Attorney Talk: Casual Conversations About The Law.

In this week's episode of the Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Oscar Michelen. Oscar has been the senior trial specialist for the Corporation Councel's Office for New York City, there he helped defend the city from high exposure, multi million dollar lawsuits. He is currently the managing partner of Cuomo, LLC, a Manhattan law firm. His practice represents small businesses and municipalities as well as artists, entertainers, and designers in intellectual property litigation. Main Questions Asked: What are some legal issues that small business owners could encounter? Is there a common problem most small businesses seem to run into? Why do you think people don't want to talk to an attorney before they have a problem? What do you find to be the biggest hurdle for a lawyer trying to transition out of a big law firm? Key Lessons Learned: Small Business Clients Common reasons a small business owner may need legal help could be disputes involving the name of the business, sexual harassment cases, or hour and

In this week's episode of the Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Dr. Nancy Halpern. Dr. Halpern is a registered patent attorney that represents clients in intellectual property and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Nancy also represents animal owners, animal related businesses, veterinarians, animal research facilities, and non profit associations in the support of the interests in the humane use of animals. She is a licensed veterinarian in the state of New Jersey. She has also served as the Director of the Division of Animal Health for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. During the show Nancy and Ken discuss animal law and the changes that animal rights activists are seeking, intellectual property, and the regulatory issues involving animal use in industry and agriculture. Main Questions Asked: Why did you complete law school as well as medical school? Why would the use of animals being eliminated be a concern? What does your law practice consist of? What does the humane use of animals entail? Who are th

In this week's episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Rob Schenk, who is a trial attorney that practices in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, California, and New York. Since 2012, Rob has become one of America's predominant wedding lawyers and is the editor of WeddingIndustryLaw.com. During the episode, Ken and Rob discuss what wedding lawyers do, liquated damages, how wedding law is different to business litigation, contract inclusions, WedForms, and dispute resolutions.   Main Questions Asked: What is a wedding lawyer? Is this a practice where you have to be a member of the bar in the particular state where your clients are located? Which states are more open to hybrid contract tort claims in wedding cases? Is there still a requirement that, if you are pleading out you suffered an emotional distress, it has to be backed up with medical evidence? Have vendors received pushback from clients? Are your adversaries attorneys who usually get involved with contract disputes after the alleged breach occur

In this week's episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Debbi Klopman, who is a New York attorney that practices in the area of immigration law. Debbi handles migrant visas in employment and family-based categories; she also handles matters under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). During the show, Ken and Debbi discuss immigration law, visa requirements, time restrictions, the two-step process, who makes the decisions, and what it's like working as an immigration lawyer.   Main Questions Asked: What is immigration law? Why is there a visa requirement, and what is a visa? Why isn't a passport considered enough documentation, and why is there a need to have a visa? What happens if someone is in the US and wants to stay permanently? What do you do to guide your clients through the visa process? Is there any litigation involved in immigration law, or is it more transactional? Who makes the final decision on what visas are approved or denied? How do you deal with the language barrier?

In this week's episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Ari Marcus, who is the managing partner of the Marcus Zelman Law Firm. Ari's practice is focused on individual and class action consumer protection litigation specifically involving the Fair Debt Collection Act and Telephone Consumer Protection Act classes. During the show, Ken and Ari discuss fee shifting, class actions, finding violations, and credit scores.   Main Questions Asked: What is consumer protection litigation? What is fee shifting? How would you describe your typical client? What are some of the rules that debt collectors have to follow? What are some of the penalties if debt collectors are in violation of not properly forming the notice? Are you finding violations on large scale that it comes up to the level of a class action? Talk about the Telephone Consumer Collections Act. What is the interplay between debt collectors and debt collection attorneys?   Key Lessons Learned: Consumer Protection Litigation & Fee Shifti

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Daniel Ritson, an attorney who practices in New York and New Jersey in the areas of employment law, council, and litigation. Daniel also handles employee benefits, executive compensation, and provides advice to employers on a myriad of employment-related matters including wage and hour compliance, family and medical leave policies and practices, independent contractor relationships and issues, the hiring and discharge of employees, and compliance with federal and state discrimination and retaliation laws. Daniel regularly practices before the federal courts with disputes against government agencies including the IRS, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the US Department of Labor and Fair Trading, and various other departments of state and labor. In this episode, Ken and Daniel discuss employee benefits and executive compensation, the Affordable Care Act, wages and hours issues, employer mistakes, employee benefits, preferred compen

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Jesse Dresser, who is a lawyer at Frier Levitt and practices in the area of healthcare law. Jesse deals with co-payment collection practices, mail order issues, and insurance billing practices concerning the running of pharmacies. Jesse routinely lectures to pharmacies and provides guidance about proper submissions of claims to insurance companies and methods of growing a pharmacy business while avoiding scrutiny from both payers and regulators. During the show, Ken and Jesse discuss general healthcare law, proactive versus reactive, PBMs, compounding and specialty pharmacies, Obama Care, and the future state of pharmacy law.   Main Questions Asked: What is healthcare law, and how do attorneys fit in the spectrum of pharmacy businesses? Is yours more of a proactive position or after-the-fact where there are problems? What is a PBM? Are the PBMs gatekeepers for the insurance industry when it comes to pharmaceuticals? Where does your

