News
Looking ahead: Immigration & international programs under the Trump Administration
President Trump’s recent Executive Order 13769 (EO) on immigration caused tumult for many colleges and universities when it was implemented. With more than 20 lawsuits challenging the EO, on Feb. 9 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a national temporary restraining order (TRO) granted by U.S. District Court in Washington state. While this is a major victory for the rule of law and constitutional separation of powers, it’s only temporary. Additional court rulings and executive orders on immigration are expected, and the approach is difficult to predict.
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Dinse announces new Director and Shareholder of the firm
Dinse is pleased to announce that Andy MacIlwaine has been elected as a Director and Shareholder of the firm.
Andy joined the firm in 2008 and is a member of the firm’s litigation group. His practice is devoted to representing clients in all aspects of civil litigation in state and federal court. He regularly defends clients in matters involving first- and third-party insurance claims, commercial disputes, and real-estate and construction litigation. Andy also defends long-term care facilities and related providers in wrongful-death and healthcare malpractice suits. In addition to his trial practice, he represents clients in appeals before the Vermont Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Andy is the current President of the Vermont Chapter of the Tri-State Defense Lawyers Association and serves on the board of the Young Lawyers Division of the Vermont Bar Association.
US Supreme Court will review visa/travel ban next term; students, workers and family members abroad still protected from the ban
News reports are confusing about the US Supreme Court’s per curiam decision today to uphold *in part* the visa/travel ban Executive Order (EO). The decision actually is good news for colleges and universities, US employers, and individuals from the affected countries in the United States who have relatives abroad.
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari and will review the consolidated visa/travel ban EO cases in the October term. In the meantime the Court stayed *in part* the preliminary injunctions blocking implementation of the EO. The EO now may be applied to individuals who “lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” Eliminating the double negatives involved in staying an injunction barring implementation of an EO, this means the EO still does *not* apply to individuals with a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States, including intending refugees who have a qualifying relationship in the United States. The decision specifies that the following parties clearly have a qualifying relationship so *remain protected* by the preliminary injunctions: those with a close family relationship with an individual in the United States, giving spouse and mother-in-law as examples; students admitted to a US college or university; those who have accepted offers of employment in the United States; and those invited to give a lecture in the United States. Three dissenters, Justices Thomas (writing), Alito and Gorsuch, concurred in part and dissented only as to continuing the preliminary injunctions to protect individuals with qualifying relationships in the United States. The court asked the parties to brief the question whether the case is moot because the 90-day duration of the EO ended on June 16, 2017 even though the Trump Administration tried to extend the effective date to the date of a court decision lifting the preliminary injunctions.
New England Super Lawyers recognizes 12 Dinse Attorneys
Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew announces that eleven attorneys have been selected for inclusion on the 2016 New England Super Lawyers list in six different practice areas, and one attorney has been selected for inclusion on the 2016 New England Rising Stars list. Attorneys are identified as “Super Lawyers” based on extensive nomination and polling among New England attorneys aimed at identifying New England’s top attorneys in each class. Attorneys are identified as being “Rising Stars” based on extensive nomination and polling among New England attorneys who are asked to nominate the best attorneys who are 40 or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.
The practice areas and the attorney(s) listed in each area for the 2016 New England Super Lawyers list are as follows:
- Business Litigation: Ritchie Berger, Karen McAndrew
- Business/Corporate Law: Jeffrey McMahan, Brian Murphy, Afi Ahmadi, David Gurtman
- Employment & Labor Law: Jeffrey Nolan
- Estate Planning & Probate: Mark Langan
- Health Care Law: Linda Cohen
- Real Estate Law: Molly Langan, Austin Hart
The practice area and attorney listed for the 2016 New England Rising Stars list is as follows:
- Construction Litigation: Andy Macilwaine
Dinse Welcomes New Attorneys
Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew is pleased to announce that Kienan D. Christianson, Malory S. Lea and Lauren Sampson joined the firm in September as associate attorneys.
