Chris Moander of the Wisconsin Business Law and Litigation Blog shares his take on the timeless advice that business people can pay for it now . . . or pay for it later.  Chris points out that many business people sadly lump legal services into the "too costly" or "unnecessary" categories when it comes to starting or running a business.  And while good legal services are not cheap it may actually save you in the long run.  Here are some of the downsides for not seeking professional advice as described by Chris:

  • Purchased form documents create a false sense of security as “boilerplate” terms are assumed by the entrepreneurs to be “safe,” which is hardly the case. Owners who are not getting along and decide to split may find themselves mired in extremely expensive litigation over a long period of time, all of which could have been avoided by spending a fraction of the litigation costs on quality document drafting by an attorney.
  • Technical faults in any number of license or regulatory filings go unnoticed until the company is audited, a criminal investigation occurs, or some other form of litigation begins. The litigation costs dwarf up-front legal costs due to the belief that preventative legal advice was not necessary or worthwhile.
  • Buyers and sellers throw together an amalgam of words, believing that the resulting document reflects a mutual understanding. Eventually, one party feels aggrieved and suddenly the so-called contract is revealed as imprecise and nebulous…and so costly litigation commences.

My favorite blogging CPA, Joe Kristan, also shares similar advice over on IowaBiz.com.  Joe’s moral?

When you mess with the ownership of your business, it’s a lot cheaper to call a business lawyer and a tax guy before you do the deal; it costs a lot more to repair a deal than to do it right in the first place. 

Focus on doing it right the first time.  You will never regret it.

Terri Rasmussen of the Ohio Practical Business Law Counsel blog says that every client should want a lawyer that blogs.  As you might guess, I agree. 

Why is it important, you ask?  Terri shares her thoughts (with some comments by me):

  1. Knowledgeable Entrepreneur.  The blogging lawyer thinks in broader terms about what they want to know and what they can offer to clients.
  2. Communication 101.  Connecting in a simple, straight-forward manner is key.
  3. Authenticy and Real Voice.  You get to see the personality of the lawyer. 
  4. Quality and Competence.  There is some ability to assess the quality and competence of the lawyer you are thinking about hiring.  No way to do that with a yellow pages ad.  This is where Terri makes perhaps her best point.  Any lawyer that is willing to put themselves out there and open up to scrutiny ought to be high on the list of any client.
  5. Commitment to the Law Made Practical.  Most clients want to deal with a lawyer that just isn’t in it for the money.  Why not consider a blogging lawyer that not only spends their spares time writing but also GIVES AWAY practical information to help people?  Blogging lawyers care.

Like Terri, I strive to have fun and help people through my blog and there is no question it has made me a much more effective lawyer.  Blogging is an educational process.  Not just for the reader but especially for the writer.  Without blogging I would never get to learn from great lawyers like Terri.

It’s always nice when people say great things about you but I am particularly humbled by a recent post from What About Clients?  WAC? is one of the great blogs (and I do mean great as evidenced by their award as the Best All Business Blog for 2007 by the ABA).  I respect Dan Hull and his gang for their absolute passion to delivering superior customer service.  WAC? is really just an extension of that passion.  As a young lawyer it was drilled into me that you do whatever it takes to serve clients and even a little bit more.  It’s apparent Dan Hull lives that motto every day – 24/7.

But now there is a little pressure for the Blawg Review on February 18th.  Between WAC? and the comments from the wildly popular Iowa patent attorney Brett Trout I better not disappoint.

When our law firm started the Iowa Law Blog, I had high hopes despite the fact that I knew a firm-wide blog would not be easy.  But I saw what Stark and Stark had created with their New Jersey Law Blog and knew it could be done.

I don’t know if you have noticed lately but Sullivan & Ward’s Iowa Law Blog really seems to be catching its stride.  Three blogging faithfuls (Matt Gardner, Jennifer Jaskolka-Brown and Liz Overton) are creating a wealth of information in niche topics of Iowa law including weath and estate planning, family law and employment law.   Here are some of their great posts this past week:

Plus we officially (finally) made the I list.   Thanks to Chris Punke for that great widget.  Now I just need to get it on the blog.

 

 

Super Tuesday is behind us and neither party has its nominee although John McCain may be very close to securing his party’s nomination soon.  So my question is which presidential candidate do you believe will best represent the interests of small business?  According to a Small Business Television poll (SBTV.com), Barack Obama will best represent the interests of small business.

It would be fun to know what you think.   

I have often stressed the need for business people to follow corporate formalities and keep their corporations or limited liability companies up-to-date.  However, the recent decision impacting builders from the Iowa Supreme Court makes it significantly more important for builders and other contractors to do so.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruling essentially says that builders must provide a 15-year implied warranty for their work.  Fifteen years is a long time.  If a builder were to let their corporate entity lapse it could mean the builder would be personally liable if a lawsuit were to occur.  Same for other contractors who are likely to be pulled into lawsuits for work they performed as subcontractors.

