Mike Sansone and Drew McLellan have developed the I List – a list that showcases the power of blogs in Iowa.  While Mike did a great job of compiling the list, some notable Iowa law blogs are missing from the list including Jennifer Jaskolka-Brown’s family law blog, George Davision’s Law Blog, Bill Grell of Huber Book & Cortese,  The Yin Blog  and our own Sullivan & Ward Iowa Law Blog. 

Our law firm has continued to recognize the power of blogs and we now have as many active blogs as any other law firm in the state including Rush on Business, Jennifer’s blog, and the Iowa Law Blog.  On our Iowa law blog we have had six different lawyers who have posted on topics ranging from employment law to OSHA regulations.  Matt Gardner also had his own Wealth and Estate Planning Blog but now has turned his efforts toward developing our law firm blog.

So here is my list with those law blogs added.

Adam Carroll
Andy Drish
Art Dinkin, CFP, CLU, ChFC
Association of Business & Industry
Babich, Goldman, Cashatt & Renzo
Barry Pace
BeatCanvas

Bill Grell
Blue Frog Arts
Brett Trout
Bridges Financial
Broom Wizards
C Wenger Group
Carpe Factum
Claire Celsi
Cloud Nine Diamonds
Compass Financial Services
Conference Calls Unlimited
ConverStations
Dave Dreeszen
Des Moines Families
Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen
DMWebLife
Do You Q?
Dr U Fantasy Football
DSM Buzz
Dwebware
Employer Ease
Eric Peterson
Focal Point Multimedia

George Davison
Gift Idea Help
Home Know-it-All
Insight Advertising & Marketing
Iowa Bed & Breakfast Association
Iowa Biz
J. Erik Potter
Jann Freed

Jennifer Jaskolka-Brown
Josh More
Kyle’s Cove
Maiers Educational Services
McKee, Vorhees & Sease
McLellan Marketing Group
NCMIC Insurance
Purple Wren
Radio Iowa
REL Productions
Rental Metrics
Rita Perea Consulting
Roth & Company
RSM McGladrey
Ruby’s Pub
Runners’ Lounge
Rush Nigut
Ryan Rossinick
Simplifive
Snap! Creative Works
Studio 24 Design

Sullivan & Ward’s Iowa Law Blog
Swing Station
The Members Group
The Mitchell Group
The Simple Dollar

The Yin Blog
Transition Capital Management
US Rodeo Supply
Victoria Herring
Wade Den Hartog
Wealth With Mortgage
When Words Matter
White Rabbit Group

So don’t just copy this list.  Add to it.  I am sure there are more hard working Iowa bloggers that deserve recognition and credit.  Let me know of any you would like to add.

The Iowa Caucus is approaching quickly.  If you attend campaign rallies for the candidates or listen to TV ads you will almost never hear anything about small business. 

But in reality, America’s small businesses are the driver of our economy.  Consider these facts from the Small Business Administration (SBA) as outlined in February 2006:

10. Small businesses make up 99.7 percent of all United States employers.

9. Small businesses create more than 50 percent of the American nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).

8. Small patenting firms produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

7. The more than 24 million small businesses in the United States are located in every community and neighborhood.

6. Small businesses employ 50.1 percent of the United States’s non-farm private sector workers.

5. Home-based businesses account for 53 percent of all small businesses.

4. Small businesses are 97 percent of America’s exporters and produce 26 percent of all export value.

3. United States saw an estimated 580,865 new small firms with employees start-up in the last year measured.

2. There are approximately 4,115,900 minority-owned businesses and 6,492,795 women-owned businesses in the United States, and almost all of them are small businesses.

1. The latest figures show that small business creates 65 percent or more of America’s net new jobs.

I encourage you to find out where the candidates stand on America’s small business issues.  It’s an issue vital to our economy.  You are unlikely to find an express position regarding small business on any of the major candidates’ Web sites, so you will need to ask them.  Seriously, can anyone tell me where their candidates stands on SPECIFIC small business issues? 

 

A Des Moines Register article discusses how many bosses are unwilling to allow night shift workers to caucus.  Understandably this makes politically active employees a little upset.  The article quotes a Medicom employee who said,

"It made me so furious. I raised such a fit I’m surprised they didn’t send me home."

It’s true that Iowa law does not require employers to give employees time off so they can caucus.  But as I have pointed out before it is my view that treating employees with respect is one of the best ways to avoid employee lawsuits.  An employer should ask themselves whether a few hours away from work every four years would really hurt production?  But think of the goodwill that could occur by respecting the employees’ desire to participate in the political process.  Do you think you might have more committed and loyal employees?

At least the Des Moines Police Department gets it because police officers working on the night shift will have the opportunity to caucus provided they have made the request in advance and calls for service allow them to do it.

Update:  The Des Moines Register reported in its Sunday edition that the Medicom worker described above will now be allowed to participate in the caucus. 

