On April 29th, Polk County voters will decide whether we should fix the security and safety problems with the current courthouse and to build a facility that is large enough to meet the current demands of Polk County residents.  Consider the following facts:

Overcrowding

  • The current courthouse was built 108 years ago.
  • The population of

Des Moines attorney Charles Kenville has a great post on the need for lawyers to be mindful of the new media exposure in their cases.  Chuck has a criminal law bent to his post but his reminder is just as true for civil cases.

I know from experience that savvy businesses are acutely aware

A cautionary tale about partnership from Richard Fox on the Kauffman eVenturing site is an absolute must read.  Fox shares how he thought his legal background would protect him well as he created shareholder agreements, buy/sell agreements, voting trusts, special bylaws and articles of incorporation when he entered into a business partnership.  But even he was surprised

Today is my last day with the Sullivan & Ward law firm.  This coming Monday I am taking a hop, skip and a jump over to the law firm of Brick Gentry, P.C. in West Des Moines, Iowa.  This is actually almost literally true as the Brick Gentry law firm is located across the parking lot just to the west

I will be speaking on a panel today at the Central Iowa Certifiied Financial Planner (CFP) Luncheon on the impact of blogging in my career and whether other professionals should start their own blog.  As I said before to the Sertoma Club, when I started this blog I never could have imagined all the great things that could have happened

Here’s some great tips for new small businesses.  Some terrific advice.  The top ten tips as listed:

  1. Save up as much money as possible before starting.
  2. Start on a shoestring.
  3. Protect your personal assets.
  4. Understand how–and if–you will make a profit.
  5. Make a business plan, no matter how short.
  6. Get and keep a competitive edge.
  7. Put