With the prospect of estate tax exemptions going down and estate tax rates going up, it’s a good time to consider using life insurance as a hedge against potential estate taxes. One way to do that is to add an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) to your estate plan.

Life insurance proceeds are included in

This article was published as an Expert Analysis in Law360.

Many states have statutes or public policy that prohibits insurers from indemnifying policyholders for claims caused by their own willful acts. This is typical in the context of criminal acts or punitive damages, which many jurisdictions consider uninsurable. Likewise, statutory consumer protection claims are often uninsurable.

The year 2021 will be remembered for many things, of course including that, as of this writing, a total of more than 800,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. For lawyers who represent insurance companies in cases seeking to challenge fraudulent claims and other types of insurance fraud, as well

Michael Heller Peter McNamara and Matthew Spero published the article, “A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry,” in the Winter 2021 issue of Real Estate Finance Journal.

The authors discuss five recent court decisions of note involving title insurance.

Robert Tugander’s article, “Do You Have the Right Cyber Insurance for Your Business?” appeared in the Winter 2021/2022 issue of USLAW Magazine.

The article explores the reasons why the same cyber crime often results in different insurance coverage outcomes, depending on the court or the language of the insurance policy. And while no single policy can

The New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has announced regulations concerning the manufacturing and labeling of cannabinoid hemp products, and the availability of an online portal to facilitate required state licensure. Cannabinoid hemp products sold in the state must comply with the regulations by April 25, 2022. The OCM will be reaching out

New York Court of Appeals Holds That Disgorgement Payment Under SEC Settlement Not Excluded As A Penalty Imposed By Law

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Bear Stearns facilitated late trading and deceptive market timing practices by its customers in connection with the purchase and sale of mutual fund shares.  Bear Sterns sought

Today, much of our lives are documented through digital devices and assets, instead of, for example, through things such as traditional family photo albums.  But while photo albums are easily passed on after death, passing along digital assets present additional challenges.  Expectedly, there are laws which address the ownership of digital assets.  That said, despite

Federal law generally prohibits internet service providers (ISPs), i.e., “cable operators,” from disclosing personally identifiable information concerning a subscriber without the prior written or electronic consent of the subscriber. Moreover, under the law, ISPs must “take such actions as are necessary” to prevent unauthorized access to a subscriber’s personally identifiable information by a person other

On December 15, New York City issued clarifications to its prior vaccine mandate and those clarifications can be found here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-workplace-requirement.page.

As we advised in our prior bulletin, the New York City Commissioner of Health previously ordered that, commencing December 27, 2021, workers must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to

Our December Insurance Update features four cases.

The Minnesota Supreme Court decides if a resident-relative exclusion violates public policy.

A Texas appellate court considers, for a second time, if damage from illegal dumping was caused by an “occurrence.”

A Massachusetts appellate court determines whether an uninsured premises exclusion applies where the claim dates back to

It’s the holiday season, and people are in the spirit of giving.

Besides giving gifts to friends and family, we consider supporting nonprofits whose work aligns with our values. One of the easiest ways to give to charity, and one of the best-kept secrets, is to open a fund at the Long Island Community Foundation

Minimum hourly wages for nonexempt employees and minimum salaries for exempt employees in New York State are scheduled to increase on January 1, 2022. Employers should begin to make plans to ensure that their hourly wages for nonexempt employees and minimum salaries for exempt employees comply with these new requirements.

On January 1, 2022, the

The New York City Council just passed a new COVID vaccination bill requiring paid leave for parents per child per injection. Additionally, businesses and employees in New York City are subject to new vaccine mandates effective December 27, 2021, based on a recent announcement by outgoing Mayor de Blasio.

The new bill requires New York

On December 6, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul expanded the legal definition of “elder abuse and exploitation” to incorporate identity theft in the list of eligible support services and programs for seniors through non-profit agencies and law enforcement (S.1560/A.1994).

Identity theft is the unlawful use of an individual’s personal identification information such as the person’s name,