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CMM Hosts Women’s Leadership Panel

Posted: March 23rd, 2016

Women’s Panel Addresses Leadership and Success

A packed lecture hall at Touro Law School heard from a distinguished panel of successful women professionals at our Executive Breakfast on March 23. Moderated by CMM partner Christine Malafi, the panel shared their insights on the leadership traits they rely on as business leaders and the actions they’ve taken to propel their careers forward. Attendees enjoyed networking with Long Island professionals and the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about issues facing women in the workplace.

Panelists:

Randi Busse
Founder and President of Workforce Development Group, Inc.
Randi Busse is the Founder and President of Workforce Development Group, Inc., a training and development organization that specializes in improving the customer experience, increasing customer retention, maximizing revenue and creating a culture of ownership among employees. Randi is a dynamic speaker with the ability to make audiences listen, nod, laugh … and connect the dots between their own experiences as a customer and how their behaviors and the way their employees treat customers affects their bottom line.

Teresa Ferraro
President East/West Industries Inc.
Teresa Ferraro is the President of East/West Industries Inc., a Long Island based woman owned small business, a world leader in the development and production of aircraft seats for both fixed wing and rotor wing aircraft, life support systems for high-performance military aircraft, and ground support equipment for servicing such aircraft. Teresa Ferraro has over 30 years experience in strategic and operational leadership within East/West and provides direct interface and support with all the major primes such as Sikorsky Aircraft, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, Bell Helicopter and all branches of the DoD.

Susan Ganz, MBA
Financial Professional
The Prudential Insurance Company of America
Ms. Ganz has held the position of Financial Advisor at The Prudential Insurance Company of America since 2014 servicing clients out of the Uniondale, NY location. Her work involves providing insurance and financial products primarily for women and their families to address their financial challenges.
Ms. Ganz has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry. Her prior work as a commercial lender for JP Morgan Chase (formerly Chemical Bank), strategy and corporate finance consultant for Ernst & Young, information technology project and client relationship manager for Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, and estate and financial services professional with the Center for Wealth Preservation enables her to relate to the day-to-day challenges her clients face as well as connect with their desires to integrate their personal and professional goals.

Abbe Meehan, RCC™
President / Corporate Trainer at TEC Resource Center
Abbe Meehan is the President of TEC Resource Center, a unique facility in Farmingdale, Long Island, providing employee and management development solutions that help organizations become better aligned, boost sales, and increase customer and employee satisfaction. With over 20 years of business management and human resources experience, Abbe specializes in helping people and organizations reach their full potential.

Martha Stark
Group Director & Senior Vice President at Signature Bank
Martha Stark serves as Group Director and Senior Vice President for Signature Bank, providing banking services for businesses and private clients throughout the metro-New York area from the Bank’s Garden City, Long Island, New York office since 2002. Prior to joining the Bank, Martha served as Northeast Regional Business Development Leader for the accounting and consulting firm of BDO, LLP after 15 years spent in commercial banking, most recently as senior vice president and team leader covering Nassau County’s middle market for Fleet Bank (n/k/a Bank of America).

Patricia E. Salkin
Dean of Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
Patricia E. Salkin is the Dean of Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. Prior to that she was the Raymond & Ella Smith Distinguished Professor of Law, as well as Associate Dean and Director of the Government Law Center of Albany Law School. She is noted a leader in legal education in the United States.
Dean Salkin is the only U.S. law dean who is a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, and she holds many leadership positions in the Association. She is also the co-chair of the NYS Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and she was a member of the City Bar’s Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession. She is a thought leader on bar exam reform and legal education reform. She is a past chair of the American Association of Law School’s State & Local Government Law Section, and is the author of hundreds of books, articles and columns including a recent piece in the Journal of Legal Education on incorporating best practices into the teaching of land use law.

