About Amie Stager

Amie Stager Articles written 10

Amie is a former Super Lawyers staffer who handled writing, proofing and fact-checking duties while pursuing a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota. Her work has also appeared in the Minnesota Daily.

Articles written by Amie Stager

Call of Duty

Patrick A. Lujin talks intellectual property and video games

In a world dominated by screens, coupled with a career in technology, Patrick Lujin still finds time to unplug. The intellectual property attorney recently spent a week chaperoning a group of highschoolers on a mission trip to Honduras, where WiFi was sparse and putting down his tech was partly the point. “It was a nice break,” he says with a laugh. As a former in-house counsel for Microsoft who focused on software patents, Lujin was in on the ground floor of gaming in 2001 when the company …

A Tale of Two Recordings

The mentor who made a better lawyer out of Leo Monterrey

Growing up in Wisconsin, Leo Monterrey didn’t know much about the South. He knew baseball. He played the sport in high school and junior college, and was recruited by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to play Division I baseball. “More than anything, I saw it as an opportunity to grow,” he says of the move. He’s certainly made it that.  Monterrey practices immigration and criminal defense law in North Little Rock. When he started, his focus was on the Hispanic community. …

A Risk Worth Taking

Steven M. Gordon looks back on his case against the FBI on behalf of a Whitey Bulger victim

In the early 2000s, when Steven M. Gordon was given the chance to take on a wrongful death suit on behalf of the family of John McIntyre, who’d been killed by Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, he had to consider a few factors that don’t normally arise in his business litigation and white-collar defense practice. “The McIntyre case was largely about the relationship between the FBI and Whitey Bulger that led to a number of murders for which we felt the government was legally …

Taking the Reins

Christine D. Esser is determined to make a difference, one gallop at a time

Being an attorney can be solitary work. Except when Christine Esser is in trial surrounded by a jury, she’s mostly preparing, alone, with books and papers. It’s something she likens to another of her passions: working with horses. “Working with them is kind of the same as working in the law. You can’t just make a jury believe you; you have to earn their trust. It’s the same with horses,” she says. “You can purchase a horse that knows everything to do and just get on and ride, but …

How To Sponsor a Family Member

There are several ways to come to the United States and apply for permanent residency: You can gain status through self-petitioning Your employer can petition for you A family member who is a U.S. citizen can petition for you Family-based sponsorship is the primary vehicle for applying for permanent residence. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 65 percent of new legal immigrants in 2015 applied for residency based on family sponsorship. “Generally, there’s two ways for people …

Who Is a Public Charge?

Federal rules and regulations have a tendency to change based on who occupies the White House. The public charge rule is one example of an important immigration policy that changed from one Presidential administration to another. Here is an overview of recent changes. October 2019: Trump Administration Implements Public Charge Rule “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.” So said Ken Cuccinelli, then-acting director of …

Tips to License Your Art in New York

“Every artist's story is unique,” says New York intellectual property attorney Amy Lehman. Lehman is the director of legal services at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA), a nonprofit that advocates for artists and offers educational programs about copyright and contracts, so artists can learn how to make a living. “The way for artists to get compensated for their art is either to sell their work or to license,” she says. “Everyone from musicians to fine artists are licensing images …

What To Do if Someone Steals Your Art Online

An artist who finds that their art has been used on the internet without their permission has the option to write to the infringing person or company and tell them what it costs to license it. Maybe they will be compensated. Maybe they won’t. According to New York intellectual property attorney Amy Lehman, there is no one-size-fits-all answer for artists who want to take action when their work has been copied on the internet. “They can file a takedown notice with the server, or whoever is …

How You Can (and Can't) Get Out of a Subpoena

In March 2018, an investigator was held in contempt of court and jailed for refusing to testify during an appeal for the death sentence of a Colorado man, because of her personal opposition to the death penalty.  What Is a Subpoena? A subpoena, according to Colorado criminal defense attorney Iris Eytan, is “a witness summons that is issued by a court.” It’s an official court order requested by an attorney, compelling someone to do something. There are two types of subpoena: Subpoena …

How Long Do Immigration Cases Take?

The immigration process is neither quick nor easy. It is not a process one should rush through—a mistake could have serious consequences and, depending on the circumstances, it can take several months or even years before a case is heard. “The funny thing about immigration is sometimes you want the delay just because you're buying your clients time,” says Angie Garasia, an immigration attorney in Edison, New Jersey. Last In, First Out Garasia often works with U.S. Citizenship and …

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