Nichols School Mock Trial Advances The Nichols School high school mock trial team is heading to the Erie County finals where they will face City Honors. Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham attorneys James Graber, Aaron Knights, and Tony Rupp serve as attorney advisors for the mock trial team. The mock trial program is an educational program… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: James Graber Who is James as a lawyer? James is a partner attorney. He practices in property insurance litigation, commercial litigation, and patent litigation. As a lawyer James is very competitive. He’s been practicing for almost 10 years. He started in property litigation. This is the area James practiced in almost exclusively for… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Caitlyn Shank Who is Caitlyn as a lawyer? Caitlyn is a partner in our family law practice. Caitlyn has been practicing law for the past 10 years. She is on the attorney for the children’s panel. Which means she is appointed by supreme and family court judges to represent children. She has practiced… Read More

New Requirements for Electronic Monitoring of Employees in New York Employers and employees alike understand that the right to privacy in the workplace is limited. For example, monitoring employee communications – particularly electronic communications – has become commonplace and a standard practice for most U.S. employers. However, newly passed legislation, in order to promote transparency… Read More

Environmental Attorney John Kolaga is representing a couple who received a million dollar cleanup bill from the Environmental Protection Agency after an assessment from a “federally funded” program. Patrick Lakamp of the Buffalo News recently did a story on the case. The financial plight facing Carolyn and James Newhouse started with a letter from the… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Thomas Grenke Who is Thomas as an attorney? Thomas is an associate attorney in our labor and employment practice group. He did his undergrad at Penn State where he earned his degree in history. Then he graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Law with his J.D. Tom began practicing law in… Read More

Congratulations to our founding and managing partner David Pfalzgraf on being named to Buffalo Business First’s 2022 Power 250 List. The list is comprised of the 250 most powerful and influential people in the Buffalo and Western New York area. This is the tenth year that Buffalo Business First has created the Power 250 list.… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Dan Sarzynski Who is Dan as a lawyer? Dan is a partner attorney at Rupp Baase. He is the leader of our banking and creditors’ rights and construction practice groups. Dan graduated from The University at Buffalo Law School in 1999. Right out of law school Dan took a job at a small… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Marco Cercone Who is Marco Cercone? Marco is a partner and the leader of the property litigation and antitrust practice groups and is also a commercial litigator. As an attorney, Marco is aggressive, confident, trustworthy, and a problem-solver. To him, his job is to help fix the problems you are facing. Why did… Read More

Join us for a cybersecurity insurance webinar on March 16, 2022. Marco Cercone and Greg Gaglione will be presenting in conjunction with Rob Coppola and Reggie Dejean from Lawley Insurance and Steve Szubinski from PCA Technology Group. The global average total cost of a data breach is $4.24 million. In the U.S. the average is… Read More

Evictions Resume in New YorkFebruary 17, 2022 In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic hardships imposed on tenants in New York State, on September 2, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that imposed a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions of tenants who have endured COVID-19 related hardships. This moratorium expired… Read More

Sweeping Changes to Consumer Debt Collection in New York StateFebruary 17, 2022 On November 8, 2021, New York State enacted the Consumer Credit Fairness Act (“CCFA”), which implements comprehensive changes to New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules. The CCFA will have a substantial impact on consumer debt collection policies and procedures, including lawsuits filed… Read More

Labor and Employment practice group leader Matt Miller spoke to Buffalo Business First’s Katie Anderson about the new state employee monitoring law and what it means for employers monitoring their employees electronically. It’s important for employers to know the specifics of this new law, as it goes into effect May 7th and can result in… Read More

Imagine being 8 months pregnant. You are excited and nervous to meet your baby. You think you have all the details of your birth planned. Then your insurance company tells you they won’t cover your home birth with your midwife. This “rug swept out from under you” feeling is exactly what two local women experienced… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Michael Colletta Who is Michael as a lawyer? Michael is a partner attorney in our family law practice group. Michael takes a practical approach to the law choosing to avoid litigation whenever possible. When litigation is necessary he prefers to have a “roadmap” or an overall strategy to his litigation instead of just… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Ben Burge Get to know business law partner attorney Ben Burge. Who is Ben as a lawyer? Ben is a partner in our business law practice. He helps businesses with start-up, formation, operations, selling, and business succession. Ben’s approach to law is to act as a business partner for his clients instead of… Read More

Get to know business law attorney spotlight: Jamie Batt Attorney Spotlight: Jamie Batt Who is Jamie Batt as a lawyer? Jamie is a partner in our business law practice group. She specializes in business succession planning. Jamie when to Duquesne University for her bachelors in history then received her MBA and JD from The University… Read More

On January 14, 2022 Buffalo Business First released it’s “Largest Buffalo Law Firms 2022” list. This list is released every January. With 62 attorneys, Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham is now ranked as the fifth largest law firm in Buffalo. Moving up the list from sixth in 2021, this is the highest rank the firm has… Read More

“And my client is determined to have his day in court and show this type of just ‘outrageous — uncivilized conduct’ — to use the judges words, has no place in society — especially in the workplace and at a public company,” Miller remarked. Labor and employment attorney Matt Miller spoke to WKBW’s Eileen Buckley… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Matt Miller Who is Matt as a lawyer? Matt Miller is a partner attorney in our labor & employment practice group. Matt has been practicing law for 16 years and also practices in our corporate litigation and campus disciplinary defense groups. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star, Legal Elite… Read More

COVID-19 Business Succession Planning Webinar Tuesday, February 1, 2022. 8:15-9:30 am “Business Succession Planning Advice in the Era of Covid-19”   The Covid-19 pandemic changed so much about the world, including how businesses operate. Many business owners and potential purchasers are considering whether now is a good time to sell or buy, and how COVID… Read More

We’d like to congratulate our newest partners on their promotions! Miranda Jakubec of Banking and Creditor’s rights team. Miranda has been with Rupp Baase for 3 years in our Rochester office. She is a graduate of Le Moyne College and the University at Buffalo School of Law. As a lawyer she focuses in real estate,… Read More

Attorney Spotlight: Elizabeth DiPirro Who is Beth as an attorney? Elizabeth is the leader of our family law practice group. She has been practicing law for 30+ years. Beth has been recognized as a super lawyer for the last 8 years. She is a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Erie Country Bar… Read More

Partner attorney Matt Miller spoke last night with Eileen Buckley from WKBW regarding the Servotronics case. If you missed the story live you can view it here. The former CEO and President of Servotronics, Kenneth Trbovich, has resigned after an internal investigation regarding allegations of sexual harassment. The six month long investigation was authorized by… Read More