Moderator:

Christine Malafi, Esq.
Partner

Christine Malafi chairs the firm’s Corporate department, one of the most robust teams in the New York region. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, routine and complex transactions, labor and employment issues, and other business matters, as well as municipal, insurance coverage, and fraud issues. She routinely represents buyers and sellers in multimillion dollar transactions (from technology companies to manufacturers to healthcare businesses) and serves in a general counsel role for many of the firm’s internationally-based clients.

To Protect Employees, New York State Mandates Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Commercial Buildings

Posted: March 23rd, 2016

A carbon monoxide detector could have prevented the tragic death in February 2014 of Steven Nelson, an employee at Legal Seafoods at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, who fell victim to poisonous fumes from a malfunctioning water heater pipe at the restaurant. The tragedy prompted a recent amendment to the New York State Executive Law to require the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code to address carbon monoxide detection in commercial buildings. The Uniform Code now requires the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all restaurant and commercial properties in the state. Previously, detectors were required in one- and two-family homes, condominiums, co-ops, and multiple dwelling units, but restaurants and commercial buildings were excluded.

The law applies to “existing commercial buildings,” which includes commercial buildings constructed prior to December 31, 2015. A detection device is mandated in any commercial building that (i) contains any carbon monoxide source (including a garage), and/or (ii) is attached to a garage, and/or (iii) is attached to any other motor-vehicle-related occupancy. The law requires a detection device in each story of a building or “detection zone” with the presence of a carbon monoxide source. Unlike in the residential setting, a combination smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector will not satisfy the new requirement for commercial buildings. The law contains heightened compliance requirements for new construction after December 31, 2015, including hard-wiring carbon monoxide detection as part of the building’s fire monitoring system.

The “transition period” to comply with the new law runs through June 27, 2016. However, commercial building owners are encouraged to comply with the new law—which will protect employees, customers, and everyone else who enters a commercial space—as soon as practicable. The goal of the new law is to protect employees against potential hazards. Employers who lease commercial space should consult with their landlords and review their leases to facilitate the installation of the carbon monoxide detectors to comply with the law. Please contact us with any questions or concerns about compliance with this critical safety measure.

I Need an Estate Plan – Part Three

Posted: March 21st, 2016

By: Martin Glass, Esq. email

Tags: elder law, estate planning

“Hi, I need to get a Power of Attorney for my dad.” You would be surprised how many times I get that call. A daughter or son calls and wants me to prepare a “simple” power of attorney for their parent. But before anything else, I try to find out why the parent isn’t calling. Many times it is just that Mom or Dad asked their child to handle things.

But, there are times when the child tells me that Dad can’t handle his finances anymore. Maybe the parent has advanced dementia. I have no idea. I try to explain that you don’t “get” a Power of Attorney; the person must “give” it to you.

Even in its simplest form, a power of attorney is a very powerful document. It gives the agent the ability to have access and control over your financial affairs. The one thing it does not give the agent is ownership of your assets. That only happens if you add them to the asset as a joint owner. Adding them to the asset as a beneficiary is great, but that only becomes effective when you die. It gives that person absolutely no power over that asset as long as you’re alive.

Keep in mind that the default Power of Attorney in New York is what used to be called a Durable Power of Attorney. This means that it becomes effective the moment you and at least one agent sign it. The agent retains the power even if you become incapacitated in the future. As long as you’re alive (and haven’t physically revoked the power), the agent still has the authority to act.

The Power of Attorney is broken up into two sections: the “Statutory Short Form” and an optional “Statutory Gift Rider.” The first section identifies your agents and their overall powers. You can name one agent or you can name several. If more than one is named, you then have the option of having them act jointly or allowing them to act separately. Unless there’s a very good reason for it, I always suggest that the agents be able to act separately as many banks will not accept a Power of Attorney that forces the agents to act jointly. They don’t want the responsibility of insuring that the agents always acted together.

You also have the ability to appoint primary agents and then successor agents. Again, if there is more than one successor agent, you have the option of joint or separate. The statute says that the successor agent takes over if the primary agent is “unable or unwilling to serve.” In the bank’s eyes, that means incapacitated or dead.

