Legal Research

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Immigration Law
Monday, August 24, 2009
By Ted J. Chiappari and Angelo A. Paparelli

"Ted J. Chiappari, a partner at Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke, and Angelo A. Paparelli, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw, write that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been an agency in continuous chaos for the last year and a half, essentially leaderless since the resignation of its director. The new director, Alejandro Mayorkas, will soon learn the facts on the ground at the agency - intractable backlogs, opaque procedures, and a doubting-Thomas bureaucracy still mired in a century-old system of paper-based petitions, applications, form letters and boilerplate responses despite many failed efforts at automation. Mr. Mayorkas will clearly have his hands full, not the least because USCIS officers, enmeshed in a culture of "no," are more focused on detecting fraud than interpreting the law with commonsense notions of fairness and justice."

Estate Planning and Philanthropy
Monday, August 24, 2009
By Conrad Teitell

" Conrad Teitell, a principal at Cummings & Lockwood, reviews a recent case where the donor granted to the North American Land Trust a perpetual conservation easement covering a golf course that it owned. The IRS disallowed the $30,588,235 charitable deduction in its entirety and imposed an accuracy-related penalty. The decision by the Tax Court is an excellent primer on valuation and appraisals and demonstrates the importance of selecting an expert."

OUTSIDE COUNSEL:

Transfers of Development Rights: What's New - and What Is Not
Monday, August 24, 2009
By Paul D. Selver and Michael T. Sillerman

"Paul D. Selver and Michael T. Sillerman, partners at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, review the different situations in which the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York authorizes transfers of development rights to occur and the procedures and documentation required for each. Although some commentators have said a recent Department of Finance memo changes the way these transfers are documented and the terms under which title insurance may be available, they write, our view is that the memo does not apply to the overwhelming majority of development rights transfers. "

SPECIAL REPORTS:

Real Estate and Title Insurance Trends
Monday, August 24, 2009
 "In this Special Section from the New York Law Journal: 'Monitor Those Claims of 'Green,' '  'Pre-Workout Agreements Are Today's Lender Essentials' and 'Power of Attorney Statutory Overhaul Set to Take Effect.' " 

Also, in the highlighted article from this section,

Free With Registration: Conflict of Interest Pitfalls For Co-Op, Condo Counsel
"Andrew P. Brucker, a founding member of Schechter & Brucker, writes: One might believe that the relationship between an attorney and a client is a simple and uncomplicated matter. One client, one attorney, and a mutually satisfying bond of trust. However, in reality, nothing seems to be further from the truth in the world of New York cooperative and condominium housing. Acting as general counsel to a co-op or condo can be a hazardous road on which to venture. The simple relationship is complicated when the attorney takes on different and additional roles."