In honor of St. Patrick’s Day and all the celebrating going on, we did a program which focused primarily upon the laws about Driving Under the Influence. My guest was Atty. Peter Soulsby, who has offices in Marlborough and Berlin. A former prosecutor, Peter has been defending such cases for nearly 18 years. Listener calls included questions about getting to work when your license is suspended (answer: work permits issued by DMV), the ignition interlock devices, and related questions. The topic was handled soberly (if you’ll pardon the pun) and provided a lot of serious information.

Saturday’s LawTalk featured a discussion about “storm law (e.g., who has to pay when Storm Elsa knocks down trees into neighbors’ yards),” a new segment called “mistakes lawyers make,” and some comments about the risks of buying foreclosed real estate from banks.

LawTalk this past Saturday featured discussion of various topics selected by listeners. Questions brought up by listeners and discussed on the air covered a variety of topics, including: wills without executors;spousal bankruptcies and the impact upon the “other spouse;”expunging felonies from one’s record;powers of attorney (new and old); crumbling foundations;deeds in lieu of foreclosure;

deficiency judgments and how to avoid one when the bank forecloses.

Lots of calls – just like the old days!

We were joined by the Hon. David M. Sheridan, Administrative Judge for the Hartford Judicial District. The Judge led us through the intricacies of becoming a Superior Court Judge in Connecticut, getting re-appointed by the State Legislature, and demonstrated why Nutmeggers are fortunate to have such a high-quality Judiciary—especially compared to states where Judges are elected and must run for re-election. He also provided excellent general advice for parties in court – and their attorneys. Listener calls included issues about mediation, setting aside Jury verdicts, Jury nullification, etc

LawTalk  featured Atty. Paul Czepiga, one of the pioneers of modern elder law practice in Connecticut. We talked about the most common and serious mistakes people make when planning their estate, the various “tools” used in estate planning (Powers of Attorney, Wills, Health Agent forms, Trusts of all flavors), and took several questions from listeners, including the use of a trust for a vacation home. We also touched upon some significant changes in Medicaid benefits eligibility and ways to protect a spouse’s pension for the other spouse when the pensioner goes into a convalescent home.

This shortened show featured listener calls and also selected topics, including:  Why there may be a boom in divorce filings in 2018 due to the treatment of alimony under the new Tax Law; A U.S Supreme Court case which may have a profound impact upon Connecticut labor unions, etc. Callers’ problems included unjustified denials of coverage by Health Insurors; Why, in a Connecticut divorce, the judge is not bound by who the record owner of the family home happens to be when deciding who gets the house, etc.

We got a lot done in a short show.

Mark Dubois, one of Connecticut’s leading experts on legal ethics and lawyer malpractice, joined John to talk about legal fees, establishing, maintaining, and salvaging a successful client – attorney relationship (from both the client’s and the lawyer’s perspective), how to resolve disputes, and how the lawyer discipline process works.

This past Saturday’s LawTalk was our annual Family Law Special.  Guests were Family Law expert practitioners Margret Bozek and Jon Kokushka.  We provided a lot of information to people who find themselves, sometimes unexpectedly, in the Family Court for divorce, child custody/support, visitation, property division – and contempt.   We also explained what sources of information and help are available to parties in Family Court – including ways to hire an attorney for only a portion of the case.   Given the great number of people in Family Court who choose –usually for financial reasons – to represent themselves instead of hiring an attorney, the information we provided to callers and listeners is helpful to anyone in family court.

The “expanded LawTalk” for January 20 featured numerous listener calls for advice or information. Topics covered included: negotiating tips when offering to buy real estate with an underground fuel tank; corporate law issues involving holding companies and a subsidiary corporation, the legal pitfalls of doing business as a limited liability company when you really aren’t one, etc.

We also talked about selling real estate and when you do and don’t have to pay a commission to a real estate agent, cautions about “dual agency agreements,” and related issues.

LawTalk for Saturday, Jan. 6 involved the topic of Animal Rights Law – an emerging and controversial area. Guest, Atty. Thom Page, is a leader in this new area of the law. We discussed Desmond’s Law (the appointment of advocates in criminal prosecutions for animal abuse to ensure that “the ends of justice” are satisfied (i.e., code words for “a lawyer for the animal”)). Also touched upon dog fighting, due process concerns in the discharge of their duties by Animal Control Officers, and appealing “kill orders.”