Further, you have the ability to appoint a monitor. This is someone who monitors the agent but does not have any power on his own. I’m not sure why you would appoint a monitor. If you don’t trust the agent, maybe you should be appointing someone else.

The other main aspect of the first section is that it lays out the powers of the agent. These can be limiting such as to handle signing papers at a sale of a house closing. But normally, for estate planning purposes, we try to make them as expansive as possible. This means adding many modifications so that the agent can step into your shoes, if necessary, and handle any financial matter in the same manner as you would have.

The second section is the Gift Rider. Without this the agent would be limited to making only up to $500 cash gifts per year. The Rider allows the agent to at least make gifts up to the Federal Gift Tax Exclusion level (currently $14,000) per person per year. For estate planning purposes, the Rider can be further modified to any other limit or no limit. This would allow the transferring of assets for long term care planning purposes.

Overall, the Power of Attorney can be a very powerful document. In the right agent’s hands it can save you thousands of dollars as the agent would be acting in your best interests to continue to protect your assets. But be wary: in the wrong hands, where the agent breaks his fiduciary duty to act in your best interest, it can become very costly. I am not saying to not complete a Power of Attorney. I am just saying to be careful of who you choose as your agent.

Physicians’ Duty to Third Parties Expanded

Posted: March 21st, 2016

By Scott Middleton

New York’s Court of Appeals recently decided a case extending a doctor’s duty beyond that of his or her patient. Doctors, under certain circumstances, may now be responsible for injuries caused by their patients to third parties.

In Davis v. South Nassau Communities Hospital, 2015 NY Slip Op. 09229, the plaintiff commenced an action for injuries caused by Lorraine Walsh. Walsh’s vehicle crossed the center line of the roadway, striking the bus the plaintiff was driving. The defendants in the case included the hospital and medical professionals from Island Medical Physicians, P.C.

Walsh had been administered Dilaudid (an opioid narcotic painkiller) and Ativan (a benzodiazepine drug). She was discharged without being warned about the effects these drugs, individually and combined, would have on her ability to operate an automobile. She was given the drugs at 11:00 a.m. and was discharged 90 minutes later.

The side effects of Ativan include sedation, dizziness, weakness, unsteadiness and disorientation. Dilaudid is between two and eight times more powerful than morphine and contains warnings that include “may impair mental and/or physical ability needed to perform activities such as driving.” Walsh was not advised of these warnings.

The plaintiff sought damages for injuries sustained as a result of the defendants’ medical malpractice. The medical defendants countered by asserting that they did not owe plaintiff a duty of care inasmuch as the plaintiff was a third party to the treatment rendered to Walsh.

The court determined that a “critical consideration in determining whether a duty exists is whether the defendant’s relationship with either the tortfeasor or the plaintiff places defendant in the best position to protect against the risk of harm.” The Court of Appeals found that under the circumstances, the defendants owed the plaintiff a duty to have warned Walsh that the medication they administered impaired her ability to safely operate an automobile. In this instance “the defendants’ relationship with the tortfeasor placed them in the best position to protect against the risk of harm.”

It is important to note that medical professionals need not do more under this case than warn the patient of the dangers. The case does not examine the need to assess if the patient can understand the warning. That being said, a creative attorney will most assuredly try to extend this new duty even further. Therefore, an assessment of a patient’s ability to comprehend the warning may be a reasonable consequence of this decision.

As Judge Stein pointed out in her dissent, this decision is directly opposite to the long-standing precedent that a physician’s duty of care does not extend beyond the patient to the community at large.

From this point forward, doctors and healthcare facilities will be well advised to warn patients about the effects of drugs on the ability to drive and perhaps to assess the patient’s ability to comprehend the warning. As we know, plaintiffs’ attorneys will always be creative in looking for and finding the deep pocket.

