About Andrew Brandt
Andrew Brandt is the associate editor on Super Lawyers‘ staff. He serves as the editor for the Missouri-Kansas, Mountain States, Oklahoma, and Texas Rising Stars magazines, and he additionally writes, fact-checks and proofreads for numerous other Super Lawyers issues (and for the website). He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in English literature and environmental studies, and his byline has appeared in a variety of places, both online and in print.
Articles written by Andrew Brandt
Bird Man
Michael Oropallo on the only outdoor and wildlife legal team in the countryWhen Michael Oropallo was a boy, he hunted, fished, hiked and camped. It was fun, but took a back seat to something else. “My first love is birds,” says the co-leader of Barclay Damon’s outdoor and wildlife team, the only of its kind in the nation. “I live on one of the Finger Lakes, and I’m lucky to be able to look out in the fall and winter when the waterfowl are migrating through. I have bird feeders up, and I love the colorations.” Oropallo took that love for the outdoors to …
Authentic Grace
Behind a pulpit or on behalf of clients, Jenny Carey is there for the Twin PortsBy the time Linda Ward reached out to Jenny Carey for help, she had hit rock bottom. “I look back on it now, and I was so vulnerable,” she recalls. Ward’s husband, Steve Chadwick, a Duluth professor and organizer, died of glioblastoma in 1995. Ward had continued managing their organic farm while dealing with her own unstable epilepsy that had escalated during his illness. To top it off, a neighbor for whom they had previously granted a land easement began harassing her: “They were …
Almost Famous
Mike Anderson on his days as a touring musicianMike Anderson’s band fell apart in the way most do: not with a bang, but a series of setbacks. The Parr Brown attorney grew up playing piano and guitar, and, after his family moved to the Salt Lake area just before he hit high school, he spent his teens participating in a smattering of rock bands. “Music appealed to me so much because the counterculture appealed to me,” Anderson says. “The punk rock scene probably kept me out of trouble because I was always busy. I always wanted to …
Bo Knows Boats
His education included one heck of a learning curveBo Sweeney has always had a thing for projects. Growing up, he helped his dad do stuff around the house. In law school, he worked as a carpenter. And since becoming a lawyer, he’s built two standing desks for his office and a tree house for his son. Just one problem—he started to run out of things to build. “That led me to the boat,” Sweeney says. If that sounds like a giant leap, Sweeney says it was a mastery of small things that helped get his boat in the Virginia waters. “Boats …
Immigration Procedures in a Public Health Emergency
On April 22, 2020, the Trump administration released a proclamation suspending, for 60 days, the issuance of certain visas. On week later, on April 29, 2020, a federal judge in Oregon refused to suspend the order. We spoke with Sarah Pitney, an immigration attorney at Benach Collopy in Washington, D.C., on April 22 about how the coronavirus pandemic — and the Trump administration’s order — affected clients. What Kinds of Immigration Cases Does Your Firm Handle? Our firm largely tends to …
Divorce in the Time of Coronavirus
On March 12, 2020, Governor Steve Sisolak ordered all non-essential Nevada businesses to close in an attempt to slowing the spread of COVID-19. While family law courts have not technically been in lockdown, Matthew H. Friedman, a family attorney at Ford & Friedman in Henderson, Nevada, notes that they have not been keeping calendar hours — and have been using phone calls and videoconferencing to conduct matters. We asked Friedman a number of questions, below, on the current state of …
Should I Start or Update My Estate Plan During a Pandemic?
Thus far, COVID-19 is supplying people with many questions and few answers. If the coronavirus is causing confusion over your will or trust, however, don’t panic: We asked Kristen E. Simmons, an estate planning attorney at Oshins & Associates in Las Vegas, how an experienced attorney can help update an existing plan, or put one into place. What Is the Importance of Regularly Reviewing an Estate Plan? It is important to review an estate plan regularly — or, at a minimum, if and when …
A Q&A on how COVID-19 is Affecting One Texas Firm
Houston appellate attorney Jeff Nobles on working from homeHow is COVID-19 affecting your individual practice? Some of my work is very hands-on, working on briefs, and that part won’t be too different. I work with other lawyers on bigger lawsuits, so a lot of that has been virtual because I’m working with lawyers in other offices. Even then, if it’s the same office these days, it’s much more common to communicate through computer than face-to-face. think my practice has been computer-centered for a long time. Dealing with clients is mostly by …
Using Collaborative Divorce in California
Sacramento family law attorney Hal Bartholomew hasn’t taken a litigation-based divorce case (traditional divorce) in more than 10 years. He’s instead focused heavily on collaborative divorce, an alternative dispute resolution option he began trying in 1998. “The collaborative process has a lot of long-term benefits to clients,” he says. “It helps the parties do a better job of communicating and educates them on what are the best interests for their children. It reduces the …
What Is Unauthorized Practice of Law?
When you hear the phrase ‘unauthorized practice of law,’ you may think of someone in a courtroom pretending to be a lawyer, doling out legal advice or legal services. “That can come up,” says Christopher E. Roberts, an attorney at Butsch Roberts & Associates in St. Louis. “But it most commonly comes up with preparing certain documents, like debt settlement companies acting like they’re law firms by charging retainer fees.” Missouri Has a Statute Penalizing the Unauthorized …
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