The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a new initiative to enhance its working relationship with data miners who bring cases as whistleblowers under the False Claims Act (FCA).[1] The initiative is dubbed “FOCUS,” an acronym for Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics.

There has been a sharp increase in qui tam complaints

Just shy of a “full house,” is how you might describe our May insurance update.

We have a pair of cases from the Colorado Supreme Court that discuss the failure to cooperate defense, UIM exhaustion, and the status of a rental car company when it offers its customers supplemental auto insurance.

We also have a

People often ask, When will AI replace attorneys? My response is that AI is a powerful tool creating efficiencies in how we practice law. If used properly and ethically, it can complete many tasks that were traditionally performed by human attorneys in less time, but it is not a replacement for human attorneys, at least

Qualifications matter. Just as you wouldn’t call an electrician to fix a plumbing problem, you shouldn’t create estate planning documents yourself. Doing so might subject your estate to costly  litigation by disgruntled heirs. You might also run the risk that the documents don’t do what you actually want.

Wills and trusts must be executed according

Patricia Marcin is the author of a monthly guest column appearing in The Suffolk Times and the Riverhead Times Review.

Since you care about your family, it’s important to choose the right people to help them when doing your estate planning. That’s where an executor or trustee comes in.

Although both manage assets and distribute them to beneficiaries, an

The media is filled with stories of deceased celebrities whose final wishes were either unknown or disputed. An important lesson: You can retain control of your visitation, funeral, and burial (or cremation) plans after death, provided you have a comprehensive estate plan in place. In addition to powers of attorney, health care proxies, and living

Private equity investment in law firms is no longer merely theoretical. It is increasingly being pursued through affiliated-entity structures, often described as legal services organizations (LSOs), which are designed to operate within professional responsibility constraints while introducing external capital and operational capabilities to the legal sector.

In an LSO model, the law firm remains owned

Our April update highlights some of the insurance questions courts were asked to decide this past month.

We all know about the broad duty to defend that applies to many primary liability policies. But does that same rule apply for title insurance?

A few months ago, we wrote about a federal district court’s ruling that

On April 21, 2026, in a “Hearing on Protecting Patients and Taxpayers: Cracking down on Medicare Fraud,” the House Ways & Means Committee received testimony on hospice and home health fraud from Sheila Clark, President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association,[1] and Chris Deery, the Director of Corporate Fraud

Second Department Finds Absolute Lead Exclusion Properly Added To Policy And Excludes Coverage For Action Alleging Injury From Lead Exposure

The owner of a residential building in Brooklyn engaged an insurance broker to procure insurance coverage for the building that included liability coverage for lead exposure. Brownstone Agency, Inc., acting as the agent for Everest

Patricia Marcin is the author of a monthly guest column appearing in The Suffolk Times and the Riverhead Times Review.

I am often asked about the difference between wills and revocable trusts. It’s one of the most common estate planning questions I hear, especially here on the North Fork, where many families are thinking about how to

As readers of this column know, healthcare insurance fraud schemes are rarely limited to just healthcare service providers. These fraud schemes often involve large-scale, organized criminal activity affecting government programs, insurance companies and other businesses. These schemes also typically include a money laundering component, as the participants attempt to conceal their ill-gotten gains.

Naturally, participants

Second Department Finds No Coverage Based Upon Policy’s Designated Premises Limitation

305 Union St. Station, Inc., doing business as Kittery Restaurant, operates a restaurant in Brooklyn. Plaintiff, a pedestrian, was injured when she was struck by a bicycle operated by an employee of the restaurant who was on his way back from a food delivery.

For many, turning 18 is a milestone birthday. They can vote, enter the military, or change their name. They are also able to make their own financial and medical decisions. On a person’s 18th birthday, they become a legally emancipated adult. This is true for a disabled individual, too, making the 18th birthday a potentially

In a March 3 letter[1] addressed to Gov. Kathy Hochul, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz raised pointed concerns about fraud, waste and abuse (“FWA”) within New York’s Medicaid Program involving payments for home health-related services.

In his letter, Dr. Oz states:

Recent public reporting, federal prosecutions, and CMS analyses raise serious concerns about