Lanny assisted many families in drafting end of life documents including wills, living wills, health care proxies, and trusts to protect elders and the families of disabled siblings and children facing nursing home residency and represented families through the probate court process when necessary.
Lanny has handled scores of real estate transactions for residential and commercial properties and has litigated boundary disputes, nuisance claims and adverse action claims.
Lanny was counsel for the Honest Weight Food COOP, a large food market in Albany, where he advised them about their management structure and by-laws, and many personnel issues, represented them in litigation and helped guide them through the process of acquiring property for a new store located near I-90 in Albany.
He also represented many not-for-profit entities assisting them through the start-up process and creation of their constitutions and ongoing legal problems. This included the Ulster County Community Action Committee, Inc. whom he represented when they acquired property for their new Head Start facility and negotiated contracts with the projects architecture and general contractor and advised them through the financing process.
In the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Lanny was able to reverse a District Court summary judgment ruling and won his client’s right to his day in court to challenge his discharge from the Dutchess County Board of Elections based upon a stereotyped assumption that accusations of sexual harassment must be true because that is “what men do.” He has represented many clients who have filed discrimination charges with the NYS Division of Human rights alleging race, creed, sex, sexual preference and disability prejudice.
Lanny has counseled many clients about severance agreements tendered by their employers when leaving their employment to make certain their rights were respected and they received all that they were entitled to. He also has represented clients who faced disciplinary charges in administrative hearings and handled various civil service disputes for state and municipal employees both unionized and non-unionized.
As attorney for the Town of Saugerties, Lanny negotiated the Time Warner contract for the Town. He also led the Town’s efforts to enforce its revised sign ordinance. He represented Ulster County in federal litigation regarding its opposition to the promotion of a gaming casino.
In opposing municipal action, Lanny has litigated against zoning and planning boards to protect owners from encroachment by uses that violated the zoning law, to enforce their rights as owners of non-conforming parcels, and to reverse a zoning decision that sanctioned a new gun shooing range in a residential community.
Lanny served as attorney for the Marbletown Residents Association to avoid the adverse impact of a town effort to locate a landfill in an historic district of the town, and to minimize the adverse economic and environmental impact upon historic Stone Ridge from a new shopping plaza.
Lanny successfully intervened for Ulster County poll inspectors in the post election ballot challenge for NY State Senator, Cecilia Tkaczyk in 2012. The inspectors' votes had not been counted because they allegedly voted too soon. The adverse lower court ruling was appealed to the Appellate Division which reversed and ordered the votes counted. As a result Tkaczyk won.
He has also represented candidates in election proceedings for Albany City Council (challenge to eligibility of certain absentee ballot voters), Albany City School Board (challenge to timeliness of candidate's acceptance of nomination), in the Mayoral race in Hudson (challenge to use of name on the ballot ), and in a challenge to the ballot composition for the Marbletown Democratic Committee. among others.
