About Amie Stager
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 gamesIn 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 MonterreyGrowing 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 victimIn 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 timeBeing 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
Common routes to permanent residency for family members of U.S. immigrantsThere 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% of new legal immigrants in 2015 applied for residency based on family sponsorship. “Generally, there’s two ways for people to …
Who is a Public Charge?
Defined limits on admissibility for permanent residence in U.S. immigration“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, acting director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office, in his modern interpretation of the Emma Lazarus poem famously inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. This interpretation is in line with a regulation that USCIS has formally instituted in federal immigration law. Although it has been a long-standing law in the U.S. immigration …
Tips to License Your Art in New York
What the intellectual property laws say and how to make money under them“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
How to copyright your work and take action against those who steal itAn 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
Colorado courts can force you to testifyIn 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?
Some last a few months, others take years; it depends on your circumstancesThe 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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