Disability Cases.  For the 17th year, Kramer Levin summer associates represented low-income Social Security disability claimants in administrative proceedings before the Social Security Administration (“SSA”), working with CeDAR.  Then-summer Associates Carol Archer, Michael Brooks, Adam Busch, Aaron Fleisher, Emily Groendyke, David Landman, Mark Melzer, and Marianna Moss, supervised by Kramer Levin lawyers James Grayer, Michelle Duran, Stephen Katz, Jeffrey Ourvan, Parthena Psyllos, and Jodi Rosensaft, represented nine claimants in their requests for reconsideration of the denial of their claim for Social Security disability benefits.  Each Summer Associate represented a claimant in a hearing before an administrative law judge, winning benefits in most cases. 

Jeff Trachtman, Michael Sternhell, and Josh Kelner have also been working with CeDAR to challenge the SSA’s policy of failing to consider the combined impact of all of a claimant’s impairments in evaluating children’s SSI claims.  Kramer Levin helped CeDAR brief the merits of the issue in connection with two different cases pending before Southern District judges and also briefed a class action certification motion in one of the cases.  The Second Circuit rejected our appeal in one of these cases in May 2003, in a decision that nevertheless established important principles and expressly invited further litigation.  Taking up the Second Circuit’s suggestion, the Kramer Levin team worked with CeDAR to launch a new class action challenging the agency’s ongoing illegal practice.  Motions for summary judgment and class certification were briefed by early 2005.

Lauren Freeman-Bosworth, supervised by Jeff Trachtman, worked with CeDAR to represent a claimant with multiple disabilities in an appeal to the Second Circuit.  Although the claimant suffered from both physical and psychological impairments, the agency had improperly failed to consult a vocational expert, as required by Second Circuit caselaw, and disregarded significant treating physician evidence.  After Lauren filed the opening brief on behalf of the client, the agency agreed to reverse its decision and remand the case for a new hearing.

Family Law .  Kramer Levin’s long-standing relationships with inMotion and the New York Legal Assistance Group continued in 2004 as the Firm’s lawyers assisted clients with a range of family law needs. • Tracy Sigal  is representing a woman who is seeking an uncontested divorce from her spouse.  • Naomi Maryles and Zoe Liebowitz represented a woman in negotiating a separation agreement with her husband, to be converted to a divorce after filing.  The separation agreement conversion divorce is the sole method of no-fault divorce under New York’s Domestic Relations Law.  • Naomi Maryles obtained a divorce for a client on grounds of cruelty.  In addition to physically and emotionally abusing the client in front of her child, the husband had obtained control of her financial assets, leaving her destitute and forcing her into the New York City shelter system.  • Benu Mehra and Naomi Naomi Maryles completed their representation of a woman seeking a divorce from her husband on grounds of cruelty.  During the marriage, the husband repeatedly physically and verbally abused the client in front of her children and sold her personal property to support his addiction to crack cocaine.  • In a privately referred matter, Stephen Katz, Alexandra Alberstadt, and Geoffrey Potter, with assistance from lawyers in Kramer Levin’s Tax and Employee Benefits Departments, continued to assist a woman in obtaining a divorce and collecting spousal support arrears from her husband.  After her husband defaulted on support obligations due under a negotiated settlement agreement, our client became homeless and was forced to surrender to her husband physical custody of her two minor children.  Although pro bono counsel had previously been appointed for our client, her husband ignored numerous judicial directions, including instructions concerning visitation.  Kramer Levin entered the case and promptly obtained judgments for spousal support arrears and orders seizing and ordering turnover of the husband’s personal property.  Kramer Levin also obtained the final judgment of divorce, which was granted nearly four years after the case was commenced.  Although our client has not received all of the financial relief awarded, and was forced to relocate from the New York area, she is at least able to enjoy meaningful if intermittent visitation with her children, and Kramer Levin continues to pursue further collection efforts on her behalf. 

Individual Counseling.  During 2004, Kramer Levin attorneys assisted several low-income senior citizens referred through the VOLS Elderly Project with estate planning issues.  Gordon Stone, Jonathan Fried, Howard Neuthaler, Aaron Frankel, and Pippa Loengard and then-summer associate Arielle Warshall prepared wills and other estate planning documents for several senior citizen clients who were grateful for our assistance.  • Gordon Stone assisted another firm in representing a woman on public assistance who settled her personal injury claim against the City of New York, helping her to create a Supplemental Needs Trust (“SNT”).  The client transferred the proceeds from her settlement with the City to the SNT and thereby retained her eligibility for Medicare and other governmental benefits.  • Jeffrey Ourvan took on the representation of a 92 year-old Holocaust survivor who had suffered significant injuries in a fall at a Massachusetts theater, after two contingency fee lawyers had rejected her case because Massachusetts law limited recovery against the nonprofit defendant to no more than $20,000.  Working under the supervision of Gregory Horowitz, Jeff first managed to obtain a significant sum from the defendant’s insurer, then negotiated a settlement of Medicaid’s subrogation claim that allowed the client to retain the large majority of the settlement proceeds.  • Maria Jones and Anwen Jiang assisted a low-income taxpayer referred by the Legal Aid Society in making an Offer in Compromise to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in connection with sales tax liabilities from his business venture in the 1980s and early 1990s.  The Offer was accepted after Maria and Anwen negotiated a resolution with the Department.  Maria is a member of Advisory Board of the Legal Aid Society Low Income Taxpayers Clinic.  • Shoshana Menu participated in the Incarcerated Mothers Project run by VOLS, through which she has counseled women in prison about child custody and other legal issues.  • For a low-income inventor referred through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (“VLA”), Aaron Haleva provided assistance on domestic and foreign patent claims with respect to a device for a computer that can be used by artists and illustrators.  • Eric Shimanoff counseled a low-income singer-songwriter referred by VLA regarding her rights in a musical that she wrote with the assistance of others.  • In another VLA matter, Kevin Moss, Sharon Makower, Erica Klein, Jessica Turko, and Meredith Bazemore advised a low-income designer regarding the registration of copyrights for handbag designs, an application for trademark registration, and possible formation of a company.  • Abraham Safdie and Jessica Turko represented The Real Live Show, a hip hop band, in corporate matters regarding the internal partnership structure of the band and certain trademark and copyright issues, including license agreements.

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