About Andrew Brandt
Andrew Brandt is an editor on Super Lawyers‘ staff. He serves as the editor for the Illinois, Northern California, Upstate New York, Missouri-Kansas, and Texas 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
A Parental Rights Primer for New York
Few parents want to involuntarily lose the rights to their child — even if the child is in the foster care system. “There’s basically a fundamental right for a parent to raise his or her child,” says Jacqueline Newman, a family law attorney at Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein in New York City. “The general presumption is that the best interest is to be raised by your parents. But if that puts you in danger, the state is going to jump in as a last resort.” What Are the Grounds for …
Too Disclosed for Comfort
Legal tips to writing nondisclosure agreements that workThough they may seem like similar tools to meet a similar end, noncompete agreements and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) are very different. While noncompetes have to meet a number of standards to be upheld as legal, that isn’t necessarily the case for NDAs. “An NDA is often overlooked in favor of a noncompete, but I think a well-drafted one can be just as valuable,” says Jason Shinn, an employment attorney at Shinn Legal in Keego Harbor. “I’ve seen business-court …
Tips for Writing Effective Nondisclosure Agreements
A nondisclosure agreement (NDA) is an important tool to protect your company's trade secrets and proprietary information. An effective NDA should define the types of information included and confidentiality obligations. NDAs must also comply with federal and state laws. Using a general NDA template may not offer much legal protection for your individual business. The following provides tips and common mistakes to avoid when drafting an NDA. For legal advice or a review of your company's NDAs, …
Wayne Parsons' Contribution to the Apollo 11 Mission
Remembering the mission on its 50th AnniversaryI was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and my dad was a physicist. I followed in his footsteps, getting degrees in physics, engineering and math as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. And then I went on to graduate school at Michigan in physics. They were building an astronomical observatory on the island of Maui, and I got a job in Ann Arbor helping with building and designing equipment that was going to go on the telescopes, and getting ready to transfer everything out there. A year …
Ale in a Day's Work
Brendan Palfreyman is so good at repping craft breweries, they named a beer for himIn the mid-2000s, Brendan Palfreyman bought a homebrew kit and began making batches using his sink and stovetop. His first was an IPA, and from there he moved onto milds, stouts and porters. “Typically, your darker beers are easier to make—easier to hide the flaws,” he says, laughing. In 2013, a couple of years into a trademark and patent litigation career and almost a decade into homebrewing, Palfreyman moved upstate, where his roots are. “My rates plummeted,” he says, “so I …
Joni's Way
Joni Thome got fired, then changed the state of employment in MinnesotaIn the late 1980s, Joni Thome was five years removed from college and knee-deep in a rewarding career as a program director for Valor Resources, a company that ran group homes for people with brain injuries and developmental disabilities. “Some people had behavioral issues where they would hit other people, or bite. I got bit. There was a lot of very intimate kinds of direct care,” she says. “I remember those people. I remember their names. I remember there was a lot of joy that came …
Aged Out
Why, when and how to make an age-discrimination claimEmployment attorneys agree: Age-discrimination cases are tough to argue. “Most [age-based] employment claims are not proven based on direct evidence,” says lawyer Diane P. Perez in Coral Gables. “Very rarely do you have an employee who approaches you and says, ‘My boss told me I’m terminated because of my age.’” Bill Julien, in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach, adds that age-discrimination cases have a higher standard of proof. Plaintiffs must prove they wouldn’t have been …
Will the California Consumer Privacy Act Affect My Business?
On Jan. 1, 2020, California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect. Originally signed into California law by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018, the act gives California residents — among other things — the right to know what personal data is being collected about them and the right to disallow the sale of that data. The CCPA Reaches Beyond California Victoria E. Beckman, an intellectual property and data security attorney in Columbus, Ohio, notes that, for businesses, the law’s …
North Carolina Hemp and CBD: Common Legal Questions Answered
According to Rod Kight, a business attorney in Asheville, North Carolina, the hemp industry is the industry of the moment. “There’s a lot of innovation across all spectrums,” he says, noting that since the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, which took hemp off the Controlled Substances Act, demand has grown. Most of that demand has, in turn, been geared toward cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating extract you can derive from the plant. Kight spends most of his time consulting with businesses …
Electoral College
Charles Gibbs was involved in politics at an early age; now it’s a niche practiceIn the late ’90s, at 16, Charles Gibbs became the youngest block captain in the history of Philadelphia. “Twenty years removed, I recognize [my neighbors] took a big chance on a young kid, and gave me the opportunity that has propelled me to be a lawyer,” Gibbs says. Gibbs notes that block captain isn’t a “huge” position, but it’s important: You’re the voice for your block. A young kid with a bent for advocating, block captain felt like a natural fit. “I got to branch into …
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