Does the Term “Work-for-Hire” Really Mean Anything in Software Development Contracts?

Posted: March 21st, 2016

Tags: intellectual property, labor & employment, technology

The term “work-for-hire” is found in many software development contracts, but it is one of most misused phrases. Typically, companies needing certain software developed will enter into a written contract with an independent contractor and insert the magical phrase “work-for-hire,” thinking it will automatically assign ownership of the intellectual property to the company. However, works created by independent contractors can constitute a “work-for-hire” only in very limited instances.

Works created by an independent contractor can constitute a “work-for-hire” only if: (1) the work is specifically ordered or commissioned; (2) the parties expressly agree in a signed written agreement that the work shall be considered a “work-for-hire”; and (3) the work is (i) a contribution to a collective work, (ii) a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, (iii) a translation, (iv) a supplementary work, (v) a compilation, (vi) an instructional text, (vii) a test, (viii) answer material for a test, or (viiii) an atlas. 17 U.S.C. §101. Obviously, software does not fit neatly under one of these nine limited categories because it was not contemplated by the Copyright Act.

Although there has not yet been a Circuit Court decision holding that software fits under these categories, a few District Courts have paved the way by holding that software programs satisfy the statutory definition because they are both “contribution to collective works” and “compilations.” Indeed, a recent court decision from the Southern District of New York held that work performed by an independent contractor in creating a software program had the potential to meet the statutory definition of a “work-for-hire.” Stanacard, LLC v. Rubard, LLC, 12cv05176 (S.D.N.Y. February 3, 2016). Specifically, the Stanacard court held that the independent contractor created and combined a number of different computer programs to create the new software program which, as a whole, is a “compilation,” and alternatively, the source code for each program could also be considered a contribution to the “collective work.”

Therefore, until there is a Circuit Court decision holding that computer software fits under one of the enumerated nine categories to qualify as a “work-for-hire,” the law remains uncertain. Companies should be aware that use of the phrase “work-for-hire” may not fully guarantee that ownership will be assigned in a software development contract. Used by itself, it could be argued that the “work-for-hire” doctrine does not apply to software. Thus, for avoidance of doubt and to ensure that all works prepared by the independent contractor are assigned, the best approach is to use the “work-for-hire” recitation in conjunction with an express assignment provision.

Managing Expectations at the Negotiating Table

Posted: March 21st, 2016

By: Joe Campolo, Esq. email

Tags: negotiation

Managing expectations is critical to forming and keeping rewarding relationships with clients, colleagues, employees, and virtually anyone else you come across in business. It’s therefore not surprising that it’s just as important to manage expectations when you’re at the negotiating table.

Research has shown that parties to a negotiation can have vastly different feelings about the exact same result achieved in negotiation, based in part on their expectations going in. For example, before a meeting to discuss a shareholder buyout, you may expect that your adversary will agree with your proposed price. You predict that the meeting will focus instead on hammering out other details, which you’ve prepared for extensively. If you go into that meeting and your adversary balks at your number, it can rock your confidence for the entire negotiation – not to mention you may not be fully prepared for the meeting’s new focus. You’re almost guaranteed to leave the negotiation disappointed. But if you go to the meeting expecting a fight, and that’s just what you get, you’ll be happier with the result – even if the result is the same as in the other scenario. The key is not only to keep your own expectations in check, but to set the other side’s expectations as soon as possible. Voicing your negative impression of your adversary’s position, or using body language cues to send the same message, can go a long way to lowering that party’s expectations, leaving an opening for you to push for more of what you want.

In a recent blog post (below), the Harvard Program on Negotiation shared additional examples of how to manage expectations to your advantage.