Here are some basic tips on how to make sure your corporate entity stays viable:

  1. Hold regular board of director and shareholder meetings in accordance with the bylaws.
  2. Document those meetings with meeting minutes.
  3. Observe corporate formalities (e.g. segregating corporate assets from personal assets; adhering to the bylaws, etc.)
  4. File biennial reports with the Iowa Secretary of State.

Another tip would be that if you intend to dissolve or shut down a corporate entity you should follow the steps to publish notice of the dissolution as set forth in the Iowa Code.  This could allow the dissolved corporate entity to avoid certain claims that are not commenced within three years of the publication of the notice.

As always, be sure to seek the advice of your business lawyer if you have any questions in your specific situation.

My friend and law partner Matt Gardner has an excellent summary on Sullivan & Ward’s Iowa Law Blog about the crushing blow handed down to home builders this past Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court. 

The ruling holds builders responsible to subsequent owners for defective conditions.  The old law was caveat emptor or "buyer beware".  The Court noted that public policy justifications support further erosion of the doctrine of caveat emptor.  The purpose of the rule is to ensure that innocent home buyers are protected from latent defects.  The court said subsequent purchasers are in no better position to discover those defects than the original purchaser.  "Builders should be accountable for their work" quoted the court.

The new law might become known as the Home Builders’ Attorneys Equal Employment Act (HBAEEA).  It seems inevitable more lawsuits will occur against builders because of the Court’s interpretation.  Great if you are a homeowner but very bad for builders.

Read the full opinion here.

photo on flickr by pdz house

The Giants denied the Patriots a perfect season with an amazing 17-14 victory in tonight’s Super Bowl.  And as much as I enjoyed the game I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read a headline that Senator Arlen Specter intends to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and has indicated that the Patriots’ spygate controversy could go to hearings.

Frankly, I’ve had it.  Don’t we have a little more serious problems to deal with like a struggling economy, a mortgage foreclosure crisis and wars in Iraq and Afganistan.  Our government should stay out of the current NFL controversy and also major league baseball for that matter.  But if they are bound and determined to investigate something perhaps I could go along with an investigation of professional soccer.  After all, the money paid to David Beckham after playing a measly number of games is the single biggest atrocity I have seen in sports during my lifetime.

 

Andy Priestley of DWebware tagged me some time ago for the "Get to Know Your Author" meme.  It has taken me a while to get to it but here we go.

The rules of “tag” are simple:

  • Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
  • Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
  • Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Seven random and/or wierd things about me:

  1. I am not named after Rush Limbaugh or the rock band.  The truth is my mom has a bit of flair for the unusual or dramatic.  For further evidence, my brother’s name is Roman.  Turns out I was named appropriately because I started walking (actually running) at seven months and was kind of a terror as a young kid.
  2. I was born in Germany.  There was been wide speculation about whether this will halt my presidential aspirations but I contend I am a natural born citizen because my father was in the military at the time and I have always had American citizenship (although I did have dual-citizenship until the age of 18).  And no, I really don’t speak German very well and on one of my trips back to the homeland I thought Wienerwald was a place to get hot dogs.  (Actually the restaurant was named after Vienna Woods and sold chicken).
  3. I grew up in Corydon, Iowa (population about 1,600).  We had no stop lights in town and definitely no McDonalds, Wal-Mart or even a Pizza Hut.  But it was a wonderful place to grow up and I’ll never forget the fun I had playing quarterback for the greatest team in Wayne Falcon football history.  While that assertion may be disputed by classes before us (but none after us), there is no denying our senior record speaks for itself – case closed.
  4. I love baseball.  My office is decorated with baseball memorabilia featuring George Brett and Cal Ripken, Jr.  I coach both of my sons’ little league baseball teams and this year will begin coaching an AAU team after the little league season. 
  5. I am a business lawyer but I started my career handling just about everything including traffic tickets, personal injury, family law and criminal law.  My varied background has served me well in representing business people who often run into these issues and don’t know who to call.  My first trial involved representing a lady accused of running a red light and hitting another car.  The only independent witness testified that my lady had run the red light.  My cross-examination must have been okay because miraculously we won the case but I was so surprised I needed the judge to repeat his verdict when he ruled from the bench.  
  6. My wife is a lawyer and when we got married our pastor told us that ordinarily he doesn’t recommend it but would advise us to "talk to our lawyer" if we ever had marital problems.
  7. For my dream job I would love to be a sports announcer.  I used to sit in the stands as a little kid and announce the high school basketball games with a buddy.  Maybe I could trade places with Bob Costas?

So there you go.  Seven things you may, or may not, have wanted to know about me.  Now I want to hear from:

Back to business law on Monday with word on a big Iowa Supreme Court ruling that has a big impact on home builders.

Did you know that women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men? 

Check out this interesting video from the Forbes.com Network featuring an unique program from Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, a provider of micro loans and education for women entrepreneurs.   The non-profit organization’s goal is to inspire one million women to reach $1 million in revenues by 2010. 

For more information be sure to visit the Make Mine a Million Web site.  It’s a great concept that Iowa’s women business owners should investigate more closely to see what opportunities are available.