American_dream With 2008 fast approaching perhaps you are considering the pursuit of the American Dream to own your own business.  But where do you start?  Here are some helpful legal tips to consider before you start your Iowa business:

1. Find out the availability of your proposed business name. You can do a quick search on the Iowa Secretary of State Web site to see whether your name is available. If the name is available you may want to reserve the name through the Secretary of State but you are not required to do so before forming your business entity. You may also want to consider whether any company outside Iowa has your business name. You can conduct a free search on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or use a paid service to research trademarks nationwide. It is also a good idea to check whether someone has your proposed Internet domain name.  An intellectual property attorney could also be very helpful in this process.

2. Pick a Place to Incorporate or Form a Limited Liability Company (LLC). I am sometimes asked whether an Iowa company should incorporate or form an LLC in another state such as Delaware or Nevada. In general, an Iowa small business is probably better off incorporating or forming an LLC here in Iowa. The filing fees are low and the ongoing fees for registering the business in Iowa are among the lowest in the country. (Only $30.00 every two years if you file your biennial report online).

3. Choose the Shareholders and Directors. If you are forming a corporation who will be the shareholders in the company?  If it’s an LLC, who are the members? These are the owners of the company.  Determine how much capital you will need. Do you have enough capital or access to capital in order to start the business on your own? If not you may need to consider other investors.

In most cases the shareholders of the small business are also the directors. Do you want outside directors? There may be good reasons to have outside directors but think this over carefully before you elect to do so.  Electing outside directors may limit your control over the business.

3. Create your Articles of Incorporation or Organization. The articles of incorporation (corp) or organization (LLC) act as a charter to start your new business in Iowa. The filing fee with the Secretary of State is currently $50.00. It is generally a good idea to have an Iowa business lawyer prepare your Articles of Incorporation or Organization and other corporate documents.

4. Prepare corporate bylaws or operating agreement. The bylaws (corp) or operating agreement (LLC) set out the operating standards and procedures the business company will follow.

5.Create meeting minutes, resolutions and agreements. It is a good idea to document the initial meeting minutes of the company including the meetings of the shareholders and directors or the members. At this time, you will elect the officers of the company including the president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. You will also issue stock (corp) or membership (LLC) certificates at this stage. If you have multiple shareholders or members you will also likely need a buy-sell agreement.

6. Obtain your employer identification number (EIN). Your corporation or LLC will need to obtain an employer identification number from the IRS. This can be done through a convenient online application process.

7. Elect your tax status.  There are several different options for how your corporation or LLC could be taxed.  Make sure to talk with both your accountant and lawyer about which form of business entity is the most advantageous for your situation.

8. Open a bank account. You will typically need the EIN and a banking resolution in order to do this.

9. Obtain any licenses and permits. You will need to check the federal, state and local regulations to determine whether you need and licenses or permits to operate your business.

10. Follow the corporate formalties of running a business. In Iowa, this includes registering your business every two years with the Secretary of State’s office. You also need to do corporate minutes at least on an annual basis including the election of officers and directors. Sign all documentation using your title as a corporate officer. You will also want to minimize or avoid situations where limited liability is not an absolute.

For more information on setting up an Iowa corporation or LLC please visit my small business formation page. 

photo on flickr by MargaretFun.

An Iowa man who worked with Catfish Bend Casinos in Burlington was fired for posting a Dilbert cartoon on the office bulletin board.  Apparently the boss didn’t appreciate the comparison to a drunken lemur.

Dilbert creater, Scott Adams, offers this advice:

If you intend to mock your boss with Dilbert comics, the trick is in knowing which comics to pick. Apparently there is a fine line between posting a comic that criticizes a particular policy decision, versus a comic that calls your boss an inebriated prosimian. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) 

It’s important to remember that humor is in the eye of the beholder.   If humor is used too much or at the wrong time in the workplace bad things can happen.  A hostile work environment occurs when jokes, suggestive remarks, pictures, cartoons, or sexually, discriminatory or otherwise derogatory comments alter the circumstances of the workplace.

On the other hand, humor in the workplace is important to job satisfaction.  I really can’t imagine working in a place without some humor here and there.  But at the very least it’s best to still maintain professionalism and have a good sense of how people will react to your humor.  Calling your boss a drunken lemur?   Even Adams agrees that one was a little more cutting than the typical Dilbert strip.  In an interview with the Register reporter he said, "I can see how this one may have been a tad bit over the line."

Abe Lincoln, Freedom Fighter (1978)
Abe: I don’t know about this politician business.
Judge: What do you mean by that?
Abe: If I have to sacrifice my integrity for politics, I guess I’ll just have to stay a lawyer! 

Up to this point I have avoided blogging on politics and the Iowa caucus.  It’s a no win situation for me.  I have clients on both sides of the aisle and a policy not to debate politics with clients has served me well.    Besides, Iowa lawyers like Gordon Fischer and Ted Sporer do a tremendous job of covering politics with their blogs so I’ll leave the debate to the experts.

