January 27, 2012 - “The first thing we do, let’s kill all of the lawyers.”  This phrase from Shakespeare’s King Henry VI has been used in modern times to express contempt for lawyers.  Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare’s play, however, spoke this phrase in the context of exterminating lawyers in order to create chaos, tyranny and anarchy, not making the world a better place.

December 29, 2011 - A buy-sell agreement is a contract by which the owners of a business address the circumstances under which they can and must sell their ownership interests.  Any business which has more than one owner should have some form of a buy-sell agreement.  However, most small businesses fail to enact them for a variety of reasons.  Some owners do not want to think about an owner leaving the company.  Others are concerned about the time and expense involved in negotiating such an agreement, or wish to avoid discussing potentially sensitive topics such as what happens if one of the owners dies, or is fired from the company. 

December 1, 2011 - Now that the federal estate tax exemption is $5 million for 2011 and $5.12 million for 2012, who needs to bother with estate planning?  Young people with small children are some of the first people who come to mind.  While many of us are quite happy with the way our property would be distributed according to the laws of intestacy—first to our spouses if they survive us, then to our children, then to our parents, then to our siblings, and so on—everything changes when young children are involved.

November 3, 2011 - FMLA issues are complex and difficult for employers and employees alike.  What do you do when an employee misses work for 40 minutes during the middle of almost every day in order to pick up kids from school?  What do you do when an employee advises they will miss 14 days of work due to entering a drug treatment program?   What do you do when an employee leaves work for a few hours once or twice a month because debilitating headaches?

Many employers might be tempted to terminate these employees. However, an employer may put itself at risk of liability under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) by terminating these employees.

October 14, 2011 - When purchasing real estate, a buyer should review and understand the restrictive covenants and zoning conditions that affect the property under contract.  The place to begin is with a title examination and title insurance commitment.  The examination should identify any restrictive covenants imposed on the property.  These restrictions can be found in deeds, on subdivision or other recorded plats, or in other instruments, such as declarations, which affect the property.  Covenants range from the straight-forward (e.g. restricting the use of the property to a particular category, such as commercial, industrial or residential) to the sophisticated (e.g. imposing a comprehensive Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions on a commercial, industrial or residential development).