Wisconsin Business Law and Litigation
A blog dedicated to Wisconsin business law and business litigation matters, authored by Chris Moander of the Moander Law Firm.

Dear Readers,

I recently joined a law firm, Dahlberg Przybyla Law LLC.  I am very excited about this opportunity and hope that you will continue to read my blog as I expand my practice and grow into my new role.  My goal is two-fold: (1) continue to blog about small business matters in Wisconsin and (2) to develop my wills, trusts, and estates practice.  Both practice areas compliment each other, allowing me to help more people. 

Once I relocate this blog, which is my goal, I will make sure to post all relevant information on this blog. 

Regards,
Chris

Chris Moander, an attorney with Dahlberg Przybyla Law LLC based in Milwaukee Metro, is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin and assisting individuals with end of life matters.

The current business environment requires business owners to cut the fat of a business to keep it going.  It’s a tough job, selecting what costs you can afford to defer and which must be incurred.  One disturbing trend I am seeing (and hearing), not just from my own experiences, but from those of other attorneys and accountants, is clients deciding to reduce or completely eliminate the professional services budget.  Obviously, I have an interest in never losing a client, but this post is not focused on my needs, it’s focused on the long and short terms costs to small businesses that elect not to continue professional services.

First, talk to your professional before you "fire" them.  It is imperative to discuss flexibility of fees.  Lawyers and accountants know just as well as you do that economic times are hard and therefore creativity in compensation may be warranted.  In some cases, bartering may be an option.  The point is a growing company should inquire on payment plan options before deciding the professional is "fat to be trimmed."

Second, consider the risk activities a small business may undertake during poor economic times that could prove problematic in good economic times.  Yes, I realize that in "good" times you may have more money and can afford to tackle the problem then, versus now.  As a counter, we all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - see my first point.  A simple example is entering a large contract during slow times because the business is so hungry for work.  Your excitement may be so heightened that you overestimate your ability to fulfill it or agree to extremely harsh terms.  In a year, when things are better, you realize you are in real trouble and may face litigation.  All avoidable by simple contract review.  I realize all this same situation could happen in good times, but regardless, the lesson remains the same.

Third, legal advice for a small business is similar to healthcare for you and your family.  Absent proper checkups, you can’t keep your costs down because each time you do visit the professional, they find piles of new problems needing to be remedied with a significant bill at the end, one you may not be able to afford.  Again, my first point applies; costs can be controlled!

As always, my post is not comprehensive, but I believe it needed to be addressed.  Overall, talk to your lawyer!  Find out what options you actually have, versus those you perceive yourself as having.

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

Last week, Milwaukee County passed a binding referendum requiring employers to provide sick leave to all workers; eleven or more employees requires one hour of sick time per thirty hours worked (nine days a year), whereas ten or fewer employees requires only five days of sick leave.  For clarification, a referendum is "the process of referring a state legislative act or important public issue to the people for final approval by popular vote" - the voting public decides whether to apply a law as written. 

So how does this referendum affect you, a Milwaukee County business owner?  It is hard to tell this soon after the vote, but my friend, fellow attorney, and employment lawyer Mark Goldstein, of Mark J. Goldstein, S.C., outlined several possible reactions by local businesses:

                            Some employers are concerned about yet another employee-related cost that
                            cannot be passed on to customers and the administrative hassle of managing
                            yet another category of leave. Others ask if this will be a disincentive to
                            businesses that are contemplating locating, or staying, in Milwaukee
                            (Washington D.C. and San Francisco are the only municipalities with a “paid
                            time off” ordinance). Still others take a more pragmatic view, suggesting
                            they will simply reallocate time and dollars previously allocated to paid
                            vacation, paid holidays or other benefits to the new paid sick leave.

Now is the time to think and plan if you are affected by the change.

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

I know it is an overused statement, but the world is smaller than ever.  Thus it is no surprise that even extremely small businesses will interact with companies outside the United States.  Naturally, cross-border relationships bring with them unique legal complexities.  A fine example of this thorny issue is the effect of U.S. treaties with other nations. 

The Constitution, in it’s Supremacy Clause, tells us that treaties (along with other laws) are the supreme law of the United States.  The Supreme Court confirmed that valid treaties override state law several times over the life of our nation, the first case (Ware v. Hylton, 3 U.S. 199) focusing on the post-revolution treaty with England.  So, it is well established that, if your business partner’s home nation has a treaty with the U.S., that treaty may have a substantive impact on both how you transact business with that business partner and the subject matter of your business relationship. 

So what if treaties override other law, including state law?  That’s the kicker for the entrepreneur.  The longer you are in business and the closer you are to your attorney, the more familiar (and comfortable) you will become with Wisconsin law.  Treaties change that familiarity - new terms and interpretations may be introduced to an agreement, or whole sections of law may be disregarded in favor of the treaty.  For example, a given nation may have a treaty with the U.S. that does not obligate any businesses from that nation to follow Wisconsin franchise law and regulations.  Normally, failure of a company to meet such requirements is a red flag to an attorney and the business owner, but a proper treaty changes the analysis.

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

I wanted to let all my readers know I recently moved into a new office.  Feel free to come visit me!

Chris Moander is an Attorney handling business law matters, business litigation, and collections matters throughout Wisconsin.

My friend Jon Groth has food for thought for employers and employees on election day. 

The lesson here - employers should be prepared for reduced workforce on election day(s). 

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

This is a short week, since I am heading out to the Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference tomorrow (I am speaking on Friday), so I am pitching out other blogger’s material today. 

Mark Toth, the CLO of Manpower, shares some of Wisconsin’s rather silly laws.  Every place has a few.  I am impressed, but not shocked, at how effective the cheese lobby has been in insulating their racket by requiring a slice of cheese with each slice of apple pie AND requiring a license to make limburger cheese. 

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, The No Nonsense lawyer, posted recently about trademarks hidden in website code, including metatags.  I can certainly see the allure because of the way Google crawls the web.  Instead of informing readers in this post, I am posing a question: What is the simplest way to scan code for these marks?  The reason I post this question is because many business owners outsource their web development to third parties and, consequently, the business many not know of or understand what is contained in their site’s code. 

Obviously it is important to know with whom you contract to create a site, but there is always value in "spot-checking" work, especially with the volume of damages available in a willful infringement case.  I look forward to getting your thoughts.

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

As additional information to my most recent lease post, fellow attorney Sean Sweeney added a post discussing why you should at least try to negotiate your lease terms (a good idea)….so, since you are a business owner, give it a shot and take that risk!

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.

But if this article is accurate, and I sure like to believe it is, small businesses will weather the current economic environment and potentially pull us back up.

Now, I’m not claiming now is the best time to start up (no time is ever perfect), but it feels good knowing that small business in America can thrive in most any situation.

Chris Moander is an independent attorney based in Milwaukee who is passionate about helping growing business navigate the legal waters of Wisconsin.