Donald Trump Heads for the Big Apple Indictments charge people with crimes. No more, no less! But no one should ever want to be indicted! No one! The wrath of the law approaches Mr. Trump often, but now it has touched him like it never has before. He will be photographed – full on and […]
Continue Reading Donald Trump Heads for the Big Apple
Mark Rubin
Bye-bye Matthew Scarber
Bye-bye Matthew Scarber Matthew Scarber has left Rubin & Bernstein PLLC. People come and go in workplaces, but Matt’s departure deserves a few words. Rubin & Bernstein exists because of Matt. The story was present on our website for years, but it’s worth sharing here: Mark: Leigh stepped up, when an old friend who taught at […]
Continue Reading Bye-bye Matthew Scarber
Balloons, Balloons, Balloons!
Balloons, Balloons, Balloons! Balloons, balloons, balloons! Decades ago, a Tucson businessman name Sid Omansky ran commercials for his appliance store – which focused on selling color television sets – with the tagline Balloons, balloons, balloons. (Competitor Ted Flash TV ads, voiced by talented Frank Kalil, closed with “Open … and Sundays after church.”) I thought […]
Continue Reading Balloons, Balloons, Balloons!
The Corporate Transparency Act: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
The Corporate Transparency Act: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. The Corporate Transparency Act Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act on January 2, 2021. It did so by overriding President Donald Trump’s veto. (Maybe it offered another reason to want to tear down the house four days […]
Continue Reading The Corporate Transparency Act: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
Who decides elections?

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, No. 21-1271, on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. To suggest that democracy in America depends on the outcome of this case does not overstate its importance. The notion that the likely outcome might render voters irrelevant in many jurisdictions ought to scare every reader, regardless of political leanings.
Moore v. Harper
The issue, as set forth at SCOTUSblog, is:
Whether a state’s judicial branch may nullify the regulations governing the ‘Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives … prescribed … by the Legislature thereof,’ and replace them with…
Continue Reading Who decides elections?
Vote Like Your Life Depends On It!
Vote like your life depends on it! Vote. Vote like your life depends on it. It matters greatly! Be smart, too. I wrote recently about our mess of a political situation. Whatever happens on Tuesday (and in coming days, for we will not know some results for days, and not because of fraud), we will […]
Continue Reading Vote Like Your Life Depends On It!
Stephens / NYT / Climate Change
Stephens / NYT / Climate Change I am a Sunday NYT subscriber. The paper arrives early, in its blue bag. It sits on the sidewalk for days, usually. Next stop? Atop the doghouse on what might be called the front porch.* Etc. My point? If I didn’t have to get a paper copy to access […]
Continue Reading Stephens / NYT / Climate Change
Politics: What a Mess!
Politics: What a Mess! Schadenfreude: The Bannon Thing Schadenfreude. Taking pleasure in another person’s misery. Not my thing, mostly, but every “not so much” provides a basis for exceptions. I encountered Steve Bannon more than 25 years ago. My partner sued him and I went to work on the case soon after. I only suffered […]
Continue Reading Politics: What a Mess!
Accepting Results When You Lose
Accepting Results When You Lose I turned 65 almost five weeks ago. Thank you and all of you for providing me with guaranteed health insurance coverage through Medicare. Not sure if I am a net winner or loser, and we should ALL have access to affordable health care. Not what I am here about today, […]
Continue Reading Accepting Results When You Lose
Donald John Trump’s Really Bad Day
Donald John Trump’s Really Bad Day On September 21, 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a roughly 220-page lawsuit against Donald John Trump, his three older children, his company, and others. More on that in a moment. The Search Warrant Matter Later in the day a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court […]
Continue Reading Donald John Trump’s Really Bad Day
Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Attorney / Fiduciary
Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Lawyer / Fiduciary I’m 65 – and a day (as I have finished editing, having forgotten about this piece) – and I’ve been a lawyer for just about 41 years. People ask me what I do, regularly. They’re often other lawyers or legal services consumers. Usually, they’re looking for a […]
Continue Reading Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Attorney / Fiduciary
Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Attorney / Licensed Fiduciary
Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Attorney / Licensed Fiduciary I’m 61 and I’ve been an attorney for more than 37 years. People ask me what I do, regularly. They’re often other attorneys or legal services consumers. Usually, they’re looking for a cubbyhole. (Employment attorney. ERISA expert. Estate planner. Etc.) Almost always, I fail them. Problem […]
Continue Reading Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Attorney / Licensed Fiduciary
My Dinners With Irwin
My Dinners With Irwin Irwin Sattinger died on September 5, 2022, two days after his 96th birthday. Irwin was my stepdad in every way, but for the fact that he and Rochelle, my mom, never married. (I’m not messing with legalities or details here; for all purposes, he was my dad.) My mom and Irwin […]
Continue Reading My Dinners With Irwin
Special Masters
Special Masters Former Guy wants a new shiny object: a Special Master! A what? Special Masters Judges appoint special masters to assist them with some part of a case. Their role depends on the case but every special master acts subject to the limits of the order appointing them. Always, the judge makes final decisions. […]
Continue Reading Special Masters
COVID Strikes
COVID Strikes My COVID Stuff My first positive COVID test appeared on Saturday, August 27, 2022. Roughly 30 months after we first learned about this rotten virus. I traveled to Rochester NY on Tuesday to meet my new granddaughter, Estée Ora. First grandchild, by the way, and a lovely little girl who will be four […]
Continue Reading COVID Strikes
The Fifth Amendment and Former Guy (Trump)
The Fifth Amendment and Former Guy (Trump) My oh my! Former Guy appeared for a deposition – testimony under oath – on August 10, 2022. He relied on the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as a basis for providing no substantive responses. The relevant language in the constitutional amendment states: “No person … shall […]
Continue Reading The Fifth Amendment and Former Guy (Trump)