Judge Rosenberg gave preliminary approval today of a $179.95 million dollar settlement in the Iowa consumer class action against Microsoft. Unlike other settlements across the country, Microsoft has agreed to pay cash to consumers as opposed to vouchers for future purchases of software. As I predicted, the settlement is substantial and actually in line
Trout on Tech for the Non-Tech Lawyer
Brett Trout had an interesting post today on the Top Ten Technologies for the Non-Tech Lawyer. In my humble opinion the number one opportunity for the non-tech lawyer is reading feeds. The amount of information available today with nearly one click of the mouse is incredible.
Why should lawyers care? This post
Iowa’s New Minimum Wage Law 2007
Stephen R. Hampton, Executive Officer of Wage Payment and Minimum Wage for the Iowa Division of Labor offered up the following to explain the changes to Iowa’s new minimum wage law in the April 2007 edition of the Iowa Lawyer. The law took effect April 1, 2007.
- It increased the minimum wage from
New Iowa Intellectual Property Blog Comes Online
Filewrapper.com is the latest Iowa law blog to hit the blogosphere by the Des Moines law firm of McKee, Voorhees and Sease. The blog will focus on intellectual property law including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other related issues.
Several representatives from MVS attended our Lawpportunities blawg seminar last November. I am glad
Around the Horn with E-Commerce Law: Blawg Review #103
A regular reader asked whether I was going to write my annual baseball post. Well, he is in luck and I can actually mix in a little law with it.
If you love baseball and e-commerce law (don’t we all?) you will want to check out Blawg Review #103 from Jonathan Frieden of E-Commerce Law
Franchise Due Diligence
If you are looking at a franchise opportunity you should read this article from Barry Kurtz on Digging into Franchises: The Due Diligence Minefield. His proposed Legal Due Diligence Checklist within the article is a must read.
The due diligence process is important when buying a franchise (or any business). Kurtz’s article deals more
Forbes Says Des Moines Great Place to Do Business
Doug Mitchell of Moments of Clarity points out that Forbes Magazine has ranked Des Moines as the 4th most desirable place in the U.S. to do business. Doug says it is No. 1 in his book.
Adam Steen of Growth Capitalism writes about the Generation Iowa Commission whose goal is to address the "brain drain"
Limited Liability Company (LLC) Formation in Iowa
The Limited Liability Company is a hybrid form of doing business that combines characteristics of the corporate structure and the partnership structure. It is a separate entity like a corporation and therefore carries liability protection for all of its members/owners, but is generally taxed like a partnership which has the benefit of flow-through taxation.
The
One in a Thousand
Drew McLellan of Drew’s Marketing Minute recently celebrated the 1,000th comment on his blog. He now has over 600 blogs linking to him. Quite amazing considering his blog is only seven months old.
Drew is just one of the great business bloggers you can read on the Central Iowa Bloggers News River. For example
Protect Your Business with Restrictive Covenant Agreements
I read an excellent article by Adam Siegelhiem of Stark & Stark concerning Restrictive Covenant Agreements for Franchises. Although his post is intended for franchises it is advisable for any business to consider restrictive covenant agreements for their employees.
Somewhat surprisingly, many of the small business owners I talk with are reluctant to enter