The IowaBiz.com site is gaining popularity daily. Yours truly is one of the contributing authors but the other eleven authors have me checking this site every day and reading it through my feedreader. I am continually impressed with the quality of the ideas and concepts developed by the authors. A couple of my recent favorites and applicable to readers of
Iowa Banking Law Blog from Dickinson Law Firm
Howard Hagen and Jeffrey Andersen of The Dickinson Law Firm have started the Iowa Banking Law Blog. This is sure to be a helpful resource for the Iowa banking industry.
A recent post on the Iowa Supreme Court’s dismissal of an antitrust class action against Visa and MasterCard caught my eye. It appears there
Employee Evaluations Are Critical to Firing Decisions
Charlie Longbrief had just turned off his computer to end his day when the phone rang. It was John Grains. John owns the local grain elevator in Hometown, Iowa and Charlie has been his business lawyer for several years.
"Charlie, I’ve got a problem," he said.
"Tell me about it," Charlie said.
"Well, I need to fire Nancy
Document Retention and Electronic Discovery
In today’s business environment, organizations need to respond to an increasing number of document requests, from regulatory compliance issues to internal investigations to full-scale litigation. Much of this information is available electronically. Despite the prevalence of such document requests most organizations remain reactive rather than proactive when it comes to dealing with the issue of
Business Contracts: Remember Environmental Issues
Let’s say you are the owner of a manufacturing company. You’ve decided to sell your business and you are presented with a Letter of Intent to buy the business. It’s everything you wanted with respect to the price and the buyer is financial sound.
You may be excited about the potential sale but a word
Trademark Law Primer
Iowa intellectual property lawyer Brett Trout offers a trademark law primer today on IowaBiz.com. Brett points out that companies seeking to protect their trademarks should consider federal registration of those marks for valuable trademark protection. He says,
Once you start using your trademark in commerce, you obtain what are known as "common law" trademark
New York Lawyer Advertising Rules Declared Unconstitutional
Thanks to Rob La Gatta over at Lexblog for the heads up that the New York lawyer advertising rules have been declared unconstitutional.
I hope this means we will see regular posts again from Imke Ratschko of the New York Small Business Law Blog. She has great insight and practical posts that provide helpful legal information
Ten Tips for New Small Businesses
I ran across this list of tips for new small businesses. Some terrific advice. Here are the ten tips as listed:
- Save up as much money as possible before starting.
- Start on a shoestring.
- Protect your personal assets.
- Understand how–and if–you will make a profit.
- Make a business plan, so matter how short.
- Get and
Drug Testing Basics for Iowa Employers
An employer recently called me to inquire about a drug testing policy. The employer received reports that a delivery driver had driven while under the influence of alcohol. These types of occurrences often serve as wake up calls. Drug testing can deter such behavior. So it makes sense to implement drug tests in the workplace
Sign This Guy Up! Central Iowa Blogger Finds Success
Like the Portland Trail Blazers drafting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan, how is it that Trent Hamm’s Blog, The Simple Dollar, is not among the blogs listed on the Central Iowa Bloggers site? This guy is the Tim Duncan of the Central Iowa blogging community. Not flashy but extremely successful.
The