About Marisa Bowe
Marisa Bowe is a writer, editor, and producer with credits in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, New York Magazine, Slate, and PBS NewsHour, among others. She is co-editor of the oral histories Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs and US: Americans Talk About Love. She graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in modern European history.
Articles written by Marisa Bowe
‘No Shortage of Work’
Carolyn Wolf and Jamie Rosen on what it’s like to chair mental health practicesCarolyn Wolf, director of the mental health law practice at Abrams Fensterman in Lake Success, is often asked to explain her job. When it comes to mental illness, why should a lawyer be called in? As soon as she ticks off the reasons, they get it: involuntary commitment, guardianship, mental health warrants. As for that last one? “That’s where somebody needs to go to a psychiatric emergency room to be evaluated,” Wolf says. “And if they don’t go voluntarily, there is a mechanism in …
How To Ensure Your Child's Special Needs Are Met at School
A federal law passed 50 years ago mandates that school districts provide free, appropriate education to students with special medical, mental, or psychological needs. But obtaining the rights guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) can sometimes be a challenge. “A school district is obligated to identify, locate, and evaluate every student who they suspect has a disability,” says Marion Walsh, a schools and education attorney at Littman Krooks in Rye Brook, New …
‘It’s Killing More People’
Why Nicole Wells co-founded the Young Breast Cancer ProjectWhen she was 34, Nicole Wells did something she’d been doing since her mother taught it to her 20 years earlier. As she entered the shower, she performed a semiregular breast exam. This time, though, life didn’t proceed as normal. “I felt something hard beneath my right breast,” she says. That’s when the attorney in her kicked in. “I fought for an earlier appointment,” she says. “I fought through three different providers telling me it was a ‘fatty mass.’ And on September …
How Have Commercial Centers Recovered Post-Pandemic?
In most cities, people want to know how their downtowns are doing in the wake of the pandemic. But in New York, it gets complicated. Start with the nomenclature. In Manhattan, “downtown” can mean either a geographic area (south of 14th Street) or a direction (south). There are several major commerce districts, not all in Manhattan. The top three are Midtown, the Financial District, and downtown Brooklyn. So we asked local real estate attorneys for report cards on the health of all three. …
How Can I Protect My Right To Vote?
Voting rights are essential in a democratic society. "It's the right from which all others derive," says Richard Bell, a New York personal injury and civil rights lawyer. “Voting gets you the elected officials who pass laws on every other right and appoint judges who rule on every other right. When you don't vote, then somebody else makes the choice for you, and you may not like that choice." Voters anywhere can face problems with voter registration, finding their polling location, or voter …
Rumble in the Bronx
Nicole Aldridge-Henry coaches the next generation on more than just lawNicole Aldridge-Henry’s journey to the law began at age 5 watching Matlock on Jamaica’s sole TV station. “The whole investigating and hard work to get to ‘Aha, this is what this is all about,’ that intrigued me,” she says. “I wanted to be that.” Now she’s helping Bronx middle schoolers with their own journeys. Born and raised in Kingston, Aldridge-Henry headed to Virginia for college because her grandmother lived there and because she got a scholarship, but the move was more …
What Happens if You Die Without a Will?
When someone close passes away, there is a long list of decisions to be made and tasks to be completed in managing their affairs. Wills are created to assist loved ones in making some of these decisions. Dying without a will means you have very limited input into how your property gets distributed when you die or how your loved ones are financially provided for. State law will step in and make those decisions for you. “Do it,” urges estate planning lawyer Anita Rosenbloom of McDermott …
Miracles on 29th and 42nd Streets
Michael Hiller’s battles to preserve historic landmarks“I believe that life is relentless,” says Michael Hiller. “And I think we have to be vigilant and protect what’s important to us.” Hiller has certainly been vigilant in protecting historic landmarks and the public’s right to public institutions. He’s even fought the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to make sure that they are, in fact, preserving landmarks. “Twelve people have set foot on the moon,” Hiller says. “I think it’s seven or eight that have won cases against …
The Rules for Contesting a Will in Florida
If you’d like to contest a will, there are several rules to follow — chief among them, the person has to be dead. “That’s the first mistake a lot of people make,” says Marsha Madorsky, who practices estate planning and probate law at Duane Morris in Miami. “People come in and say, ‘I want to contest my father’s will.’ ‘When did he die?’ ‘He’s not dead yet.’ ‘Well, I’m sorry, you can’t do that.’” The second rule: Not just anyone can contest a will. “You …
Trademarking Your Business in California
“Building a business without owning the trademark is like building a house without owning the land,” says Catherine Tang, an intellectual property attorney at Catherine Tang Law in Oakland. “You might be able to get away with it for a while — or even, perhaps, forever — but the landowner can come at any time and kick you off.” Without the protection of a registered trademark, adds Britten Sessions, an IP attorney at Zilka-Kotab in San Jose, someone can piggyback off your success …
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