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
When to Protect an Idea with a Patent, Copyright or Trademark
If you have a big idea in the Big Apple, here's what to doGot a million-dollar idea for a product or service? Or maybe a song? You’ve got intellectual property. Can you—and should you—protect it with a patent, copyright or trademark? “The answer,” says intellectual property attorney Catherine Farrelly at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, New York, “is that it depends on what the invention or idea is. There is no protection for mere ideas under intellectual property law. There has to be a concrete expression of the idea for it to be …
‘You Dream of Crosses Like This’
The four attorneys who helped acquit Abacus bankOn Friday, December 11, 2009, Vera Sung, director of Abacus Federal Savings, a small community bank in Chinatown, was in the middle of a routine home closing. As the last few documents were about to be signed, the borrowers, a young couple, mentioned two checks they’d given to Abacus loan officer Ken Yu, who wasn’t present. Those checks were going toward the closing costs, right? Checks written to Yu personally? Sung became alarmed. When she talked to him, Yu hemmed and hawed, and she …
What Do I Do If I'm Being Cyberstalked in Florida?
Attorneys' advice on putting a stop to online bulliesBullying and stalking are unpleasant realities, even when they are only virtual. “When I grew up, [bullying] occurred, but it happened more at school, physically,” says Eric “E.J.” Hubbs, a criminal defense attorney at Hubbs Law in Miami. “Now, it’s evolved to that happening on Facebook, on Snapchat, through text messages, the creation of a web page or weblog assuming the identity of another person.” Cybercrime and Online Harassment Laws Online stalking and bullying both fall …
Does Your Case Belong in Civil or Criminal Court?
Sometimes it's both. Here's a helpful guide to know for sureSomeone has done you wrong, and you’re looking for justice. Should you head for criminal or civil court? Civil might work; any individual or entity can file a civil lawsuit. Criminal, the rules are different. “A person cannot bring a criminal case. Only the government or a grand jury can,” says Carrie Cohen, a white-collar criminal defense attorney at Morrison & Foerster. Differences in the Types of Cases “A criminal case is not primarily always about money,” she adds, noting …
Untangling New York's Super-Confusing Rent Regulations
It’s complicated, so let the experts tell youIf you’re confused by rent regulation laws, you’re in good company. “Not for the novice or faint of heart,” says real estate attorney Lucas Ferrara of Newman Ferrara, who is also an adjunct professor at New York Law School and the author of a 2,000-page book on landlord-tenant law. “New York’s rent regulation laws have been called ‘an impenetrable thicket, confusing not only to laymen but to lawyers’ by no less an authority than New York’s highest court,” says litigation …
If You Haven't Written a Will, New York State Has
Where there's a will, there's a wayTalking to lawyers about wills, you learn three things: You don’t know much about wills What you don’t know can’t hurt you after you die—but it can certainly hurt your loved ones So make a will—now “Do it,” urges Anita Rosenbloom of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. “We’re all mortal, including young people.” She tells of a man with no history of heart disease who died of a heart attack, leaving a 6-year-old son and a widow who was not a U.S. citizen. “While the woman …
Conscience Coupling
Husband-and-wife team Randolph McLaughlin and Debra Cohen are building a new kind of civil rights practice“She was a pain in my ass,” says Randolph McLaughlin. “You can say neck,” suggests Debra Cohen. “No, I’m going to be frank,” McLaughlin says. Then he concedes the point: “Maybe tuchus.” The civil rights attorneys are sitting in a 27th-floor conference room at Newman Ferrara, a boutique firm near Herald Square, where they’ve been working since 2013. They’ve been married since September 2001, practicing law as a team since 1996, and the story they’re telling is how that …
Injured by a Dog in New York? Here's What You Need to Know
Legal issues surrounding dog bite injuries in New York CityWhen personal injury attorney Pat James Crispi at Keogh Crispi was kindergarten age, he was attacked by a dog. The attack resulted in “a lot of initial bleeding but no emergency room treatment required,” and left him with strong opinions about dogs. “When an owner has a dog and it charges at me, they say, ‘Oh, he’s just being friendly’—since when could you read a dog’s mind?” Crispi says. Fortunately, he adds, dog bite cases in New York City are uncommon. That could be …
What You Need to Know About New York Voting Rights
New York civil rights lawyers weigh in on the state’s election lawshgSome people were shocked when a voting rights scandal broke out during the New York primary in April 2016. But not Randolph McLaughlin. “Business as usual,” says the co-chair of the civil rights practice group at Newman Ferrara and professor at The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. While attempting to verify their voter registration status before and during election day, more than 125,000 voters—many of them active—discovered that they’d been listed as inactive, …
The Zonin’ Lobels
Richard Lobel follows in the footsteps of his father, Sheldon, who followed in the footsteps of his father-in-lawRoughly a decade ago, Richard Lobel, currently the managing partner at land use and zoning firm Sheldon Lobel, P.C., was looking up some old Board of Standards and Appeals rulings for a case he was working on. “When you look at old BSA resolutions, you don’t just see resolutions relating to your property—there were typically several determinations listed on the same sheet,” he says. “As my eyes scanned the page, I noticed May 7, 1970, and then saw that my grandfather was sitting on …
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