How To Wednesday… Creating and LLC

Please note that I actually wrote this on Wednesday, just didn’t get it published until today! I help a lot of people set up an LLC with the State of Wisconsin. The process isn’t very complicated and I sometimes do it online, with my clients present.  Don’t think that this post is going to give …

How To Wednesday: Informal Background Check

WARNING: Before I launch into the “How To” portion of today’s post, let me extend a few words of caution.  This post is going to teach you how to check someone’s history with the Wisconsin Court System.  It is an informal search of public court records.  If you are an employer who is obligated to …

How To Wednesday… Draft a Deed.

Transferring property to another person should be simple enough but the process often seems confusing and complicated.  Take your typical home sale, for example.  Many people choose to list a home with a realtor which requires a listing contract, a disclosure of the property condition, offers, counteroffers, purchase agreements. And those documents are all before …

Introducing How-To Wednesdays! How To…. File a small claims suit.

Welcome to the first installment of “How-To Wednesdays.”  My hope is to spend these days giving some practical DIY guidance. If you have a topic you’d like addressed, let me know! Many people are opting to avoid a lawyer’s office and handle small claims cases on their own. In the world of fancy law lingo …

The Times Are Changing for Lawyers.

“The portion of what lawyers do that absolutely, positively, nobody else can do is thin and shrinking.” Jordan Furlong, Three Ways to Compete in the Marketplace; New Math, New Money: A Lawyer’s Guide to the Changing Business of Law.   It is a warning that has been coming at lawyers for years now. Our system of …

This Time A Federal Judge Is Throwing The Penalty Flag.

It isn’t news that over 4,500 former NFL players sued the NFL in federal court seeking payment for concussion and concussion-related injuries.  What shocked many people was the settlement announcement in August 2013 where both sides agreed to the NFL paying $765 million to end the suit.  The settlement was subject to approval by the …

Changes In Unemployment Eligibility Are Here!

January 5, 2014 has come and gone and with it came some pretty big changes in Wisconsin’s eligibility for unemployment benefits.  There has been an increase in maximum weekly benefits from $363 to $370.  Whoop, whoop.  I know. The biggest change isn’t in the benefits a worker may be eligible for, but whether the worker …

Cow Manure and Bat Guano. Not All Shit is Treated Equally.

“Manure has long been a normal and necessary part of the operation of a dairy farm. Dairy farmers have cows. Cows produce milk and manure. Dairy farmers utilize both milk and manure as assets to their farm operations: farmers sell milk, and farmers spread manure on their fields as a nutrient. The fields provide feed …

Day One Is Done and the Act 10 Battle Goes On.

My first day at Kirk Law Office is in the books. The office is (mostly) set up and I’ve even had a chance to get some work done for clients!  In preparing for this venture I heard that the average solo splits lawyering with business management on a 60% to 40% ratio.  That means nearly …