. [TU]

Liquor store owners are upset by David Paterson's proposal to let supermarkets sell wine. They say rules prohibiting them from owning more than one location and from staying open late will hurt their ability to compete with the supermarket chains. [TU]

Almost 2,000 homes in the Capital Region are still without power. A National Grid spokesperson said the ice storm was like "our version of a hurricane." [Daily Gazette] [Daily Gazette]

Caroline Kennedy made stops in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo yesterday as part of her non-campaign campaign for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. She also may -- or may not -- have said she'd be running for the seat in 2010 if she's not appointed. [NYT] [AP/TU]

(there's more)

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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