In this week's episode of Attorney Talk, Sam Gaylord interviews Justin Marchetta, who focuses his legal practices in aviation and governmental matters. During the show, Sam and Justin discuss getting into aviation law, aviation legal issues, the FAA, and litigation.         Main Questions Asked: Do governmental matters become more political depending on the changes? Is yours more of a transactional practice? Do you also handle aviation litigation?   Key Lessons Learned: Governmental Matters Justin's firm does the traditional government representation. The firm is heavily involved in land use. Board approvals, governing bodies, advice to administrations.   Getting Into Aviation Law This is a personal passion for Justin, who began piloting before he went to law school. Justin approached AOPA regarding legal matters and representation. AOPA keeps a panel of qualified aviation attorneys who can field legal issues from the members. The practice grew from Justin not

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Colin Bell, who is a New Jersey attorney practicing in the areas of construction, civil litigation, and commercial law. Colin was an assistant prosecutor with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and has been recognized under the Greater Atlantic City ‘Top 40 Under 40,’ as well as the New Jersey Law Journal as a ‘New Leader of the Bar’ in 2015. Additionally, New Jersey Super Lawyers named Colin as a rising star in the field of business litigation from 2010-2015. During this episode, Ken and Colin discuss construction law, the bidding process, attorney involvement, defects, retainage, and bonds.     Main Questions Asked: What is your practice field in construction law?   What does bidding on a government project entail, and how do attorneys fit into that? Is the bidding process anonymous?  As an attorney, at what stage do you get involved with the bidding process? Once the bids are o

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Trippe Fried, who has been a practicing attorney since 1996 and represents businesses of all sizes in numerous industries including healthcare, technology, and financial services. Trippe’s practice, Outsource General Council, focuses on helping businesses assess and manage their risk and use of legal services in such a way they add value to the enterprise as opposed to losing profit and capital. During this episode, Ken and Trippe discuss legal intervention as the most efficient method possible, changes in the legal profession, transactional law and service bundling.   Main Questions Asked: What kind of reception are you getting from clients? Where does the non-lawyer mentality come from? Talk about service bundling. What is the biggest misconception the public has about lawyers?   Key Lessons Learned: Lawyers as Entrepreneurs Lawyers leverage the tools that the law provides, to protect businesses and let them thrive. &n

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Ryan Morrison, who is a practicing lawyer in New York and represents clients in the video game industry. During this episode, we discover what a video game lawyer does, the current state of the industry, issues in the gaming space and using standard vernacular, compare PC and mobile marketplaces, and hear about the legal concerns for gaming companies.   Main Questions Asked: What is a video game lawyer? What drew you to the video game industry? Who are most of your clients? What is the relationship like between developers and publishing houses? Why isn’t Apple getting into high-end gaming? At what stage do the clients come to you in the development of their games? Talk about taking a flat fee per transaction. What are the main legal concerns for a game company? Where is the line for using standard vernacular words such as ‘saga?’ Do negotiations have to work through Apple and Google?   Key Lessons Learned: Vide

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Dominick Manco, who is a practicing attorney in Freehold, New Jersey. Dominick’s area of concentration is in residential and commercial real estate. He also does general practice, which can include anything from wills, trusts, and estates and personal injury work. During this episode, Ken and Dominick discuss commercial and residential real estate, using an attorney versus title companies, municipal practice, and how technology has changed real estate law.   Main Questions Asked: What is the difference between residential practice and commercial practice? Why is it important for individuals to seek legal representation if they are buying a house? What does it mean if there are ‘title issues’ on a property? If there are leans on a property, can the person who holds the debt force you out of the house and make you sell it? What are the pros and cons of attorney based negotiations and transactions versus title compan

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews the Honorable Susan Sexton, who is a former prosecutor, defense attorney, and circuit court judge. Judge Sexton has tried and presided over thousands of cases including death penalty cases, medical malpractice, tobacco litigation, and end-of-life decision cases. During this episode, Ken and Judge Sexton discuss what it takes to become a judge, transitioning from the bar to the bench, what’s involved in having senior status, family court, criminal court, the mediation process, and advice for divorce cases.   Main Questions Asked: How does one become a judge, and what does it mean to become a judge? Once you become a judge, are you in the area you were practicing, or can you be thrown into different areas of the law? What was the biggest transition in coming from the bar and coming onto the bench? How long is the average stay for a new judge in the family court? When a judge is on senior status, do they put you where they need y