Managing Expectations in Negotiations

http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/managing-expectations/

Good negotiation examples about the importance of managing your counterpart’s expectations while negotiating

BY PON STAFF — February 25, 2016

Here are some good negotiation examples about managing your counterpart’s expectations during negotiations. Successful negotiators work hard to ensure that when they and their counterpart leave a negotiation, both sides feel satisfied with the agreement. Why should you care whether the other side is pleased with the deal or not? First, because satisfied negotiators are more likely to uphold the terms of a deal. Even a lengthy contract cannot cover every possible contingency, and the costs of enforcement are high.

Second, if your counterpart is satisfied with the deal, she is also more likely to seek you out again and recommend you for future business. The more satisfied she is, the more cooperatively she will approach future negotiations. Conversely, a dissatisfied counterpart is likely to try to “even the score” during the next round of talks.

Good Negotiation Examples on Developing Expectations at the Negotiation Table

Prior to and during a negotiation, people develop expectations about the type of deal they will receive.

Negotiation research by business-school professors Richard Oliver and Bruce Barry of Vanderbilt University and Sundar Balakrishnan of the University of Washington demonstrates that negotiators automatically compare their actual outcome with the outcome they expected prior to negotiating. As a result of this process, two negotiators with the exact same outcome can feel very differently about their deal.

For example, consider two car buyers who both purchased the same model car for $30,000. The buyer who expected to pay $29,000 will be dissatisfied with this deal, while the buyer who expected to pay $31,000 will be quite pleased.

Skilled negotiators manage expectations prior to and during a negotiation. Some managers do this instinctively.

For example, in the month prior to salary negotiations with employees, managers may broadcast the message that this has been a difficult year for the company. After having their expectations lowered, some employees may be satisfied to receive even a small cost-of-living raise.

Your reaction to an opening offer can also influence your counterpart’s expectations.

By reacting with a surprised look, a laugh, or a flinch, you can lower your counterpart’s expectations about the feasible bargaining zone, or zone of possible agreement (ZOPA). Conversely, by appearing very cooperative or particularly eager for agreement, you may raise your counterpart’s expectations.

Good Negotiation Examples Concerning Common Bargaining Errors While Negotiating

One common negotiation mistake is to escalate expectations by making a steep concession that could lead the other side to expect another).

Imagine that you’re bidding on a house that has been on the market for some time at a high list price of $390,000. You like the house but start with a low offer: $300,000. In response, the seller offers a slight reduction from the list price: $385,000. Hoping to bridge the gap, you make an offer close to your bottom line: $340,000. The seller may misinterpret this move and believe that you can easily make another $40,000 jump. Rather than quickly agreeing to your offer, the seller might escalate her expectations regarding likely outcomes.

A related mistake is to agree to your counterpart’s demands too quickly.

Adam Galinsky and Victoria Medvec of Northwestern University, Vanessa Seiden of Chicago-based Ruda Cohen and Associates, and Peter Kim of the University of Southern California studied reactions to first offers in a negotiation. They found that negotiators whose initial offers were immediately accepted were less satisfied with their negotiated agreement than were negotiators whose offers were accepted after a delay—even if the former group reached better final outcomes than the latter group. Those whose initial offers were immediately accepted were more likely to think about how they could have attained a better outcome than were negotiators whose offers were accepted after a delay.

As these results suggest, you can actually make your bargaining counterpart less satisfied by agreeing too quickly. In fact, by delaying agreement and even asking for additional concessions, you may be able to make your counterpart more satisfied with a deal.

Campolo featured in LIBN article “Have Plan, Will Practice”

Posted: March 15th, 2016

Have plan, will practice By Kyle Barr, Long Island Business News

When they come out of law school, attorneys often understand the law better than they understand how to run a business. Many, like Thomas Foley, had to find that out on their own.

“I was ready to be a lawyer, but I was not ready to be a business person,” said Foley, a partner at Foley Griffin in Garden City, who co-founded his firm in 1997.

Now a seasoned business owner, Foley, also an assistant dean of the Nassau Academy of Law, has hosted two seminars at the Nassau County Bar Association on the creation of business plans for law practices. The latest, which took place March 3, covered formulating a plan and strategy for both the near- and long-term future, as well as networking and managing a practice’s finances and marketing.

