Last Thursday I moderated a fantastic local food law CLE (i.e., “Continuing Legal Education”). The faculty worked hard putting together substantive materials for the attendees including relevant ancillary materials (such as this, this, and this). If you missed the live webinar, you can purchase the CLE from the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) webstore here. Though the CLE was directed to …
Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Summer is around the corner.. and ’tis the season for unpaid interns! I recently came across this helpful factsheet from the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, on internship programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The factsheet clearly defines the test that is used for determining whether the “trainee” test for interns is satisfied so that …
Spoke to Undergraduate Agriculture Career Class via Skype
Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk about being an agriculture lawyer to an undergraduate agriculture careers class in Wisconsin via Skype. I remember being that age and not really knowing what I wanted to do. To tell you the truth, I grew up looking up to Colleen Callahan and wanted to *be* her…with a career in agriculture journalism/communications. For …
Presenter on Sustainability in Agriculture
I will be a panelist at this event on May 16th from 8:00 to 10:00 am with the Association of the Bar for the City of New York (“City Bar”) titled “Feeding Ourselves, Sustaining the Planet.” I will be presenting on sustainability developments in “Big Ag.” It is sponsored by City Bar’s Committee on International Environmental Law and the Committee …
Animal Law Mediation
I was recently asked whether I handle animal law mediation. And the answer is, “why yes I do.” I am a previous member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals in the Law, New Jersey State Bar Association Committee on Animal Law, and the New York Lawyers’ Association Committee on Animal Law. I have also had …
Legal Webinar Regarding Farm Animal Space
I want to give a brief shout-out on a webinar presented by Elizabeth Rumley from the National Agricultural Law Center on the “Legal Issues in Animal Agriculture: Regulating Living Space.” I had an opportunity to hear Elizabeth Rumley present during this online agriculture law class last year and she’s one smart cookie (she’ll be presenting again this year). You can …
Law Student Discount for Upcoming Local Food Law CLE
Hey law students- great news! I just found out that the American Bar Association (“ABA”) is awarding law students who need financial assistance a special discounted rate of $25 to attend this upcoming CLE titled “Counseling the Local Food Movement: What A Practitioner Should Know” scheduled on Thursday, May 10th from 2-4pm ET. You can register online for the CLE …
New York Farm Animal Welfare Law
I have updated my New York Farm Animal Welfare Law Outline and you can view it now on JD Supra. I highly recommend that livestock producers in New York have a general understanding of these statutes. I highly recommend that every single farm in the state of New York have a good working relationship an attorney, veterinarian and Cornell University …
Why You Might Want To Consider Virtual Mediation Via Skype
I recently read this blog post and it made me think: why would someone prefer “virtual mediation” via Skype or some other video conferencing tool? Lots of reasons. Here are a few: 1. Travel Time/Expense. Perhaps you are a food or agriculture producer or agribusiness owner and do not live/work around New York City. Or perhaps you live in New …
Debrief from Skype Conversation About Being an Ag Lawyer
I had the opportunity to speak to a great crew via Skype last Friday about being an agriculture lawyer. It’s casual “open mic” style so we talked about whatever the participants wanted to talk about. I have been getting a lot of these types of inquiries lately from folks in many different stages of life/career. I want to note a …
Does Your Farm or Agri-Business Need To File a Certificate of Assumed Name?
Many farms and agribusinesses operate as a DBA (“doing business as”) or an “assumed name.” Many businesses in the state of New York, including those involved in the food and agriculture industry, are not properly registered. Pursuant to Section 130 of the NY General Business Law, no person or entity can “(i) carry on or conduct or transact business in …
Upcoming CLE on “Counseling the Local Food Movement”
As I noted in this blog, I’m very excited to announce that the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee will be hosting a CLE webinar on Thursday, May 10, 2012 titled “Counseling the Local Food Movement: What a Practitioner Should Know.” This is a very substantive CLE that will be two hours. …