I recently wrote this article giving an overview of local food law in New York. It gives an overview of the myriad of legal issues affecting farmers and food entrepreneurs involved in the local food movement including direct farm marketing, cottage food operation law, and a checklist of other legal issues such food safety, contract law, land use and zoning, insurance …
Illinois Farm Family of the Year
My family was recently recognized as the Illinois Farm Family of the Year by the Illinois Beef Association for our beef cattle operation. It’s what took me home last week to the Rincker Ranch in Shelbyville, Illinois. Check out this video of my parents talking about our family farm! Share this Article
An Annulment in New York Based on Fraud
You can obtain an annulment based on one of the five reasons set forth in New York Domestic Relations Law (“DRL”) Section 140. This post will focus on an annulment based on fraud-DRL 140(e). Pursuant to this statute: An action to annul a marriage on the ground that the consent of one of the parties thereto was obtained by force …
Why Hire an Attorney for an Uncontested Divorce When Forms are Available Online?
Filing a New York uncontested divorce or an annulment can seem easy to do. In the case of an uncontested divorce, there are forms available on the court’s website. For annulments though, there are no forms available to the public, but it is substantially similar to filing for an uncontested divorce. That being said, there are over 15 documents that …
Calling all Ag Lawyers: First AALA Regional in Baltimore, Maryland
I will be at the first-ever Regional for the American Agriculture Law Association (‘AALA”) this Friday at the University of Maryland, School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland. I will be live tweeting from @CariRincker and @RinckerLaw, while assisting with the employment law presentation. Check out the conference schedule here. If you are a food and agriculture lawyer or law student …
Forgery, Identity Theft and Divorce
Sometimes one spouse will sign the other’s name. Most times, this is consensual; however, there are times where it is nonconsensual and the other spouse had no idea it was done. This can come to a head when a divorce action ensues. New York is a no fault state, which means that courts do not “punish” parties of a divorce …
The 4-Step Divorce Mediation Process
It’s as easy as 1,2,3… 4! Okay, okay, divorce mediation isn’t always so “easy” but this document that I created demonstrates the 4 step process. Initial Consultation – this is where an initial consultation agreement and confidentiality agreement is signed and the mediation process is discussed Mediation Period – this could take a bit depending on the complexity of the …
Getting Paid: Alternative Billing Strategies for Food and Agriculture Lawyers
I will be moderating a Roundtable discussion at the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 21, 2014 on alternative billing strategies for the food and agriculture lawyer. The Roundtable will also be brought to you by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee. The Roundtable …
New Jersey Agriculture Mediation Program Handbook
I have been on the New Jersey Agriculture Mediation Program Roster for the two years offered through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. The program is free to agriculture producers. The program recently published a handbook that can be found online here. The handbook does a nice job explaining the types of disputes that can be mediated through the agriculture …
Top 10 Reasons Why Prenuptial Agreements Are Romantic
As I wrote in this post a few years ago, I believe that engaged couples should shift the way they look at prenuptial agreements. I will be speaking tonight to my BNI Chapter on why I think prenuptial agreements are romantic. If you’re in NYC, I would love for you to come and hear the presentation. If you cannot make …
Upcoming Agriculture Law CLE on 1031 Exchanges
As I noted in this post, I will be moderating a Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) webinar on May 29th at 2pm ET for the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division (“GP Solo”) Agriculture Law Committee on 1031 Exchanges. (Whew- that’s a mouthful). Members of the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) can attended at the ABA …
Ag Book: The Vertical Farm Project
I recently read “The Vertical Farm” by Dr. Dickson Despommier. I find urban agriculture to be fascinating and have loved visiting some rooftop farms in Brooklyn. As the world population grows, we are not getting more land to help grow our food. In fact, each year we get less and less farmable land due to urban encroachment. I don’t think …