Category Archives: Legal / Accounting

Hodgson Russ LLP Law Firm Names Kennedy Its New CEO As John Amershadian Retires

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Rick Kennedy was named the new president
and CEO of Hodgson Russ LLP.

Law firm Hodgson Russ LLP has named attorney
Rick Kennedy its new president and CEO.

Kennedy replaces retiring president and CEO
John Amershadian, who will remain a partner
at the firm until March.

Kennedy joined the firm as an associated
attorney in 1983 and was named partner in
1990. He holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY
Buffalo and a juris doctorate from SUNY Buffalo
Law School.

“In my opinion, there is not a finer individual
who could now be given this significant
responsibility for the future of this firm than
Rick Kennedy, a man for whom I have enormous
respect as an attorney and as a human being,”
Amershadian said in a press release.

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Law Office Of Carolyn A. D'Agostino Moves To New Plank Road Location In Clifton Park

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Carolyn A. D’Agostino, left, stands with paralegal Rebecca Srygley in new office space at 634
Plank Road, Suite 102 in Clifton Park.

BY MAUREEN WERTHER

The Law Office of Carolyn A. D’Agostino PLLC
has moved to a new location at 634 Plank Road,
Suite 102 in Clifton Park.

D’Agostino opened her private practice in 2007
after working 21 years for the state of New York,
where she was director of hearing administration
and the matrimonial unit at New York State Retirement
Systems.

The law firm moved to Clifton Park from its
former location in Latham in order to be more
centrally located for her clients. D’Agostino sees
Clifton Park as a fast-growing area, with opportunities
to provide valuable services to residents
of the surrounding community.

She said she is also excited to be working with
other local professionals.

“It’s a real pleasure to work and do business
here,” she said, in particular noting that the
Ballston Spa court system is excellent.

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Business Report: Things Change, But Remain The Same

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James T. Towne, Esq., principal at Towne
Ryan & Partners PC, Saratoga.

BY JAMES T. TOWNE, ESQ.

Growing up most of us heard the French
proverb “the more things change the more they
remain the same” at least once from our parents.
So, too, it applies to the state of the legal profession
in upstate New York, which continues following
a pattern ongoing since the start of the
Great Recession in 2008-09.

Part of the barometer for the profession’s
condition can be measured by the condition of
New York’s law schools. They prime the pump
of the profession.

In the first decade of the century, they flooded
the profession’s engine, leading to a lack of jobs
and entry level opportunities. In recent years,
New York’s law schools showed a continuing
decline in enrollment as those schools continued
to shrink faculty and admissions in an effort to
catch up with the realities of employment in
the profession.

In 2015, 11,565 students enrolled in New York
law schools, down from 12,033 (3 percent) the
year before. New York lagged the national trend
which showed the total number of students
fell by almost 6,000 or a 5 percent decrease in
national enrollment. The National Association
for Law Placement found that overall employment
for recent law graduates fell for the sixth
straight year in 2013 (to 84.5 percent) and that
unemployment among 2013 grads was 12.9
percent, nearly double the national unemployment
average for the same period of 6.6 percent.

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Technology And The Internet 'Cloud' Have Altered The Shape Of Accounting Practices

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Jonathan Rutnick, founder of Rutnick &
Co. PC in Clifton Park, surrounded by staff.

BY JILL NAGY

Green eyeshades and sharpened pencils are
things of the past for today’s accountants. They
are more likely to deal with QuickBooks in the
cloud. And they rarely see their clients face to
face, although they may be in daily communication
with their business data.

They also have to guide clients through an
increasing thicket of government regulations.

Kelly Reinhart of Reinhart & Associates LLC
in Saratoga Springs, recently restructured his
business operation completely so that clients pay
a fixed monthly fee for needed services, instead
of paying by the hour or task. Each client’s workload
varies from month to month, he found, but
they balance each other out.

Clients “enjoy having one fee,” he said. If they
have a question, they can ask it without worrying
about the time clock ticking away. He feels that
his business is “growing by leaps and bounds,
really skyrocketing” because of the change.

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Albany Law School To Offer Course Work In Law And Cybersecurity Starting This Fall

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In an increasingly technology-driven, globally
connected world, there is an escalating
need for legal specialists in data protection,
privacy and cybersecurity. In recognition of
this need, Albany Law School announced it
will be offering a new concentration in law
and cybersecurity beginning in the fall.

The program–a collaboration with the
University at Albany’s School of Emergency
Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity
(CEHC)–will prepare J.D. graduates
to provide counsel to a broad range of industries
and individuals on an array of legal
matters, including: data breach; cybercrime;
compliance with state, local, federal, and
international privacy laws and regulations;
implementing security policies; records management;
digital media privacy; litigation; and
more, college officials said.

“The security of our personal information
and technological infrastructures in business
and government is an ever-growing concern.
The need for legal experts in this field will only
become greater as networks expand and the
value of data increases,” said Alicia Ouellette,
president and dean of Albany Law School.
“Our law school, located in New York’s capital
and the heart of Tech Valley, is an ideal lab for
studying these areas.”

“This program is precisely the kind of collaboration
we envisioned when we developed
an affiliation with Albany Law School,” said
UAlbany President Robert J. Jones. “Together,
our two institutions are leveraging capacity
that will provide highly specialized training
for cybersecurity professionals and meet a
massive and growing need both regionally
and nationally.”

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Business Report: Don't Put Off Business Succession Plan

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Razzano is an associate with the Herzog Law Firm in Saratoga Springs.

BY BRITTINY B. RAZZANO

Excuse Number 1: Too Busy.

As a successful business owner, you may
have your hand in the day-to-day operations
and management of your business. It seems
like there is never enough time to sit down
and formulate a plan for your business when
you retire or after you pass away.

You have worked hard to make your business
thrive. It’s worth taking the time to ensure
its continued success. If you wait too long, it
will become more difficult to retire when you
want to, you may get a lower price, or ultimately
generate a greater tax liability. In the worst case
scenario, you may pass away unexpectedly
without ever formulating a plan, putting the
fate of your business in jeopardy.

If you plan ahead, you will be able to clearly
state your intentions and put your important
business operations in writing, to act as a road
map and guide for the future generation of
your business.

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