It was reported that Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly and ISU have been sued by former player Nikki Moody. Fennelly is known as a “passionate” and “demanding” coach. In other words, he isn’t afraid to “get after” players in order to motivate them. Moody obviously took exception to his techniques and has alleged … Continue Reading
There is a really good article in the Des Moines Register today written by Frank Mokosak discussing how a periodic review of your estate plan will alert you to any necessary changes. It seems to come in waves in my legal practice but recently I have had a number of clients need to change their … Continue Reading
I read an article this past weekend indicating that INDIVIDUALS in California may have liability for wage and hour violations of employers. A scary thought for employee managers indeed. “…Enterprising members of the plaintiffs’ bar have recently sought to read the new law as authorizing a private right of action against individual managers. These lawyers … Continue Reading
In a recent case decided against AAMCO, a former franchisee and his spouse defeated a non-compete claim. The Florida franchisee had sold his AAMCO franchise after 21 years and opened a new business more than 90 miles from his former franchise location. The non-compete prohibited the franchisee from opening up a competing business within 10 … Continue Reading
In the Des Moines Register today there is an article about a food truck franchiser that allegedly got cross-wise with investors and franchisees. The article shows just how critical it is to perform due diligence when it relates to franchises (or any other business opportunity). I have a number of posts available I have written … Continue Reading
I normally try to avoid political issues and discussion because really it does me no good. I am sure to tick someone off because I have clients who are on both sides of the aisle and some that are not political at all. But since the Iowa Caucuses enjoy first-in-the-nation status, I’ve decided to join … Continue Reading
People often mistakenly believe that non-compete agreements are not enforceable in Iowa. Sometimes people think that because Iowa is a “right to work” state that means non-competes are not valid or other times people may have “heard” non-competes aren’t valid. Neither is correct. Non-competes in Iowa are enforceable in Iowa under appropriate circumstances. But recently I … Continue Reading
This coming year will be the 10th anniversary of Rush on Business. When I first started the blog I wrote articles 5-6 times per week, worried about my search rankings constantly and did everything I could to get my articles linked with other blogs. I have been one of the fortunate ones in the blogging … Continue Reading
If you own a business and a website you need to be aware of a substantial increase in claims by disabled plaintiffs and their attorneys regarding website accessibility. The plaintiffs argue that businesses which offer goods and services to the public through websites are public accommodations that must comply with the general accessibility mandate of … Continue Reading
Typically you will find the Executive Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives for the Greater Des Moines Partnership asking the questions at entrepreneur luncheons. But this time Mike Colwell will be the one on the hot seat. This will be a great luncheon discussion as Mike will be interviewed by Tej Dhawan (an accomplished entrepreneur and community leader in … Continue Reading
I found this article from Entrepreneur Magazine interesting regarding several franchises that are now offering delivery (some franchise on this list and others do not). The most successful franchises are continually evolving and adapting their concepts to meet consumer demands. What about your franchisor? Are they evolving and adapting?… Continue Reading
I read this article from Inc. magazine explaining why employee performance reviews are a waste of time and money. While I don’t necessarily disagree, my experience tells me they usually are awful for different reasons. In my opinion, most reviews are not conducted honestly. This leads to problems down the road with employee performance and then … Continue Reading
I am often asked about business grants for women and minorities. In my experience these grants can be difficult to come by but they do exist. Here is an article from Entrepreneur discussing grants for women-owned businesses and also a link to the Targeted Small Business site with the Iowa Department of Economic Development.… Continue Reading
My social media news feed is full of articles and stories about business ownership. I am a business lawyer. I represent business people. So it benefits me if I promote business ownership and in general I try to do just that. However, I am here to tell you that despite the mountains of articles talking … Continue Reading
Inc.Magazine has a great article on the 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Buying a Franchise. The one I want to touch on in this post is #4 – Not learning how to implement the franchise system. All too often, would be franchise owners think they are “buying their own business.” This is not really true. What … Continue Reading
I had to share an excellent blog post on Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage: Not Unconstitutionally Discriminatory? by Shannon McCarthy of the ZorBlog. My tongue-in-cheek title unfortunately rings some truth. If you read Shannon’s post you will see that the Seattle mayor and city council members are, shall we say, less than welcoming to franchisors and … Continue Reading
If you are fresh off your spring break and looking for a great networking event I recommend attending the BIZ Luncheon this Wednesday, March 25th at the Ruan II Building, 601 Locust, Conference Room 101 in Downtown Des Moines. Casey will share the tale of his leap from the corporate world with Microsoft to the … Continue Reading
The Brick Gentry Law Firm is pleased to announce that three distinguished agricultural attorneys have joined the law firm effective February 2, 2015. Those attorneys include (click for bios): Eldon McAfee Erin Herbold-Swalwell Julia Vyskocil All three bring a breadth of experience particularly in Ag law including trials and business work. We are very excited … Continue Reading
All too often business owners neglect succession planning. In fact, according to a recent Inc Magazine article and Deloitte survey on the topic, 90 percent of business leaders recognize the success of their company depends on effective leadership succession but only 13 percent are confident about the succession plans they have made. And those are business … Continue Reading
Franchise Times has an interesting article on 20 to Watch: franchise trendsetters in 2015. One of the more interesting items to me was No. 18 – So Sue Me. Apparently one enterprising insurance executive has set up a suite of insurance products specifically designed for franchisors and franchisees to limit their risk against lawsuits. You … Continue Reading
Back in January of 2013 I shared that the Iowa Supreme Court began a new specialty court for business cases. According to a recent article from the Des Moines Business Record it sounds as though the court is off to a good start. (Unfortunately the article is only available in the member’s section of the … Continue Reading
I don’t know why or what’s in the water but November 17th must have been my own little national start a business day as I helped people form and start four businesses today. It is days like today that certainly keep you energized as a business lawyer and it is fun to see the excitement … Continue Reading
Entrepreneur Magazine columnists Courtney Spritzer and Stephanie Abrams list Hiring a Good Lawyer as one of the four things a start up business owner should do that may not be in the business plan. Another professional they suggest engaging is a knowledgeable accountant. And I could not agree more. In fact, I get worried when a client … Continue Reading
I was recently contacted by a business client whose employee signed a “contract” purporting to be from YELLOW PAGE IOWA that had been faxed to their business for what appeared to be a free Yellow Page or Facebook ad. The contract is misleading and deceptive and the fine print actually attempts to lock the client … Continue Reading
