News

ChatGPT, known formally as Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, is an artificial intelligence tool that uses large amounts of data and computing techniques to string together words in a way that makes sense. Created by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence and research company, ChatGPT has been available to the public since November 30, 2022.  ChatGPT can write essays, cover letters and resumes, social media posts, and even homework assigned by teachers and professors.  But ChatGPT [...]

The New York State Assembly today (June 1, 2023) gave its approval to a revised proposal to expand the scope of damages that can be recovered by spouses, children and family members of their loved ones killed as a result of another party’s negligence.  The measure that passed in the Assembly (the “Grieving Families Act”) permits a judge or jury deciding such “wrongful death” lawsuits to consider damages for the emotional anguish of the survivors.  The [...]

If every New Yorker wrote a list of their least favorite things, “phone calls from telemarketers” would no doubt be near the top of the list.  Now, there’s a better and faster way to end those annoying calls. Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation designed to limit unwanted telemarketing calls by giving consumers the option to be added to a company’s “Do Not Call” list at the very beginning of the phone call.  The new law took effect on March [...]

New Yorkers post hundreds of Google reviews every day.  A downstate couple who posted an unfavorable review of an orthodontist after the dentist treated the couple’s child were sued by the orthodontist for defamation.  A claim for defamation requires proof that the defendant made a false statement;  and a defamation claim can be defeated by showing the statement was an opinion and/or criticism (which are generally protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. [...]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation making New York the 25th state in the country to grant nurse practitioners (NP) full authority to practice medicine.  NPs are now able to evaluate, test, diagnose, and prescribe medications for patients without having to sign a contract with a “supervising physician”.  That requirement, which was waived by New York and several other states when the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed accessibility to medical care, has [...]