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Indiana Civil & Business Lawyer 

A solo lawyer writing about consumer, probate and business related legal issues with an emphasis on Indiana. Such is the general outline but mostly it allows for me to express views on practicing law and legal issues from an Indiana solo attorney's viewpoint.
Post Frequency: 14.7/day Last Entry: March 01, 2010 at 17:59:00 Recent Entries: 796
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Contracts: Read' em!
Posted on August 20, 2008SmallBizResource.com has something I wished I written in Small Print, Big Consequences:"When you take the time to read a contract before you sign it, you can try to get clauses like that changed. If a company wants your business badly enough, and the change is minor, (i...
Online Resources: Employment Law Guide
Posted on August 18, 2008The federal Department of Labor also brings us the Employment Law Guide.Actually more of a guide to the DOL's employment laws.This Guide describes the statutes and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that affect businesses and workers...
Non-compete Agreements Stifling Startups?
Posted on August 18, 2008From Slashdot came Non-Compete Pacts Called Bad For Tech Innovation:carusoj writes in with NetworkWorld reporting from a panel at Harvard last week. It concluded that employee non-compete agreements have stifled tech startup development in Massachusetts, where the pacts are aggressively enforced, but failed to hold back the tech industry boom in states like California, where they are mostly unenforceable...
If The Tempo Seems to Have Been Slower
Posted on August 17, 2008There were several good reasons. Between work and health issues I have been feeling like a ping-pong ball, but more on that later. I have neglected my blogging and hope to make up for lost time. Things should pick up this week.
Employment Law Online Resource: The EEO News Room
Posted on August 15, 2008EEO News provides capsules of court opinions on employment discrimination. Employment Law Case Headlines is just what it says it is. The site also provides services relating to human resources, so I am seeing this page to be related to marketing its business side...
Online Resources - Minimum Wage Laws in the States - January 1, 2008
Posted on August 11, 2008Want to know the minimum wage in all fifty states? See Minimum Wage Laws in the States from the federal Department of Labor. Nothing much more to say about the site/page.
What It Is Like to Ban Non-Compete Agreements
Posted on August 11, 2008From Law.com comesCalif. High Court Brightens Rule Against Non-Compete PactsIn Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, S147190, the unanimous court held that a state statute with roots in 19th century laws gives California workers great freedom to switch jobs, to compete against old employers and to solicit former clients...
Employment Law Online Resource: The Privacy Right Clearinghouse and Employment Background Checks
Posted on August 08, 2008Today's online resource comes from the The Privacy Right Clearinghouse and is directed towards employees - Employment Background Checks:"Whether you are hired or promoted for a job may depend on the information revealed in a background check. Job applicants and existing employees as well as volunteers may be asked to submit to background checks...
Online Resource for Elder Law: Legal News from the AARP
Posted on August 05, 2008I suggest checking out the AARP's Legal Advocacy page for news and case law updates. The site has a national focus rather than an Indiana focus but which may still be useful. I would say the page is probably more useful for non-lawyers than for lawyers who are practicing elder law full time.
Online Resources: Employment Law Information Network
Posted on August 04, 2008Employment Law Information Network was a resource I dropped due to information overload and a change of my practice. When I was doing in-house counsel work for a temporary employment agency, I subscribed to their newsletter. There was a lot of employment law information...
Here Is One Employment Case I Would Like to Know More About
Posted on August 04, 2008Court rules in favour of UBS in UK wealth caseThe High Court judge has this morning ruled that UBS should be entitled to a springboard injunction on the grounds that Vestra deliberately solicited clients and staff away from UBS, and that senior ex-UBS staff breached their duty of fidelity...
Trade Secrets FAQ from Nolo Press
Posted on August 04, 2008Nolo Press publishes Trade Secret Basics FAQ. For more Indiana information, see my Protecting trade secrets in Indiana.
