Rush on Business : Iowa Corporate Lawyer & Attorney : Rush Nigut of Brick Gentry Law Firm : Serving Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, & Sioux City

I am pleased to announce that I now have a Rush on Business You Tube Channel where I'll post short videos on various aspects of business and franchise law. I have a few videos posted so far and I'll add content weekly.

New videos include:

Should You Include Your Spouse When Forming a Small Business LLC?

Where Should Iowa Residents Incorporate or Form an LLC for their Small Business?

If there is a topic you think would be interesting, please let me know!

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Via the Silicon Prairie News:  The Dream Big Grow Here contest for Central Iowa has officially begun. Take a look at the pitches and vote for your favorites. It appears like it's going to be a close race. I am impressed with all the ideas but I am partial to the legal startup, FInalize It.

As they say, vote early and vote often!

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For the past 17 years, I have been advising businesses of all shapes and sizes, whether small or large. I have always loved working with startups. It is exciting to hear the stories of these entrepreneurs and how they could solve a problem or discovered a new way of doing business.

Now I am leaping into that startup world with my own company called Notifyworks. Notifyworks is an automated client notification system. We are currently continuing with our beta testing but anticipate launching formally September 1, 2011. My partners, Mike Colwell and Brian Hemesath, bring a wealth of experience and I couldn't be more excited to get our company off the ground.

The idea from Notifyworks developed out of my law practice. In almost every contract or legal matter, there is some sort of follow up needed. It might be a termination date, a renewal or some other deadline. Too often these dates are ignored by clients until the last minute, or worse, forgotten entirely. What Notifyworks does, in a nutshell, is make sure lawyers and their clients never miss one of those dates. It's a great solution for any professional or business that routinely deals with contracts and deadlines.

Unlike your calendar or docket system that still requires you to take action, Notifyworks removes surprises or last minute scrambling by allowing you to set up proactive notifications that are timed to automatically go out in advance of important dates and deadlines. The system is easy to use and we have a notification library with message templates or your own customized messages that will save you valuable time in the process.  I think most lawyers will even generate more work from clients that see their lawyer cares and is on top of things.   The whole idea is to deliver great service and build strong relationships with clients.

I am excited to discuss Notifyworks and other stories on the Silicon Prairie News Prairiecast this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. If you miss it live, please be sure to check out the archived podcast.

If you are interested in joining our beta test group, please send me an email at rush@notifyworks.com. Be sure to let me know if I can answer any questions. 

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Do you have a new technology-based business idea? If you do, I encourage you to check out the Dream Big, Grow Here contest that is sponsored regionally by the Business Innovation Zone.  The winner of the regional business pitch contest will be awarded $5,000 and then move on for the opportunity to win another $10,000 in a state-wide contest here in Iowa.

The background information (from the BIZ Web site):  In June of 2010, the University of Northern Iowa Regional Business Center (RBC) developed a partnership with the Iowa Bankers Association and the Community Vitality Center to attract and link emerging Iowa entrepreneurs with the capital resources available in the state to serve them.

A statewide contest entitled Dream Big Grow Here was launched, featuring $1,000 monthly grants awarded online to emerging and existing Iowa small business owners who uploaded their ‘dreams’, then encouraged friends, family and other business owners to vote for them.

Wildly popular, Dream Big Grow Here attracted 63,489 visitors during the five month beta test. Given the success of Dream Big Grow Here and increased interest in online resources among innovators, the RBC approached a small group of statewide sponsors to provide matching funds for regional contests-with cash awards of $5,000 and fund a statewide pitch-off among winners for a grand prize of $10,000.  

There will be 8 regional contests, including ours here in Central Iowa.  Each region will select (through crowd voting) a winner, who will receive $5,000.  Those 8 regional winners will then compete against one another (again, crowd voting) for the statewide $10,000 prize.

It's my understanding the business idea must be pre-sale. So if you have sold your product or service to anyone, you won't be eligible. It is for true start-up technology-based businesses. For more information be sure to contact Mike Colwell of the BIZ at MColwell@desmoinesmetro.com. You can also check out a recent podcast on Silicon Prairie News discsussing the program and other interesting issues.

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A Startup City Des Moines builders forum is tonight at the BitMethod offices located in the Liberty Building downtown. What is it? It's just an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to get together, share ideas and make connections. No formal presentations. No real plan.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the momentum building in the Des Moines entrepreneurial community. You've got to hand it to Startup City Des Moines and others for their efforts in trying to build a startup culture here. It's really nice to see.