Mr. Christianson is a member of the firm’s litigation group. Prior to joining the firm, he clerked for the Honorable Justice Robinson of the Vermont Supreme Court and the Honorable Joan M. Azrack of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He graduated from New York Law School where he served as an Articles Editor for the New York Law School Law Review and was a member of the law school’s Justice Action Center.
Nolan comments on US sexual assault trends for British higher education publication
Jeff Nolan of our Higher Education Practice Group recently provided commentary for the UK-based publication Times Higher Education. In an article published August 11, 2016 titled “Can UK learn from US on tackling sexual assault on campus?”, Nolan commented on trends in how colleges and universities in the U.S. are better educating students about sexual assault and reporting options, and tailoring sexual assault adjudication models to better meet the needs of involved students. Nolan also expressed his hope that more institutions would utilize campus threat assessment capacity to enhance safety when dating violence or stalking cases pursued through a disciplinary process may also implicate current and ongoing safety concerns. To read the full article, please click here.
Dinse receives top rankings in Chambers USA 2016
The 2016 edition of Chambers USA, a leading directory of American lawyers and law firms, recognized 10 Dinse attorneys in their practice areas. The new guide, released May 27, also recognizes the firm as among Vermont’s best in every category of practice.
The firm’s Labor & Employment group was described as a “Distinguished employment law practice, noted for its strength in the education and healthcare sectors. Experienced in a wide range of employment law matters, including discrimination litigation, terminations and unemployment compensation.”
The firm’s Litigation group received the highest possible ranking and clients agreed that Dinse’s Litigation group is “Very client-centered, supportive and competent.”
The firm’s Real Estate group also received the highest ranking and was described by Chambers as being a “Highly respected practice, offering advice across a diverse range of real estate issues, including transactional matters, financing and development.”
The firm’s highly-ranked Intellectual Property practice is noted as a “Noteworthy practice that specializes in technology licensing, trademarks and copyright matters. Strong experience in domestic and international trademark clearance, prosecution, registration, enforcement and maintenance.”
And the firm’s Corporate/Commercial group was top-ranked, with Chambers’ sources saying Dinse is a “Market-leading practice, well known for its transactional and regulatory work in healthcare and higher education. Also offers noted experience pertaining to the technology, software and construction sectors.”
Corporate/Commercial (Band 1)
Afi Ahmadi (Band 3)
David Gurtman (Band 3)
Brian R. Murphy (Band 1)
Jeffrey J. McMahan (Band 1)
Intellectual Property (Band 2)
Jeffrey J. McMahan (Band 2)
Labor & Employment (Band 1)
Amy M. McLaughlin (Band 1)
Jeffrey J. Nolan (Band 2)
Karen McAndrew (Band 1)
Litigation: General Commercial (Band 1)
Ritchie Berger (Band 1)
Ritchie Berger (Spotlight Table)
Karen McAndrew (Band 1)
Real Estate (Band 1)
Austin Hart (Band 1)
Molly Langan (Band 1)
Linda J. Cohen receives Master of Healthcare Delivery Science degree
We are pleased to announce that Linda J. Cohen, a Director at the firm, has been awarded a Master of Healthcare Delivery Science Degree from Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business and Geisel School of Medicine.
Linda focuses her practice on counseling health care providers navigate the evolution to value based reimbursement. She works with ACOs, health systems, providers and entrepreneurs to achieve compliance and business objectives. Ms. Cohen advises on regulatory compliance, reimbursement and transactions. Her compliance counseling includes state and federal fraud and abuse laws, corporate governance, reimbursement, professional services agreements, data use, reimbursement contracts, and patient health care information privacy under state law and HIPAA. She serves as outside general counsel for ACOs, home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities and has substantial experience in reimbursement issues involving both governmental and commercial payors, having litigated many disputes to conclusion.
Molly Langan joins King Street Center’s Board of Directors
We are pleased to announce that Molly Langan joined the King Street Center’s Board of Directors in January. King Street Center is a not-for-profit community organization that provides children and families the core life-building skills necessary for a healthy and productive future.
Ms. Langan, a Director of the firm, concentrates her practice in the commercial area, focusing on transactions involving complex real estate issues.