“Everything is a business,” Foley said. “This one just happens to be the practice of law.”

The two Nassau Bar seminars were geared mainly toward new attorneys or those looking to leave their firm to start their own practice. Seminar attendee David Adhami, an attorney who is looking to build a practice, said he learned the importance of developing a business plan from his family’s background in retail.

“Ultimately, I want to have a successful practice,” he said.

At one time, many law firms earned much of their revenue through corporate retainers, which provided good, consistent income, said Joe Campolo, managing partner of Ronkonkoma-based Campolo, Middleton & McCormick.

In recent years, however, law firms have had to adapt to a new type of single-issue clientele as long-term contracts have declined.

“Companies got smarter,” Campolo said. “Attorneys were not doing all the work; say if they were making $5,000 a month on retainer, many law firms were only doing $2,000 worth of work.

“Now, everything is on an annual basis,” Campolo continued. “You have to recreate the business from the previous year.”

If law has become more of a business, then what goes into the business of law? Like any industry, the end goal is customer satisfaction, said Karen Tenenbaum, the founder of Tenenbaum Law in Melville, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary in private practice. She attributes much of her success to a focus on long-term goals and attention to growth planning.

“All businesses are the same,” Tenenbaum said, noting a law firm’s business plan should take the same shape as other categories of businesses, such as retailers or restaurants. Tenenbaum’s business plan involves looking at the skills and abilities of the staff she wishes to hire and maintain; short-, mid- and long-term growth plans; marketing; dealing with competition; the feasibility of expansion and other risks.

Tenenbaum has also taken a page from retail businesses by itemizing the services her firm offers and listing itemized pricing.

As in Tenenbaum’s case, a law firm’s business plan should take into account current and future staffing.

“Your staff should be representing you and your ideas,” Foley said. “You’re running a business, and your clients are your customers.”

“Every year we have to look inside ourselves. We do it in stages; we get the whole staff involved in the business planning,” Campolo said. “We have to recreate ourselves, which is no different than any other company who has to look at their price point.”

Before starting his practice, Campolo was the president of Expedite Inc., a technology company. With that experience, the first thing he did when starting his practice was create a business plan.

“I still have it to this day,” he said. “It’s written on loose-leaf paper.”

Tenenbaum said most attorneys should attend a business planning seminar or conference, or at least read up on how to develop a business plan.

“The concept is the same in every business,” she said. “If you and I went into a forest, we wouldn’t know where to go. But if someone has done it before…you have programs that show you the path through.”

After attending the Nassau Bar seminar, Adhami said he feels he can more confidently move toward opening his own practice.

“They teach us law and contracts in school, but they don’t teach us business,” he said.

While business plans can change rapidly and can require constant attention and revision, the risks of going into practice without a business plan can be severe.

“Running a practice without a plan is throwing a dart with a blindfold on – the legal market is so competitive on Long Island,” Campolo said. “The days of the Yellow Pages are over; the days of random clients are over. If you don’t have a real focused plan of attack for that year you’re going to succumb to the realities of now.”

Campolo sees the legal business heading in a direction that will focus even less on hourly rates and more on flat fees and cap fees, which will demand further reformation of practices and business plans.

“It’s going to look like a Chinese menu in the future,” he said.

Campolo live with LI News Radio host Jay Oliver

Posted: March 4th, 2016

Joe Campolo, Managing Partner at Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP talks with LI News Radio 103.9 FM host Jay Oliver about tips for hiring employees.

Campolo live with LI News Radio host Jay Oliver

Posted: March 4th, 2016

Joe Campolo, Managing Partner at Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP talks with LI News Radio 103.9 FM host Jay Oliver about the importance of customer service and corporate culture.

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Read more: http://libn.com/2016/03/14/have-plan-will-practice/#ixzz42yrhPsao