About David Levine
David Levine is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, American Heritage, and dozens of other publications. He is the author, co-author, or ghostwriter of seven books, including the basketball books Life on the Rim (Macmillan) and In the Land of Giants (Little, Brown). His latest book, The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years, was published by Globe Pequot Press in 2020.
Articles written by David Levine
The Breaking of Bread
Bruce Bronster, consiglieri to restauranteurs, is now a restauranteur himselfWhen he was young, Bruce Bronster worked at restaurants—doing everything from bussing and waiting tables to line cooking, and eventually managing joints like Hoexter’s Market and Rosebud at the Hotel Wales. “Front and back of the house,” he says. “I cooked fried chicken at Great Manhattan Rib & Chicken. Broome Street Bar, I probably worked there the longest. There’s still a picture of me there at 18.” After graduating with a degree in accounting from New York University, …
Tax Attorney vs. Accountant
It’s important to know when you need eachWhen April comes around, Dustin Whittenburg, a tax attorney in San Antonio, will often find himself receiving phone calls from people asking him to prepare their taxes. He lets them know they need an accountant, not a tax attorney. “But if I get a call in September,” Whittenburg adds, “and the caller says, ‘We have this issue on a return, can you help us figure that out?’ I would definitely help them with that.” So when do you need a tax lawyer instead of a certified public …
How Do I Prove Age Discrimination in a Lawsuit?
If you were laid off or given a demotion as part of a "reorganization" that seems to have targeted older employees, you may have an age discrimination claim under federal and state age discrimination laws. For legal advice on whether you have an age discrimination claim, contact a discrimination law attorney. Signs of Age Discrimination How can you tell if it's an age discrimination lawsuit? Employment law attorneys agree: Age discrimination cases are tough to argue. "It happens a lot in …
Can I Get Workers' Compensation in Texas?
In 1911, Wisconsin became the first state to pass a comprehensive workers’ compensation law. By 1920, 42 states had workers’ compensation laws on the books. Today, every state requires companies to carry workers’ comp insurance. Well, not every state. “Texas does regulate insurance,” says Matthew Lewis of MLF Legal in Dallas. “But there are no minimum requirements for what a work injury policy would cover outside of the state’s regulated workers’ compensation …
Auto Correct
Erin K. Tenner helps car dealers buy and sell businessesErin K. Tenner grew up in Michigan, the car capital of the world, and has been representing buyers and sellers of auto dealerships since 1986. So you might be curious what kind of car she drives. “I have driven an Acura since 1990,” she says. “I was literally driven over by a semitruck in my first Acura, an Acura Legend, and my husband and I both walked away relatively unscathed. … A lot of dealers have tried to get me in other cars, but there is something about me and Acuras. … …
Civil, Kind and Specific
Employment attorneys discuss how to avoid wrongful termination lawsuitsTerminating an employee is never an easy thing to do, but employers in Georgia have a lot of leeway in letting an employee go. Since Georgia is an at-will state, “You can be terminated for any reason except an illegal reason,” says Ken Winkler, with Berman Fink Van Horn in Atlanta. “An unfair termination doesn’t mean it’s illegal. I can be a bad employer and say ‘You know what, you don’t fit in, it’s time to go,’ but that doesn’t make it illegal.” So what’s an …
How Do I Legally Terminate an Employee for Poor Performance?
To legally terminate an at-will employee for poor performance, document the problem in performance reviews and work through progressive discipline before making the termination decision. Written warnings and a performance improvement plan build that record, while consistent enforcement against comparable employees supports a legitimate business reason for the firing. Gaps in the record or a firing that closely follows a complaint let the employee argue pretext or retaliation. Pay final wages by …
Wanting to Talk About It
How Mark Robertson serves the LGBTQ communityWhen he was in second grade, Mark Robertson was walking with his father in downtown Kansas City when they witnessed a bus crash into a car. In the aftermath, his father, a Methodist minister, gave his card to the car’s driver. When Robertson asked why, his father responded: “There are people who do bad things to others because of the color of their skin.” The car’s driver was Black, Robertson remembers. “I grew up with a sense of social justice,” he says. Robertson, a business …
Comes a Horse Lawyer
Why Andrew J. Turro helps clients in the horse racing industry“I had no idea it was going to take me down this path,” says Andrew J. Turro, an animal law attorney who heads his firm’s Equine and Racing Law practice. Growing up, Turro says he was merely a casual fan of horse racing. “I would follow the Triple Crown,” he says, but “I rarely went to the track, no more than once or twice as a kid.” He wouldn’t have been able to tell you the difference between, say, standardbred and thoroughbred racing. For the record: The former is where …
Don’t DIY a DWI
What are your rights when you’re pulled over?First, let’s talk about the difference between DWI and DUI. DUI (driving under the influence) applies only to drivers under 21, says Mark Thiessen, a Houston-based attorney who focuses on this area of law. “Texas has a strict no-drinking policy for drivers under 21,” he says. For those drivers, any detectable amount of alcohol—on the driver’s breath or clothes, or in the air from an open container in the vehicle—is an automatic Class C crime, like a speeding ticket or other moving …
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