Copyright 1997 New York Law Publishing Company
New York Law Journal

September 23, 1997, Tuesday

SECTION: TODAY'S NEWS UPDATE: Pg. 1

State Insurance Superintendent Neil D. Levin has announced the appointment of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson partner Bonnie Steingart as the general counsel of the State Insurance Department. Ms. Steingart, whose practice includes insurance companies and regulators, is a member of the litigation department. Elsewhere, Carter, Ledyard & Milburn has added Jean Tabberson and George J. Seeberger as counsels in its financial institutions practice group. Ms. Tabberson is a former counsel at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, and Mr. Seeberger had been a senior attorney with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In an unrelated personnel move, Patricia Gopaul former senior counsel with the New York City Economic Development Corp., has joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as counsel in its corporate department.

A $110 million settlement was reported yesterday on behalf of the families of 27 of the 68 persons who were killed when an American Eagle plane, while in a holding pattern, suddenly plunged into an Indiana farm field nearly three years ago. The settlement was reached with the airline and the French manufacturer of the ATR-72 turbo-prop. Suits over the deaths of six other persons are in negotiations; the status of cases involving the other 35 deaths was not immediately clear.

The Lawyers Alliance for New York will present awards to 10 attorneys, five law firms, and two corporations in recognition of their pro bono legal services to nonprofit corporations at a reception next Tuesday. Details appear on page 7.

Presiding Justice Francis T. Murphy of the Appellate Division announced the appointment of Norman L. Reimer as chairman of the First Department's assigned Counsel Plan. Mr. Reimer is a partner in Gould, Reimer & Gottfriend. Named the panel's vice chairman was Bronx attorney Marvin Ray Raskin. In two other appointments announced by Justice Murphy, Samuel I. Ackerman was selected to head the Family Court Advisory Committee, with Emily M. Olshansky as the vice chairwoman.

A state court referee yesterday scheduled a hearing for this afternoon in the Reverend Al Sharpton's lawsuit to force a runoff election with Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger in the Democratic primary for mayor. A runoff election had originally been scheduled for today, but last Wednesday, the Board of Elections completed its count and, despite earlier projections to the contrary, discovered Ms. Messinger to be the outright winner by 794 votes. Referee Steven Lieberman yesterday ordered the Board of Elections to make its records available to Mr. Sharpton's lawyers. Mr. Lieberman is expected to report his findings to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Beatrice Shainswit by the end of the week. Last Friday, a federal judge in Manhattan rejected Mr. Sharpton's claims of voting rights violations.