In Praise of Painting

Dyan Gershman founded her own corporate law firm in New York City in 2014, Gershman Law, PLLC, and provides legal advice and support to both US and international clients on many matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and all types of commercial contracts. In her free time, Dyan Gershman enjoys visiting museums and belongs to the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Since its founding in 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has aspired to be more than just a holding place for beautiful art. The galleries work to make art come alive, shuttling new ideas and connections across cultures and time. Dutch masterpieces have been a highlight of The Met since 1871, and since 2018 a collection of these works has been featured in the exhibition In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces of The Met.

This exhibition showcases some of The Met’s greatest Dutch paintings in order to tell the story of 17th century Dutch culture. The 67 works reveal not only the craftsmanship of Dutch masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, but also shine light on thoughts about religion, consumption, and the domestic lives of women at the time. Notably, the exhibit also gives visitors a chance to see one of the museum’s rarely displayed paintings, A Vase of Flowers, one of only two known paintings by artist Margareta Haverman.

WBASNY Organizes Webinar Addressing

With more than 25 years of corporate law experience, Dyan Gershman is an experienced corporate attorney providing legal services to US and international clients. In addition to her full-time practice, Dyan Gershman is a member of a number of legal organizations, including the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.

The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) provides accredited continuing legal education (CLE) in the form of seminars and events. Most recently, WBASNY held a webinar titled Discovery Guidelines in Personal Injury Cases: Perspective from Plaintiff and Defense.

Taking place on March 17, 2021, the webinar was presented by Sofiya Janashvili and Luis Ras. Attendees learned about the different stages of discovery in cases of personal injury including depositions, motions, and trial preparation.

Addressing the different perspectives of plaintiff and defense, the webinar illustrated specific tips that can be useful for each during the discovery process. Plaintiff tips included an aggressive approach focusing on information extraction from the defendants. On the other hand, the defense team is advised to thoroughly prepare a plan in advance covering all relevant witnesses and documents.

The webinar also highlighted the latest changes to the discovery process in New York, including a new administrative order effective February 1, 2021 (Administrative Order 270/2020). This Administrative Order creates sweeping changes to the discovery process by expanding certain Commercial Division Rules to now apply to general civil cases.

Remembering Fred Lebow, Organizer

Dyan Gershman is the founder and managing partner of New York City-based Gershman Law, PLLC, a boutique corporate law firm. Before establishing her law firm in 2014, Dyan Gershman held senior corporate and M&A legal positions in two Fortune 500 companies and is highly skilled in structuring and negotiating multi-billion-dollar deals. Her clients now are largely mid-sized and small corporations, both U.S. and international, and she provides them with a wide range of corporate and commercial legal support. An avid runner, Dyan Gershman is a longtime member of the New York Road Runners (NYRR), and has run many races sponsored by the NYRR, including multiple half-marathons and the New York City Marathon.

Fred Lebow, born in Romania in 1932, escaped a devastated Europe after World War II and landed in New York City in 1949. He joined the fledgling NYRR in the late 1960s and co-organized the very first NYC Marathon in 1970. The first NYC Marathon involved running multiple loops around New York City’s famed Central Park and had 127 participants and 55 finishers. He became the president of NYRR (the organizer of the annual NYC Marathon) and race director of the NYC Marathon in 1972, holding both positions until his death from brain cancer in 1994.

Under his leadership, NYRR evolved into a world renown organization hosting races and running-related activities for all ages and capabilities. It now annually serves 695,000 runners in various activities, and in 2019 alone raised over $40 million for charity. The NYC Marathon is one of the world’s most prestigious and largest marathons, with over 50,000 participants from around the globe. Fred Lebow died on October 9, 1994, a month before the 25th NYC Marathon.

Partnerships, Corporations, LLCs - a Brief Guide

After earning a JD from Boston College Law School, Dyan Gershman embarked on a 30-year career in which she has served in corporate counsel positions at companies such as General Electric and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Now the founder of Gershman Law, PLLC, in New York City, Dyan Gershman helps US and international clients with a wide variety of corporate legal services, including helping form legal entities and set up business structures such as partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies (LLCs).

A partnership is a business structure in which two or more people own a business together. It can be a limited partnership or a limited liability partnership. In a limited partnership, one partner makes most of the decisions and has unlimited liability over the company’s debts and obligations, while other partners have limited liability and limited control. In a limited liability partnership, every partner has limited liability so they will not be personally responsible for the company’s debts.

A corporation is an entity that has its own legal personality, separate from its owners. A C corporation can own property in its name and sue or be sued. It is taxed at the corporate level at corporate tax rates. Its income may be taxed twice, at the corporate level and as personal income when dividends are paid to owners.

An S corporation, on the other hand, limits double taxation. Its profits are not subjected to corporate taxes but are passed on to the owners, who are taxed at a personal level.

An LLC is a business structure that combines the features of a partnership and corporation. An LLC does not have a legal personality, but its members have limited liability over business debts. LLCs also have more lenient reporting and record-keeping requirements than corporations. LLC profits are passed on to members, who are considered self-employed for tax purposes.