LegalBrief FIRM NEWSLETTER
October 2014
Table of Contents
BIG FIRM QUALITY. SMALL FIRM VALUE.
Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP is a full-service business law firm that represents clients in a wide variety of legal matters including corporate, healthcare, intellectual property and technology, labor and employment, liability insurance & insurance coverage, litigation and appeals, matrimonial, mergers and acquisitions, municipal liability and government relations, private equity, real estate development, white collar defense and wills, trusts and estates.




DISCLAIMER:
The information contained in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The Firm provides legal advice and other services only to persons or entities with which it has established an attorney-client relationship. No recipients of information from this newsletter, clients or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in this newsletter without seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient's state. The content of this newsletter contains general information and may not reflect current legal developments. The Firm disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this newsletter.
 
 
To access past newsletters visit our Newsletter Archive
CMM NOMINATED FOR
BEST OF LONG ISLAND 2015
We're proud to announce that we are on the ballot for the 2015 "Best of Long Island" contest. Campolo, Middleton & McCormick has been nominated in the Law Firm category, and Joe Campolo has been nominated in the Lawyer category. We need your support as our clients, colleagues, and friends to vote for us to be awarded the distinction of Best of Long Island 2015!

Please click the following link to vote!
CLIENT ADVISORY

Suggested Handling of the Ebola Outbreak for Employers 

With all of the recent news coverage regarding the Ebola outbreak and its entry into the United States, employers need to be prepared to answer related questions and handle related issues. The CDC has stated that the
2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa, and advises of the specific symptoms and dangers of Ebola.

Employers should be aware of the OSHA and CDC guidance available, and should communicate with employees and customers to reaffirm that health and safety concerns are taken very seriously and that all legal actions will be taken to protect them. 
MUNICIPAL 
Does the "Deliberative Process Privilege" Exist Outside of FOIL?
To promote open government and public accountability, the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL, see Public Officers Law �84) imposes a broad duty on government to make its records available to the public. There is a presumption that all government records are open for public inspection and copying unless they fall within one of the enumerated exceptions listed in Public Officers Law �87 (2). Gould v. New York City Police Dept, 89 N.Y.2d 267 (1996). To ensure that a government body complies with the Legislature's intent, the exemptions are to be narrowly construed.
APPELLATE
Preservation of Issues for Appellate Review
I did not begin to truly appreciate the rules regarding preservation of issues for appellate review until after I argued a criminal appeal before the New York Court of Appeals as a young prosecutor with the Bronx District Attorney's Office.  In that case, the defendant had been indicted for first degree robbery and related crimes and, at trial, sought to call his mother as a witness.  In an offer of proof, defendant's counsel claimed that the testimony would be used to corroborate defendant's version of the events that occurred about one half hour before the crime was committed. The trial court precluded the testimony.  On appeal, defendant argued that the mother's testimony would have demonstrated defendant's state of mind at the time the crime was committed. 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
Copyright Protection in Selfies Can Help to Prevent Unauthorized Reproduction and Distribution 
Selfies have become a global phenomenon, but what type of protection does one have to prevent the spread of photos that have been hacked?  We have all heard the story that broke last month about the hundreds of intimate photographs of numerous celebrities, including Kate Upton and Jennifer Lawrence. Although questions are still being raised about the security of cloud storage, copyright law may provide the strongest mechanism to stop the unauthorized dissemination of photos. 
LITIGATION
Family Business: Buyouts Gone Wrong
In family-owned businesses, the issues of dissolving the company and negotiating the terms of a buyout agreement are the last things on the mind of the parties at the time of formation. However, when disputes arise and the buyout agreement does not adequately address all possible scenarios, the result is often years of costly litigation. A prime example is the long-running litigation in Abatemarco v. Abatemarco, a case in the Nassau County Commercial Division, which centers on a dispute between two brothers involving their 50/50 ownership interests in a business and the separate realty company that owns the building where the business is based.    
WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATES
Women Need an Estate Plan 
I hate to break the news to the guys reading this, but we're probably going to die before our wives. First off, older women (65+) have a life expectancy of 20.3 years whereas older men only have an expectancy of 17.7 years, according to the CDC. Add that to the fact that most women marry guys that are two to five years older than themselves, and you've got the makings of a wife becoming a widow before the husband has a chance to become a widower.

What that really means is that part of the planning should be to make sure female spouses will be able to live out the remainder of their lives in the standard they have grown accustomed. 
FIRM NEWS
Malafi Named LIBN Top 50 Most Influential Women
CMM would like to congratulate Christine Malafi on being named one of the 2015 Long Island Business News' Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business. The program recognizes the Island's top women professionals for business acumen, mentoring, and community involvement. This year's honorees were celebrated on Thursday, October 23, 2014, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. 
3 CMM Attorneys Named in 
LIBN Leadership in Law Awards

CMM is proud to announce that three of the Firm's attorneys have been nominated in the 2015 Long Island Business News' Leadership in Law Awards. Scott Middleton, Ellen Bissett DeRiggi, and David Hoeppner will be honored in the Partner, Of Counsel, and Associate categories, respectively. The Leadership in Law Award recognizes individuals whose leadership, both in the legal profession and in the community, has had a positive impact on Long Island. 

Learn more.
 
CMM Volunteers at Shinnecock Nation in Southampton
The attorneys and staff at Campolo, Middleton and McCormick spent the afternoon on Friday, September 19th doing community service work at the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton assisting families and properties still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Through the United Way of Long Island, the firm was able to organize a volunteer event to dedicate our time and effort Long Island's East End community.  
CMM Welcomes Vincent Costa

CMM would like to welcome Vincent Costa, Esq. as the newest member of our firm. Vincent has joined the firm's corporate and private equity groups. His practice includes corporate transactions, corporate governance, and other related business matters. 
Learn More.
CMM Executive Breakfast - Negotiations: A Human Relations Skill to Help You Prosper

Join us on November 5th for our final Executive Breakfast event of 2014, as Michael Frenda of Dale Carnegie presents on Negotiations; A Human Relations Skill to Help You Prosper. 

Learn More.
LONG ISLAND LEGAL 
Join us every Friday at 10:30 am for our Long Island Legal web show on TheDailyBlu.com.  
 
Recent Shows
 
September 9th - Joe Campolo with special guest Filomena Lombardi, CPA, CFO, COO of Farm to Table Catering by Filomena and Farm to Table Fuel Food by Filomena
 
September 26th - Joe Campolo with CMM Senior Associate Arthur Yermash, Esq. disussing current employment law issues

October 6th - Patrick McCormick with special guest Brad Hemingway, Executive Director of the Islip Foreign Trade Zone Authority
 

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP

4175 Veterans Memorial Highway, Suite 400
Ronkonkoma, New York 11779

2495 Montauk Highway
Bridgehampton, New York 11932

Phone: (631) 738-9100
Fax: (631) 738-0659

www.cmmllp.com
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