Checklist - Incorprating the New Business
Posted on August 03, 2008The following are the steps for incorporating in Indiana. Yes, these are things that a non-lawyer can do but do you really want to? If not, get yourself a lawyer. I am always open to taking on new incorporations through out Indiana.1. Check the availability of the corporate name with the Secretary of State, Division of Corporations...
Online Resources: Employment Law and Pregnancy Discrimination
Posted on August 01, 2008The EEOC maintains a FAQ page on pregnancy discrimination, Facts About Pregnancy Discrimination. The subject covered are Hiring, Pregnancy and Maternity Leave, Health Insurance, and Fringe Benefits.Is there really any reason for an employer not to print this off and have it around the office? The ability for businesses to educate themselves has increased with the Internet and should not be ignored...
Slashdot Discusses Trade Secrets Superseding Patent Law
Posted on August 01, 2008Those who know Slashdot probably do not need forewarning that the discussions there are voluminous and can run the gamut from silly to important. Being now forewarned, you might not want to take a look at The Death of Nearly All Software Patents?.Along similar lines is my post, Biotech Moving from Patents to Trade Secrets.
So? How Good is an Oral Contracts?
Posted on July 29, 2008Franchise Trade's Oral Contracts: Do They Carry Any Weight? is something I wish I had written and something that should be read in full. The short, pungent answer is "Yes, they can." (The more lawyerly answer is they: depends on the contract.)"The answer is yes -- as long as you can prove it in court...
Is Your Company Ready for a Data Breach?
Posted on July 29, 2008Evn if you think so, read InhouseBlog's How Ready Is Your Company to Respond to a Data Breach?:"Attorney Harry A. Valetk says in-house counsel should plan ahead and think about how to respond before an incident occurs. With this in mind, Valetk provides five key questions to test your company?s readiness to respond swiftly and effectively in case a data breach occurs...
Online Resources: Wills
Posted on July 29, 2008Today, a small collection of resources for Wills and estate planning. Findlaw, and Cornell's Legal Information Institute have pages on Wills and estate planning that (I think) give good information to the general public (and there may be some things here for you lawyers reading this post)...
Online Resources: Lexis-Nexis' Labor & Employment Law Page
Posted on July 28, 2008Yes, Lexis-Nexis' Labor & Employment Law Page is a commercial site. Still, it presents articles for free. Worth keeping bookmarked but I think a RSS feed would make the page (and its sibling pages) more useful (if not also more used). Lexis-Nexis describes the page as:Welcome to the Labor & Employment Law Practice Area Community from LexisNexis®...
Trade Secrets and Another Hiring Case
Posted on July 28, 2008Thanks to The Trade Secrets Vault blog for the news - Bally hit with suit on hiring of CEO: "Michael Sheehan joined the Chicago-based gym operator as CEO on July 1, after nearly eight years at 24 Hour Fitness USA Inc., where he was most recently chief operating officer...
TLD's General Counsel Blog : Contract Disputes Are On The Rise
Posted on July 28, 2008I am big cheerleader for what TLD's General Counsel Blog advocates in Contract Disputes Are On The Rise:"Contract disputes are on the rise. I always encourage small business owners to include attorney's fee provisions in all contracts to be able to recoup the expenses of collection or enforcement of agreements...
Online Resource for Employment Law: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Brief Bank Index
Posted on July 25, 2008Yes, the EEOC's Brief Bank is online here. I should say sort of online. What you will get is a download of the entire index (you cna choose Word, RTC or Wordperfect formats). For me, that limits its usefulness.Memoryhole maintains the page and this is the site's description:>>> In 1998, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated a unique and useful guide to some important aspects of employment discrimination law...
Needing an Elder Law Attorney?
Posted on July 25, 2008Eldercare.com has a good article on why and how to choose an elder law attorney in Do I Need an Elder Law Attorney?:For now, let's push aside popular conceptions of lawyers and face the fact that lawyers serve a very important role in our society. An elder law attorney can be invaluable in helping ensure that your loved one is cared for in the best possible way, and that her best interests are considered when it comes to sticky and complicated issues involving the law...
Limited Liability Companies: What Are They?