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Matt Brick has a super webinar on our Brick Gentry Web site on the Changes to Iowa Employment Law and Legislation. Employment law is a constantly shifting area of the law that has serious consequences for employers, even when making a good faith mistake. Matt's presentation covers important developments in employment law for both public and private employers in Iowa.

Want to hear a Webinar on a particular legal topic? Let us know what you would like to know more about.

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Yesterday I spoke at the BIZ Raising Capital Seminar mentioned in my last blog post. I thoroughly enjoyed being on a panel with some excellent business advisors including:

• Paul Juffer of LWBJ Financial
• Adam Claypool of the DeWaay Investment Partners
• Chris Sackett and Joe Leto of the Brown Winick Law Firm
• Christian Renaud of StartUpCity Des Moines

But mostly  I enjoyed listening and talking with a group of excited and motivated business owners that are determined to make things happen in Des Moines. I felt a collective energy from those business owners that I had not felt from similar groups in the past.

Several of the attendees were also involved in the recent Startup Weekend Des Moines. From the conversation today it was clear that was a highly successful event that may produce more than one viable business opportunity.

I am also encouraged by Christian Renaud's StartUpCity Des Moines. It's a new resource and gathering place for startups in Des Moines.Christian anticipates it will be up and running by the end of the summer. If you are a new business looking for guidance that could be a great place for you to start.

Go create and innovate!

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I often received questions about whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor or employee. In fact a blog post on Employees v. Independent Contractors is still one of the most popular posts ever on my blog even though I wrote it over three years ago.

In a couple of recent blog posts, Brick Gentry immigration lawyer, Austin Kennedy, explores the use of independent contractors by companies hoping not to verify the employment authorization of a worker and whether this practice could lead to liability. His posts are worth a read. 

See links below:

Does an Employer Have to Verify the Employment Authorization of Independent Contractors?

When can an Employer's Use of Subcontractors Still Lead to Liability?

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This post comes via Monica Dolezal of BIZSTARTS. The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced it will be continuing its successful Emerging 200 Initiative in Des Moines.

For the last three years, Des Moines has been selected as one of a limited number of cities nationwide to participate in the SBA’s Emerging 200 Initiative (e200). The goal of e200 is to identify businesses across the country that show a high potential for growth and to provide them the network, resources and motivation required to build a sustainable business.

Based on the success of the initiative in Des Moines in 2008, 2009, and 2010, SBA will offer the program again beginning in April. However this year, again, SBA will be expanding the program boundaries to include the entire city of Des Moines.

The cornerstone of the e200 initiative is an in-depth educational program running approximately 80-100 hours, April through mid-November every other Thursday evening. It will focus on topics such as organization management, finance, growth strategies and management, and market development, resulting in a 3 year growth plan.

Participation in e200 is free to qualifying businesses. Criteria for participation includes having been in business for a minimum of three years, $400,000 or more in gross annual revenues, and a business location within the city of Des Moines. Participation will be limited to only 15 businesses in Des Moines.

For more information on the program, contact the SBA in Des Moines at (515) 284-4522 or at thomas.lentell@sba.gov. Or you can contact the instructor, Monica Dolezal, BIZSTARTS, LLC at 515-229-2345 or monica@bizstarts.biz.

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Listen and watch the premiere Brick Gentry, P.C. webinar from immigration lawyer Austin Kennedy on our new Brick Gentry Web site. Austin's presentation is on Achieving Lawful Permanent Residency in the United States Through the Labor Certification Process.

We are currently in the process of developing presentations on franchise and LLC issues. Register for our Webinars and receive updates on when new webinars are completed. Let us know if there is a topic you are interested in and we'll consider a webinar for it.

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Most people are familiar with Shakespeare's famous words spoken by Dick the Butcher in Henry VI (Part II) , "The first thing we must do is kill all the lawyers."  The majority of people perceive this as a lawyer joke, however, in reality Shakespeare realized that the surest way to chaos and tyranny even then was to remove the guardians of independent thinking.

But sadly, Shakespeare's character has now taken the form of out-state-interests who seek to take over our Iowa judiciary after an Indiana lawyer filed a federal lawsuit this week claiming that lawyers have too much say in the judicial selection process in Iowa. The goal is to deny the current Iowa State Bar Association members on the Judicial Nominating Commission the opportunity to vote on the short list of judicial candidates to be given to the governor.  According to James Bopp, Jr., Iowa lawyers have a "stranglehold" on our Iowa judiciary. Similar lawsuits like the one filed by Bopp in Iowa have been dismissed in other states.

