Attorney Alerts
A Public Service from Barr, Post & Associates

ROCKLAND COUNTY INFO

As of January 1, 2009 the Rockland County Clerk’s Office will begin imaging all civil court documents (with the exception of matrimonial, mental hygiene, criminal or other matters sealed by the court) which will then be viewable on line at the Rockland County Clerk website www.rocklandcountyclerk.com.  This only relates to matters or documents filed in 2009 or that bear a 2009 or later index number.

Please note that the Rockland County Clerk’s Office will accept for scanning and imaging only documents that meet the following criteria:

Documents must be original and legible in black or dark blue ink on 20 pound weight paper measuring no larger than 8 ½ x 11.

There should be no staples and no bindings of any kind other than acco-fasteners.

New York County Lawyers Association

In July 2008 the New York County Lawyers Association’s ethics committee issued Ethics opinion 739 concerning attorney reimbursement for the use of specialty firms to handle the resolution of complex lien situations in personal injury matters including Medicare, Medicaid or private health care liens. The resolution of such liens is a common issue faced by personal injury attorneys and ethics opinion 739 deals specifically with the ability of an attorney to charge the use of such a specialty firm as a disbursement. The opinion sets forth specific guidelines where charging for the service is at issue. To see Ethics Opinion 739, go to: www.nycla.org/sitefiles/publications/publications1176_0.pdf

Rules on professional conduct for New York practitioners

Effective April 1, 2009 the rules on professional conduct for New York practitioners go into effect that will replace the existing disciplinary rules and introduce other important ethics changes in the state. The new rules of professional conduct can be found at www.nycourts.gov/rules/jointappellate/