Posted on July 24, 2008Barely Legal Advice Blog's What is a Limited Liability Corporation actually a good job of describing what is a LLC. The article discusses how they compare to corporations, how they compare to partnerships, and their advantages and disadvantages. (There is another article here that covers about the same territory but I like Barely Legal's article better...
Indiana's Court Costs for the Year
Posted on July 23, 2008As effective July 1 and continuing until the next General Assembly: COURT COSTS EFFECTIVE JULY 1ST,2008 THE CHANGE IS BASED ON INDIANA CODES.. ..THIS SECTION APPLIES TO ALL CIVIL, CRIMINAL, INFRACTION AND ORDINANCE VIOLATION ACTIONS: CASE TYPE CASE CLASS COSTS BREAK DOWN CODE 100% RECEIPTS CRIMINAL CRIMINAL FELONY FA,FB,FC,FD $164...
Who Enforces Your Rights as a Business?
Posted on July 23, 2008You do. Tthinkbeta.com's It?s Up to You: Trademark Infringement not Uncle?s Watch hits on something that I never seem to explain well: "So the bottom line, YOU have to police copyright, trademark, patent etc. infringement. Uncle has not, and will not, do it for you...
Trade Secrets, Departing Employee News
Posted on July 23, 2008Yet another departing employee draws litigation to the new employer. (For other, similar cases, just click on the "Trade Secrets" link below). This time Motorola sues a former employee taking a job with Apple. Who could not have seen this one coming?Information Week ran Motorola Sues Ex-Executive For Going To Apple:Motorola (NYSE: MOT) filed a lawsuit in Illinois a couple days ago against a former executive that left the company to become the head of Apple's iPhone sales division...
Trade Secrets and International Law
Posted on July 22, 2008Not a subject that comes through my office (but one can still hope), but one that is possible and becomes more possible with every new business arriving on the Internet. Nor do I usually suggest reading a long, scholarly blog post, but TRADE SECRETS AND THE ROME II REGULATION ON THE LAW APPLICABLE TO NON-CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS from The Trade Secrets Blog is both long and scholarly:Not the least important consequence of whether trade secrets are governed by Arts 4, 6 or 8 of the Rome II Regulation concerns whether the parties are free to make their own choice of applicable law pursuant to Art...
Online Resource: Business Valuation Resources
Posted on July 22, 2008Valuing the closely-held business is a tough but important thing. When selling a small business, the question of the business' value comes into play. The business' value also becomes a key point when a member of the business exercises a right to sell their interest...
FOIA News: Bringing the Smithsonian Into The FOIA
Posted on July 22, 2008Something from The Washington Post - Bill Would End FOIA Shield for Smithsonian:"The Smithsonian, created by Congress as a federal trust, was exempted from FOIA in two rulings in the mid-1990s. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided FOIA would apply to the Smithsonian only if Congress changed the law to say so explicitly...
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Did I harass someone?
Oh, yes. This can be taken in as so many things, especially since you had testif...
How can i sue for a straw purchase?
Anyone can co-sign. A straw purchase would be if you has someone buy the car for...
How to tell if I have been subject to gender discrimination in hiring practices?
You didn't apply for the job. so that's a tough one. Seemingly your Bo...
Is it legal for a company to overwork their employees?
Well, he could 1. Get a new job. Sister, I understand ya, if he's anything ...
Can driving accident be cause for termination?
If your state is an at-will state, the company can fire you for any reason or fo...

Did I harass someone?
Oh, yes. This can be taken in as so many things, especially since you had testif...
How can i sue for a straw purchase?
Anyone can co-sign. A straw purchase would be if you has someone buy the car for...
How to tell if I have been subject to gender discrimination in hiring practices?
You didn't apply for the job. so that's a tough one. Seemingly your Bo...
Is it legal for a company to overwork their employees?
Well, he could 1. Get a new job. Sister, I understand ya, if he's anything ...
Can driving accident be cause for termination?
If your state is an at-will state, the company can fire you for any reason or fo...








