Webinar: "Effective Courtroom Advocacy: Successful Oral Argument At the Trial and Appellate Levels"

AAML Webinar Registration is now available for "Effective Courtroom Advocacy: Successful Oral Argument At the Trial and Appellate Levels" presented by Steven D. Stark! The link is at

http://eventcallregistration.com/reg/index.jsp?cid=70783t11

Court issues interim decision on public kindergarten vs private Yeshiva

A.K. v E.K.

The parties disputed placement of their five year old daughter in a kindergarten in either a private Yeshiva or a public school. A hearing was held and father testified the child should continue her religious private school education, stating he would pay all costs. Mother stated, while she kept a Kosher household to appease her husband's parents, she disputed the family's level of Judaism, and argued for enrolling the child in a public school district near where she resided. The court stated its posture regarding a religious upbringing of a child was of non-interference. Yet, where, as here, it was determining which parent shall have educational decision-making regarding the child, not opining on the level of Judaism practiced or whether private or public school was in the child's best interests, it stated it recognized that any decision made herein may change after a full custody trial, if warranted. It indicated there was a possibility the child may attend one school this year and a different one next year. Thus, the main question was if the child will fall behind her classmates regarding her religious studies if she were to attend public school, and the court answered in the affirmative, concluding father should have educational decision making authority until further court order.

Appellate Court Affirms Limits to Benefit Claims for In Vitro Children

From the New York Law Journal: MacNeil v. Berryhill

In vitro fertilization using a deceased father as the donor doesn't make the children born later eligible for Social Security benefits, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Thursday.

The panel of Judges John Walker Jr., Debra Ann Livingston, and Gerard Lynch in MacNeil v. Berryhill, 16-2189-cv, said U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe of the Northern District of New York got it right when he agreed with an administrative law judge that New York State law precluded children born to a deceased parent—after that parent's death—from qualifying for Social Security Administration benefits.

AAML Webinar On Courtroom Advocacy: September 20, 2017

I am producing a webinar on September 20, 2017 for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers on "Effective Courtroom Advocacy." Great for newly admitted as well as experienced attorneys.