Understanding Civil Evidence: Key Updates & Legal Principles

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Michael J. Hutter is special counsel to Powers & Santola, LLP. As special counsel, he handles the firm’s appellate work. Michael has argued appeals in the New York State Court of Appeals, all four Departments of New York’s Appellate Division, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has argued over 400 appeals covering a wide range of subjects, including labor law, no-fault law, negligence, criminal law, matrimonial law, civil rights claims, state constitutional law, and unfair competition claims. Since 2015, he has been named in the Best Lawyers New York edition in the area of appellate practice. As a professor of law at Albany Law School, Professor Hutter’s teaching areas include evidence, NY practice, federal jurisdiction and procedure, conflict of laws, and trade regulation. His scholarship has been cited by many courts, including the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Illinois Appellate Court, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, South Dakota Supreme Court, Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the Appellate Division of the State of New York, as well as by numerous academic commentators. Professor Hutter is a recognized expert in the area of evidence. He has served as an educator to the New York State Court System, invited by the New York State Office of Court Administration and its Judicial Institute to teach evidence and discuss developments in the field at its annual seminars for justices and judges throughout the state, as well as seminars for law clerks and court attorneys. Recently, he was appointed by the Chief Judge of the State of New York to act as the reporter for a special committee composed of sitting and retired judges, charged with compiling a guide to New York’s existing law of evidence that will be readily available to judges, lawyers, and the public. Professor Hutter is also the evidence columnist for the New York Law Journal, publishing a bimonthly article discussing recent New York evidence cases decided by the courts.