The New York State Bar Association released the Mobile Ethics App that allows judges, lawyers and law students to access instant ethics advice from their smartphones.

The Bar has taken its catalog of more than 900 legal ethics opinions, dating to 1964, and made them available on an app for iPhones, Android phones and BlackBerrys, as well as iPads.

"Ethics questions can arise in many different contexts. The NYSBA Mobile Ethics App will allow judges, lawyers and others to access the opinions of the association's Professional Ethics Committee on the spot from the convenience of their mobile devices," said Bar Association President Vincent Doyle III, a Buffalo attorney.

It's the latest technological innovation by the state Bar as it continues to streamline information for members. In 2011, the association launched its eLAP website, a secure means of accessing lawyer-assistance information and services over the Internet. It also enhanced the website search capabilities through a new engine powered by Recommind and offered members discount subscriptions to Clio, a cloud-based practice management system designed especially for solo practitioners and smaller law firms.

The new app is searchable by keyword, category or opinion number. Search results display a summary of each issue and a link to the text of the opinions. Following the initial download, the Mobile Ethics App is available whether or not users are connected to the Internet. The app is free and available to everyone.

Ethics opinions are issued by the Bar's Committee on Professional Ethics. They were decided under the Canons of Professional Ethics, the Code of Professional Responsibility or the Rules of Professional Conduct, depending on when the opinion was issued. The opinions themselves contain specific references to sections of ethics code or law from which they were derived if users want to do further research offline.

In addition to downloading the app for a smartphone, it also can be accessed by visiting the NYSBA website at www.nysba.org/ethicsapp.

A seminar designed to help individuals and nonprofit organizations understand the basics of grant writing will be sponsored by the Erie Institute of Law. It's scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, Jan. 17 at the Bar Association of Erie County, 438 Main St., Buffalo.

Leading the seminar will be Maria Battaglia, president of Battaglia & Associates Resource Development Consultants of Amherst. Topics include project planning, identifying grant sources, seeking corporate and foundation funding, and seeking state and federal grants.

Battaglia's company specializes in grant development and procurement for schools and universities, nonprofits and health-care providers.

Cost is $50. Contact Mary Kohlbacher at 852-8687 for information or to register.

The Buffalo Niagara chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners will hold its next on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Salvatore's Italian Gardens, 6461 Transit Road, Depew.

It will cover a range of topics involving women in business. The cost to attend is $30 for members and $40 for guests and walk-in members. For reservations, call 238-2461 or email: info@nawbowny.org.

Child & Family Services' Center for Resolution and Justice kicked off a statewide, online advocacy campaign to restore funding for New York's mediation programs.

Last year's state budget crisis forced the Unified Court System to make deep cuts, and funding for the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program was slashed. Child & Family Services Center for Resolution and Justice, which operates this program in Western New York, received a 40 percent cut in funding.

"Advocating for the restoration of the funding that allows us to do the work we do is arguably the most important job of each and every mediation center," said Julie Loesch, director of the Center for Resolution. "Yet, the cuts to mediation personnel statewide were so deep that we knew that no single center would be able to take on this project alone."

The goal of the campaign is to get individuals to sign online postcards that will be sent to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippmann in an effort to get the court to consider whether reducing funding for mediation centers is cost effective.  According to Child and Family Services, the cost of a mediation case at a local center averages $300, making it a cost-effective alternative to a court proceeding.

Child & Family Services is coordinating the effort on behalf of participating mediation centers.

The campaign can be found at http://www.cfsbny.org/programs/mediation/postcard.aspx.