But one campaign strategy surprised me.  Many of the candidates are lawyers.  But as Joe Kristan recently pointed out, lawyers are not exactly the apple of the public’s eye.  It’s probably part of the reason why lawyer candidates tend to rarely emphasize their legal careers.  But one candidate has decided to go against the grain.  Trial lawyer extraordinaire John Edwards is campaigning in Iowa today with his most famous client.

As detailed in his book, Four Trials, Edwards obtained a $25 million judgment on behalf of Valerie Lakey and her parents.  Valerie nearly lost her life when she was disemboweled by a swimming pool drain that was incorrectly attached.  He has sent out mailings featuring the Lakeys and is now campaigning with them.  He also unabashedly points to his career as a trial lawyer as an example of how he will stand up and fight against corporate and special interests.    It’s a bold but risky move given the public opinion of trial lawyers in particular.  But I am proud of Edwards for not shying away from his tremendous career as a lawyer. 

While the image of lawyers could be improved, it should start with lawyers being proud of the profession they have chosen.  We offer society a valuable and important service.  My thanks goes to lawyers like Edwards who aren’t afraid to talk about it.   

Photo on flickr by alexdecarvalho  

  

There is a nice article in the Business Record by Amanda Ripp this week about the Central Iowa Blogga Nostra gaining momentum and growing in popularity.  I am continually impressed with the quality of individuals and business people who are blogging in Central Iowa.  The article features several quotes from members of the Blogga Nostra extolling the benefits of business blogging: 

Mike Sansone (Blogging and social media coach): "The reach (of blogging) extends beyond borders; it brings money and business into Iowa."   "In the old days, it took a phone book and a chamber of commerce to extend your business to another city," Sansone said. Blogga Nostra members are extending their businesses through more high-tech means with their blogs.

Angela Maiers (Independent education consultant):  "I have seen a difference, not just with blogging, but being on the Web," Maiers said. "It has helped me to build connections with businesses and other educators, and helped me to prepare students for the 21st century. There are powerful people with powerful ideas outside of the classroom and I have made those connections through blogging."

Timothy Johnson (Chief Accomplishment Officer of Carpe Factum and professor at Drake University):  Timothy met his favorite author, Steve Faber, through blogging.  "A couple of months after I began blogging, I got an e-mail from Steve, out of the blue, complimenting me on my writing," Johnson said. After making the connection, Faber spoke to one of Johnson’s classes.

Mike Wagner (branding consultant):  "When there are possible business opportunities, you are able to sustain those relationships," Wagner said. "You have a shot to do business with people. Typically you hand a business card to someone and they throw it away. Give them a brochure, maybe they read it and then they throw it away. With blogging you can keep up the conversation. You keep business growing and react to consumers through an interactive piece."

Brett Trout (Iowa patent and intellectual property attorney):  If a blog is linked to a more popular or higher-traffic blog, it will be easier for search engines to find the site, increasing the blogger’s popularity, Trout said, "This is huge to Google."

Andy Brudtkuhl (Web developer with Simplifive):  "The diversity of the group makes for different readership; it allows us to cross audiences," said Brudtkuhl,

and even this Iowa business attorney:  "You link out to other people, or mention them on a post; it is a reciprocal effect," . "They write about you, and then someone else writes about that [post].  That’s how it grows."  "The cost is minimal, Bloggers can spend anywhere from nothing to a couple hundred dollars per month. Web sites can cost thousands of dollars to maintain."

So what are you waiting for?  Join us at the Panera U in West Des Moines the first Friday of every month.  It’s a great opportunity to meet new friends and gain business contacts.

P.S. Thanks to fellow Central Iowa Blogger, Doug Mitchell, for lunch today.  Doug is a perfect example of someone that has gained contacts through the Central Iowa blogging community and is now using those contacts to build a business.

The New York Knicks sexual harassment case provides some great lessons on employment law.  Previously I touched on the Knicks case in explaining how companies could avoid sexual harassment claims.  Now the case has been settled and there are additional lessons to learn.

Frank Steinberg of the New Jersey Employment Law Blog explains the importance of "fee-shifting" in employment law discrimination cases.  In these cases the loser pays the attorneys’ fees of the other side.  This places a great deal of pressure on the defendants to consider settlement.  As Frank said,

It is quite possible that, depending on the cases, the fees could be greater than the damages awarded to the plaintiff.  Thus, a realistic evaluation of the likelihood of complete success should always be a part of the defense strategy and should be evaluated on a continuing basis. 

You should always consider business strategies for litigation.  I encourage you to approach litigation dispassionately and consider the best business approach to ending your dispute.  Sometimes the best business approach means litigation is necessary but only after you have carefully evaluated all aspects of your case to determine how to prevail, or at the very least, extract yourself from the litigation under the most favorable settlement terms.

Or, if you got your brains beat in like the Knicks did settlement is never a bad option.

 

There’s no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting.  David Letterman.

Joe Kristan shows he is really in the holiday spirit over on the Roth & Company Tax Update blog when he followed up on tax professor James Maule’s post that every profession has its good and bad.  I know a lot of people don’t like lawyers but weasels AND black widow spiders? 

Of course Joe proves there is no accounting for taste.