In my previous post regarding the Iowa judiciary I warned this would happen.  Those that complained about judicial activism in our last retention election resulting in the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices are now seeking judicial activism themselves. Iowans need to stand up and support an independent judiciary free from the whims of out-of-state political interest groups. Iowans should not be misled. Those that seek to oust our judges and change our judicial selection process don't care a wit about how our judicial system works.  The only goal is to push their political agenda. Nothing more. Nothing less.

*The views expressed in this blog post are my own and are not intended to speak for or represent the views of the other lawyers in Brick Gentry, P.C.

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In a historic vote last night, three Iowa Supreme Court justices were ousted as a result of a controversial decision made by the court last year in Varnum v. Brien.  The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld that the statute defining marriage only as a union between a man and a woman violated the equal protection clause in the Iowa constitution.  Three of the Supreme Court justices were up for retention last night and all three lost.

So where does that leave our judiciary? As I said in my last post, I think this could have a substantial negative impact on our judiciary because of the influence of special interests (i.e. big money) on the independence of our judiciary.   More than ever, we will need courageous judges who are willing to make decisions that are not always going to be popular.  History is replete with occasions where the majority rule was not always right.  Judges should not be forced to take opinion polls before deciding a case.

As I have indicated before, our Iowa judiciary has a reputation for fairness.  I don't expect that to change overnight.  I just hope Iowa voters haven't cut off their nose to spite their face.

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Brick Gentry, P.C. is excited to announce that intellectual property attorney, Brian Laurenzo, has joined the firm as a shareholder effective June 1, 2010. Brian was most recently the head of the intellectual property practice group for the Des Moines office of Dorsey & Whitney.

Brian brings a tremendous amount of experience in patent, trademark and copyright law. He has a broad transactional and litigation practice. He is the former mayor of Johnston, Iowa and was the Business Record's inaugural "Forty under 40" Alumnus of the Year.

We are very excited to have Brian join the firm. His intellectual property practice expands the scope of Brick Gentry's ability to serve clients in several areas including, but not limited to, patents, trademarks,copyrights, licensing, trade secrets, transactional due diligence and intellectual property litigation. Brian will also be able to assist in areas such as Internet law and electronic commerce.

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Brick Gentry immigration lawyer, Austin Kennedy, commented on recent issues impacting immigration in an interview on Channel 5 in Des Moines.

See the video here.

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Just a reminder that the deadline for filing Iowa Secretary of State biennial reports for Iowa corporations and LLCs is April 1, 2010. The deadline for filing agricultural reports for companies owning an interest in Iowa agricultural land is March 31, 2010.

Did you know? There are over 188,000 active businesses in the Iowa Secretary of State database. Source: Iowa Secretary of State Annual Report, Issued January 2010.

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I want to take the time to thank my clients that have made 2009 such a special year. I am very fortunate to work with some of the best people I know. A big thank you to the regular readers of this blog.  As I enter the 4th year for Rush on Business this coming March it's always nice to know that I have support from so many.  

Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

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The Franchise King has a great list of 20 small business blogs that have the right stuff. These blogs possess some of the best content on the Web when it comes to small business. Be sure to check them out!

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I had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with Michael Libbie yesterday. We talked blogging, discrimination cases, franchising and other issues.

If you didn't catch it live you can watch the podcast here. (The interview begins at about the 30 minute mark).

If you haven't heard about Des Moines Local Live, you should check it out. It's an Internet radio station with 50 local radio hosts talking everything from business to sports.  A real testament to Des Moines' Internet-blogging presence.

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A few weeks ago I posted on how your spouse could get you fired. Well, its not just your spouse you need to worry about. What about your kids?

A recent Family Circle article discussed how a teen's post got her father fired.  The father apparently could not get time off to attend his daughter's school musical.  The daughter was upset and vented about it on her MySpace page.  The article says she stated she didn't want to work for someone like dad's boss: "He yells all the time, treats my dad like dirt, won't let my dad spend time with his family even though he gets to take time off constantly, and doesn't even know how to do his job."  

Unfortunately, the rant went out to several hundred of the girl's MySpace friends, including kids at school, one of whom was the boss' son. The boy showed the post to his father and the girl's father was fired.

All of this underscores the importance of discussing with your kids how "public" information can become. Even if an account is private, that doesn't mean that one of your kid's friends won't share the information with the rest of the world.  

P.S. Sorry I couldn't find a link to the article online but check out the October 17, 2009 edition of Family Circle magazine for the article, Share Tactics. There are several examples of how today's teens have no problem revealing every detail of their lives online.

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A jury recently found a Union County Board of Supervisor, Mike King, not guilty of disorderly conduct after half hour of deliberation.  Brick Gentry's Matt Brick and Doug Fulton defended King in the case.  

For details on the case please read Matt's blog post regarding the intersection of employment law and criminal law.

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