Author Archives: jeshuatlauka

  Even in small businesses, understanding who is responsible for making business decisions in an organization is an important piece of an effective business. Sometimes the distinction between roles/powers can be blurred. Corporations: The board, not the owners, make the decisions. In corporations, there is a distinction between ownership (shareholders) and management (directors). Under theContinue reading “Business Owners: Understand the Legal Role of your Board of Directors/Managers.”

Happy Friday, all!   I am a frequent guest blogger with  Grand Rapids Area Professionals For Excellence. I typically write about business law issues affecting entrepreneurs and small/closely held businesses in Michigan.   Yesterday I wrote an article about Crowdfunding – particularly Michigan’s new law exempting crowdfunding from securities registration in Michigan.   This could beContinue reading “Good News for Michigan Start-Up Businesses: Michigan’s New Crowdfunding Law”

    Just a click of the mouse, answer a few questions and BAM! You are your own lawyer.   The ABAJournal reported today about a new hurdle for LegalZoom – you can see that article here.     As reported in the article, “LegalZoom offers online, self-help legal documents in all 50 states andContinue reading “New Legal Challenge for Legal Zoom?”

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency  reported yesterday that the financial condition of community national banks and federal savings associations  in its nine-state Central District improved in 2013 as banks focused on strengthening risk management systems to help boost their performance.   You can see the OCC’s report here   OCC Director commentedContinue reading “Michigan Banks: Encouraging Report Out of The Office of Comptroller of the Currency”

House Bill 5217 would give incentives to Michigan businesses for hiring convicted felons back into the work force. Today the Senate Judiciary recommended that HB 5217 be given immediate effect.   As background…   There are a number of great companies who reach out to support putting Michiganders with certain barriers to work.  Goodwill IndustriesContinue reading “Michigan Businesses: New Bill to Limit Employer Liability for Hiring Convicts with Certificate of Employability”

A case decided April 10th may cut off any claims of wrongful foreclosure by a homeowner after the expiration of redemption period.   The Case is Glenna Bryan v JP Morgan Chase,Docket No. 313279 (April 10, 2014, Mich Ct App)   There, the Court of Appeals noted that:   “Defendant argues that plaintiffs lacked standingContinue reading “Mortgage Holders, Investors, and Agents: New Case Law Definitively States No Standing After Redemption Period?”

A few days ago the ABAJournal posted an article about a lawsuit that has been 13 years in the making – Allstate agents signed a “right-to-sue waiver” – are they precluded from filing a lawsuit now? See the article here   A few thoughts after reading that article:   Do you use standard contracts in your business?Continue reading “Businesses: Consider Limitation Clauses in Your Contracts”

Back in February I posted an update on real estate legislation in Michigan, including Senate Bill  788, a proposed bill that would provide that an owner of an interest in real property would generally owe no legal duty to a trespasser. You can see that proposed Bill Here   The Senate Judiciary Committee is MeetingContinue reading “Michigan Senate Bill: Owner of Real Property Owes No Duty to Trespasser”

A few of my blog posts have discussed the pitfalls of relying on universal legal forms like those provided through Legal Zoom.   the ABA Journal has posted what seems to be a legal victory for Legal Zoom – the South Carolina Supreme Court has declared that Legal Zoom’s document service is not the “unauthorizedContinue reading “Universal Legal Forms: A Win for Legal Zoom?”

I previously wrote a blog post about how businesses should be careful to read their contracts, particularly those tiny printed “Terms and Conditions”. You can read that blog post here   An update in General Mill’s policies, prompted by Court rulings, was posted through the ABAJournal provided another illustration of this point. See that articleContinue reading “Business law – Tricky Terms and Conditions (part 2) – General Mills Product Eliminates Right To Sue in Their Legal Terms.”