News

All the latest firm news and industry updates from Whiteman Osterman & Hanna.

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Jul. 17, 2018

USCIS Issues New “Notice to Appear” Policy, With Significant Impacts on Applicants for Immigration Benefits

On July 5, 2018, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published new guidance regarding its procedures and policies for issuing Notices to Appear (NTA). An NTA is a charging document that is issued to foreign nationals, placing them in removal proceedings and directing them to appear before an immigration judge. The Department of Homeland Security has long relied upon its enforcement arm, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to handle the issuance of NTAs in most cases. [...]

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Jul. 17, 2018

USCIS Updates Procedures on Issuance of Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny

On July 13, 2018, USCIS issued a policy memorandum, providing guidance to adjudicators regarding the discretion to deny an application, petition, or other benefit request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) if required evidence is not submitted with the initial petition/application package, or if the evidence in the record does not establish eligibility for the benefit sought. This guidance is effective September 11, 2018. This policy memo [...]

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Jun. 27, 2018

What Municipalities Need to Know About 5G Technology, the Federal Telecommunications Act & Proposed State Law Limiting Municipal Regulatory Authority

 “Not in my front yard!” is the battle cry for residents and battleground for municipalities across New York, as they prepare for the deployment of the next generation of wireless infrastructure 5G technology.  Cellular services providers, with the assistance of federal law and FCC orders, have opted to deploy the latest technology - small cells and DAS systems - in municipal rights-of-way, much to the chagrin, in many cases, of local leaders and residents.  By one [...]

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Jun. 22, 2018

Robert Schofield Named to New York State Bar Association's Executive Committee

Whiteman Osterman & Hanna partner Robert Schofield was recently appointed to the New York State Bar Association's Executive Committee as Vice President, 3rd District.  Robert is a partner with Whiteman Osterman & Hanna's Labor and Employment, Education, and Litigation, Aribitration and Mediation practice groups.

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Jun. 21, 2018

Whiteman Osterman & Hanna Expands Region's Largest Immigration Practice

With an unprecedented increase in immigration enforcement activity and changing policies in both family and employment-based immigration under the Trump administration, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna (WOH) has expanded its Immigration practice under the leadership of practice Co-Chairs, Leonard D’Arrigo and Seth Leech, with the acquisition of two local immigration law firms in an effort to expand the practice’s service offerings. This phase of WOH’s immigration group [...]

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Feb. 27, 2017

Final Cybersecurity Rules for New York's Financial Services Industry

New York’s “first in the nation” financial services cybersecurity rules have been finalized and will go into effect on March 1, 2017. The final regulations cover every business regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”), including but not limited to banks, credit unions, insurers, and mortgage companies. Covered entities have until August 28, 2017 to comply, although longer compliance dates are applicable to some specific provisions. [...]

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Feb. 27, 2017

Court of Appeals Will Hear Lindsay Lohan's and Mob Wives' Star's Appeals of Dismissal of Right to Privacy Suit Against Creator of Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is the latest in a popular series of the video games where the player controls one of several main characters in a mob family/drug cartel story that takes place in the fictional city of Los Santos, San Andreas. After the game was released, Plaintiffs Lindsay Lohan and Karen Gravano (of the reality show Mob Wives) were upset at what they believed to be characters that depicted them in particular ways. In 2014, they commenced suit against Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., the [...]

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Feb. 26, 2017

The Time Has Come for the Court Of Appeals to Resolve Reinsurance Issue

Jason Shaw, a partner at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, recently published an article with the New York Law Journal entitled The Time Has Come for the Court Of Appeals to Resolve Reinsurance Issue. The article discusses how a recent decision will finally lead to resolving the unsettled question about whether reinsurers will have limitless liability for an underlying insurer’s legal costs. To view the full article, please click here.

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Feb. 20, 2017

Court of Appeals Holds County Not Liable for Sexual Assault of Plaintiff at County-Owned BOCES Program

In Tara N.P. v Western Suffolk Bd. of Cooperative Educational Services (No. 8) previewed here, a teenage female student was sexually assaulted by a Level III sex offender that Suffolk County had assigned to perform maintenance work at the BOCES program where the student was taking classes. The County owned the property and leased the building to the BOCES program, and also explicitly agreed that it would not assign anyone with a criminal record to work there. After the assault, the student sued [...]

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Feb. 18, 2017

Court of Appeals Declares that No Insurance Coverage Exists for Tower Crane Damaged During Superstorm Sandy

In Lend Lease (US) Construction LMB Inc. v Zurich American Insurance Company (No. 11) previewed here, the owner and construction manager of a 74-story high rise being built in midtown Manhattan sought coverage for damage caused to the tower crane being used to build the building during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. Zurich, one of the insurers of the property, disclaimed coverage on the grounds that the tower crane was not covered property and fell within one of the policy's exclusions for [...]

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