Saran, Melinda R.

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UB Law Forum Volume 8 Number 1 Winter 1995 Article 34 1-1-1995 GOLD Group Continues to Shine Melinda R. Saran Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/ub_law_forum Recommended Citation Saran, Melinda R. (1995) "GOLD Group Continues to Shine," UB Law Forum: Vol. 8 : No. 1 , Article 34. Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/ub_law_forum/vol8/iss1/34 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Alumni Publications at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in UB Law Forum by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact lawscholar@buffalo.edu. UHLAW FORUM Wimer /995 78 GOLD Group Continues to Shine By Melinda R. Saran '86 Have yo u eve r done a bankruptcy? What s hou ld you do w he n you go to justice court? Can you give me copies of your forms? Once aga in the La w A lumni Associati o n's GOLD (Graduates Of the Last Decade) Group helped I 00 new practi tioners a nd law stud en ts answer these questjons at the second ann ual GOLD Link s to Prac ti ce Semi nar. T his "n uts an d bolts" pro-g ram was he ld a t th e Ce nte r Fo r To morrow on Saturday, March 12. W illiam F. Savino ' 75, partner in the Buffal o law fir m of Damo n & Morey, spoke on the topic of represent-in g the de btor in C ha pte r 7 a nd Chapter 13 bankruptcies. T he purposes of the bankruptcy law are to afford the deb tor a fresh start , re habi litate the debtor or hi s business, and treat hi s c redito rs equ a lly, he said. He the n explained the various chapters of the bankruptcy law and their coverage. "Don't do th is without malpractice ins urance," Sav in o admoni shed the new practitioners. as this area of prac-tice involves a mu ltitude o f detail s. Mi s takes - s uch as forgetti ng an exemption - are objective, making for an easy malpractice case. Savino described the various pro-visions of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, inc luding the exempti ons. He noted that Chapter 13 bankruptcies- to rehabili tate the debt of a husband and wife - are common in Western New York. hut not in New York City, where Chapter 7 liquidmion of assets is most ruptcy judges and the methods of fil-ing. Savino told the audience that you can protect a c li e nt fro m immin en t foreclos ure by wa lkin g int o Bankruptcy Court, finding a bankrupt-cy judge, and handing him th e bare pe tit io n w ith a filin g fee. Sav in o adm itted that a ltho ugh protected, your client wou ld probably be harassed, and he reminded the unseasoned practiti on-ers to have the pe tition time stamped before leaving the court. Di scussing the ro le of the Chapter 7 trustee, Savi no said that the trustee wants to raise mo ney , not sell assets. com mon . He named the local hank - Dour;las W. Dimi1rr1{{ '89 The tru stee may appraise assets to determine if there is any value to raise money. "The tru stee has title during the case," Savino ex pla ined , "so if you want to sell the house, some trustees w ill make you file a motion to aban-don , whi le others will require that you pay the trustee to give you the title ." Th e Chapter 13 tru stee adm ini sters payment to creditors over three to five years. Town of Tonawand a Justice Christopher J. Burns ' 79 spoke next on prac tice in town, c ity, and village co urts in We s tern New York. According to Judge Burns, 40 town and v ill age courts are located in W estern New York. Judges may be allorneys or non-attorneys. City courts have a higher monetary limit than town courts for small and civil claims. On the cri minal side, these courts handle crimes which are classified as misde-meanors or below. "Never abuse a co urt c lerk," warn ed Jud ge Burns . " Judge s re ly heavily on their c lerks . Clerks keep thin gs mov ing and kee p the co urt schedule. All contacts and requests go through the court clerk." He also stressed the importance of developing a good reputation and good relations with the judges, c lerks, prose-cutors and all fellow attorneys. "The new practitioner must learn to adjust to a wide range of personali ties, inte llect and knowledge of the law," he said. Judge Burns then provided strate-g ies for handling criminal matters and negotiating plea deals. He explained that the ass istant district attorneys have plea policies which they must abide by in negotiating with de fense attorneys. He a lso told the audie nce tha t it is "bet ter to start sentences w ith ' M y client says, my client tell s me,' so it's not your mistake or you who's hiding something- like a long rap sheet." He sa id tha t " yo u ca n pro mi se your c lient your best e ffort and best results under the circumstances" rather than merely the best result. It is essen-tial, he advised , that an a ttorney tell a client who decides to plead guilty what the maximum possible sentence will be and to make sure a cl ient understands the ramifications of this plea. He con-c luded by noting th at the attorney shou ld prepare the c l ient for court. including what the judge will say and ask, and what is expected of the client. The final speaker was Paula M. Eade Newcomb. a litigation associate wi th the Western New York law firm of Hurwitz and Fine and chair of the GOLD group for 1993- 1994. Eade dis-cussed how to commence a personal injury action , including strategies for assessing the merits of a case. She de scribed method s for rev iew in g records, including police and accident reports, maintenance, road and signal inspection, and medical records. "Never tell the client what the case is worth," Eade cautioned. "As you learn the facts, you may change your mind o n w hat it 's worth ." Tell the client the strengths and weaknesses of the case, and stress the weaknesses, Eade continued. Eade no te d the importa nce of explaining your fee and making clear that the c lient will have to pay the dis-bursements, including fees for medical records and possibly an investigator. Once you retain a case you must fil e w ith th e Offi ce of Co urt Ad ministratio n, Eade stated. "Tf you don ' t know the informati on to com-ple te the fo rm, you are no t ready to retain the case." If yo u decide not to accept th e case, she ca utioned , "send a non-engagement letter detai ling the statute o f limita tions.'· " Know what your client 's insur-. ance policy says as well as the other side 's. See if your c lient has underin-surance," Eade said. "It may help you negotia ting with the defense attorney because you may need the full amount of the respondent's insurance to get to the plaintiff s underinsurance." She then explained the procedures invol ved in the inves tigation , discov-ery and negoti ation of a personal injury case. Eade concluded by stating how important it is to know what the client wants. • Melinda R. Saran is a clinical instruc-tor in th e La w Sc hool and was Education Chairperson fo r the GOLD Group in 1993-94. New Lawyers to Get Briefings The Bar Association of Erie County has designed a program to ease the transition from law school to practice for new attorneys. The Task Force on Newly Admitted Attomeys will present a three day program on March 16, 17 and 18, 1995. fora registration fee of$25. The flrsr day of the program, held at Statler Towers in Buffcilo, 1rill highlight issues of professionalism. New York Supreme Court Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye is scheduled to appear, along with represelllati1•es jro111 Western New York legal organi::,ations. The day will conclude with a cock-tail reception for the attendees and local judges. The second and third days of the program will take place at UB Law School. Featured on the second day will be a "nuts and bolts" introdtu;-tion to establishing a practice, including purchasing equipment. /tiring support staff, adverTising, and maintaining a clientl;ase. The third day will focus on substanti1•e law areas nell' a/lomeys frequently encounter such as real property, matrimonial and family, bankruptcy and criminal law. as well as practice in Surrogate's Court and justice courts. All presenters will be local attorneys ll'ho are active in the legal community. Sponsors include rhe Erie County Bar Foundation, UB Law Alumni Association's GOLD Group, and Lmvyer's CooperatiV£' Publishing. For more i4oml(ltion. comact the Bar Association at (716) 852-8687. • UB LAW FORUM Wimer 1995 79 

GOLD Group Continues to Shine

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GOLD Group Continues to Shine

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