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Jeremy Byellin, who is an attorney that practices estate planning and family law in Minnesota. During the show, Ken and Jeremy discuss probate, wills for married couples, trusts, power of attorney, estate planning, and family law.   Main Questions Asked: How does family law tie in with estate planning? What is probate? Do you come across circumstances where a spouse didn’t know that the will existed and wasn’t happy with where the property is going? What happens if a person in a married couple passes and doesn’t have a will? What is a ‘trust’ and ‘power of attorney’? What happens to the ‘transfer on death deeds’ if a property still has a mortgage on it? What is the information documentation you need from clients to make the process smoother? Where do you direct your clients to go to regarding financial ramifications on these instruments? How is family practice handled in Minneso

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Sam Gaylord, who is a senior partner of Gaylord Popp LLC and practices primarily in the area of workers compensation and disability. During the show, Ken and Sam discuss workers compensation and common client concerns, Social Security disability, and the different levels of pensions.   Main Questions Asked: If an individual is injured at work, what benefits are they entitled to? Talk about clients being concerned about retaliation from their employers. How do you handle situations where people need to claim but are afraid of their boss firing them? What happens in the circumstances when the temporary disability, medical treatment, and partial permanency award is not enough? Are there different levels of pensions? What are the main misconceptions about attorneys and the practice of law?   Key Lessons Learned:   Workers Compensation Workers compensation benefits vary from state to state and is a niche practice with nuance. I

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Debra Hamilton, who is an attorney in the state of New York and is a member and principal of The Hamilton Law and Mediation Group. Debra is licensed to practice in New York State and certified as a mediator and collaborative professional. She has worked with various court-based mediation programs in New York City and during the show discuss the role of the mediator, the mediation process, and mediation for people on conflict over an animal.     Main Questions Asked: What is mediation? How long is the mediation process? What is the final result in mediation? When mediations end, are both parties bound by a contract? If an agreement is rendered at the conclusion of mediation and one of the terms is broken, what is the recourse? Is the use of mediation confined to certain areas of the law or is it wide open for two parties or more with a dispute? How is your practice different from other practices when dealing with pet issues? Do y

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Melissa Jaffe, who is an attorney in California and is also licensed in Oregon and Washington. Melissa predominantly practices in transactional and intellectual property law, which is geared toward creative individuals and businesses. Melissa has worked with international creative companies as well as startups and individual artists. Outside of the law, Melissa is a yoga instructor and practices meditation, which plays an important role in how she operates her law practice. During the show, Ken and Melissa discuss the concept and practice of holistic law, the role of technology, and how to approach dealing with creative clients.   Main Questions Asked: In what respect does online business allow for more creativity? How do you help a small business transition into the larger business they want to become? Why do you label it holistic law? How do you bridge the gap between creative people and the law? Where does the client’s trepid

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Thomas Prol who is an attorney and partner with Laddey, Clark & Ryan in Sparta, New Jersey. Tom’s concentration in his legal work is in environmental law public entity representation, business litigation and government services. He is the vice president in the New Jersey Bar Association and president-elect.    Main Questions Asked: What is environmental law public entity representation? As an attorney, is it your job to make sure your clients are being compliant with the EPA rules?  Did you have a proper educational background in environmental sciences, or is this something you got into as you progressed through college and got into law school? How did you like your time as an adjunct? Talk about the New Jersey anti-bullying bill of rights that was drafted.   What is a state bar association, and what are some of the duties and responsibilities of the officers of that bar association?  What got you personall

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Michele Raia, who is an attorney and practices in Cleveland, Ohio. Michele has been practicing for twenty-eight years and began her career in a small business law firm practice. She also has experience working as in-house council for large corporations and established her own law firm in 1995. Her practice areas include corporate and business services, labor and employment, real estate and wills, and probate. During the show, Ken and Michele discuss limited liability companies, labor employment law, exempt and non-exempt employees, and the biggest misconceptions about lawyers.   Main Questions Asked: What encompasses your practices in the areas of corporate and business law? Are there separate courts for workers compensation in Ohio? At what level does a business owner say “I need an attorney”? Is there any requirement as to the number of partners or employees you have for a limited liability company? How long is the proc

In this week’s episode of Attorney Talk, Ken Thayer interviews Brian Wilton, who is an attorney from Middletown, New Jersey. Brian’s area of expertise is personal injury law and workers compensation. During the podcast, Ken and Brian discuss the role of the law clerk, importance of contacts in law school, and what it’s like to run a law practice with a family member.   Main Questions Asked: Where did you go to law school, and why did you decide to become a lawyer? What do law clerks do? How did you obtain the law clerk position straight out of law school? How important do you believe making contacts are as opposed to getting A’s on exams? How was your firm set up, and how does your practice operate? Is there a certain area of cases you prefer handling over others? What is it about the cases you still remember 14 years later? How do you deal with extended time periods in cases? What is the dynamic of working with a relative? Does practicing law or running the business take up mor