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

The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) begins today.  Earlier this year my RAGBRAI inspired Blawg Review #147 received kind comments from my fellow legal bloggers and it was a little deviation from the typical posts you see on this site.

I am still taking a little break but new posts will return soon.  Also be sure to check out the new and improved Iowa Biz site which is now sponsored by the Des Moines Business Record.  I'll post twice on month for the Iowa Biz site.  My next post on Iowa Biz appears Friday.

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This Wednesday morning (Jan. 16th) I will speak at the IowaBiz breakfast series on the How To Avoid Legal Surprises for Your Company.  The presentation begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Professional Solutions Insurance Services' Building, 14001 University Avenue, Clive, Iowa.

Thanks to our hosts from Professional Solutions Insurance Services.  So far, the series has been fantastic including talks from Drew McLellan, Shirley Poertner, Brian Honnold and Mitch Matthews.

I hope to see you there.

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I read with interest fellow IowaBiz author Victor Aspengren's article on Forget the Ratings in conducting annual performance reviews.  Victor points out that most companies use subjective rating systems in their performance reviews which leave everyone in the company, supervisors and employees alike, dreading the annual review process.

What happens next is what I call the Lake Wobegon effect:  Every employee becomes "above average" because supervisors are unwilling to hold employees accountable.  Then when it comes time to discipline or terminate employees companies are often shocked when I tell them it may be difficult to discipline or terminate an employee because of their employee evaluations.

Employee evaluations are valuable proof in an employment lawsuit.  Make sure poor performance is properly documented.  Otherwise, the judge or jury will not believe you when you say the employee performed poorly but all their evaluations are excellent.  You should conduct the evaluations on a regular basis, usually at least once per year.  And Victor's ideas on creating a dialogue with your employees is on the mark as long as that dialogue is open, honest and holds employees accountable for their performance.

See also:  Considerations for Your Performance Evaluation and Employee Evaluations are Critical to Firing Decisions.

photo on flickr by Krista76

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There are two great opportunities for Central Iowa entrepreneurs tomorrow:

1. IowaBiz Building Business Breakfast Series - Sponsored by Professional Solutions Insurance Services.  Drew McLellan headlines the initial breakfast presentation from the IowaBiz authors.  Drew will talk about the three marketing mistakes most businesses make.  The presentation is at the Professionals Solutions offices at 14001University Avenue in Clive beginning at 7:30 a.m.
2. SEMEE - sponsored by Transition Capital Management.  The meeting's agenda has been prepared by the Iowa Biotechnology Association.  If you are interested in Iowa's biotech industry you better not miss the meeting at the Science Center of Iowa located in downtown Des Moines.  The meeting starts at 4:00 p.m.  Past SEMEE events have been a hit!

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Iowa intellectual property lawyer Brett Trout has a terrific post on IowaBiz illustrating why it is dangerous to steal online contracts.  Brett says,

I have seen companies steal terms of use agreements and privacy policies from websites that have nothing to do with their line of business. Not even taking the time to read the contracts, they unwittingly leave in the original company's name, address and preferred jurisdiction. An Iowa company looks pretty awkward explaining to a court why their contract dispute should be tried in Albuquerque.

Terms in contracts are construed against the drafter. If you leave in an ambiguity, the court will read it in favor of the people suing you. That is why lawyers take such care in customizing contracts to your business and its goals.

Sometimes it is almost laughable how many companies copy the terms of use and other online policies of major Web sites.  In doing some research for an online auction company I noticed several of the companies I researched had the same online policies.  Was it just coincidence the policies were strikingly similar to eBay?  Well, I guess if it ain't broke . . .

Even if you use standard terms of use policies and other online policies you will need some customization for your particular business needs.  Discuss with your lawyer whether he or she has standards forms that can be customized for your business.  Most eCommerce lawyers have such forms.  But it is a good practice to avoid directly copying the terms of use and other online policies of other companies.

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