Businesses Leading in Crisis: Michigan #COVID19 Legislative Update

I am sure your life, like mine, got upended a week ago. As crazy as life is now, somethings remain constant. Yesterday, I snapped a beautiful sunset. Michigan Governor’s Executive Order 2020-21 The State of Michigan is continuing to update and offer guidance on businesses complying with Governor Gretchen Whitmer‘s Executive Order 2020-21. Check out this helpful FAQ.

Landlords and Real Estate Investors: Legal Update under #COVID19

The world is changing faster than we can track. So much has changed since my last update on March 13. I was in court that day for a commercial landlord. I would not have known that a few weeks later I would be working remotely due to Executive Order 2020-21 – placing law firms under

Updates on The New Life as We Know It: What are you Doing With Your Margin?

The sunrise has been beautiful the last few days in Grand Rapids. Every day is a new day to be thankful for. At the same time, our world is facing a pandemic, a disruption to our lives, the likes of which we have never seen and will hopefully never see again. I am writing now

Michigan Real Estate Law Update for Landlords and Property Owners Amidst #CoronaVirusOutbreak

What an interesting time to be alive. Yesterday the Michigan Supreme Court issued an Order of emergency measures to deal with the CoronaVirus. The Order is effective through April 3rd. I have already seen the effects. On Friday I was in court for a landlord and the Courts were delaying entering the judgments against a

Michigan Legal Update – Video and Audio Monitoring

Happy Wednesday, all! The morning sunrise is so rare this time of year in Michigan and it had some particularly interesting effects this morning so I had to snap this photo. One of the questions that I routinely get from business clients, can a business owner install video recordings in businesses? The answer has some

Michigan Limited Liability Companies: Stay in Good Standing and Maintain your Corporate Formalities.

Happy Tuesday, all. Well, we are in February now, which, if you live in the Midwest means you are hoping for a glimpse of sun and looking for brighter and warmer days. I am reminded of my trip 6 months back to Amsterdam and the beautiful canals. A client recently inquired about whether or not

Latest Update on Bill to Limit Non-Competes against Lower-Wage Employees.

Here’s a shot of Downtown Grand Rapids I took today from the Amway Grand Plaza Skywalk. A month ago I posted on non-compete agreements. As mentioned before, I am thankful for Judge Yates with the Kent County Business Court who issues a lot of opinions on this area. In fact, he issued one just a

Business Law Update: Consequences for Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors

Happy New Year! We celebrated the New Year up north with lots of snow. It was a beautiful way to start the New Year. Businesses: There are Consequences to Misclassifying Workers Businesses: misclassifying your  workers as independent contractors v.s employees (“IC” vs “EE”) could cost you serious money. Apparently a local landscaping company found this out

Michigan Business Law Update: Trends to Limit Non-Competes against Lower-Wage Employees.

Last Friday was the tree lighting in downtown Grand Rapids. The Christmas season is officially here! A question that comes up often in my business practice: “when are non-competes enforceable?” I am thankful for Judge Yates with the Kent County Business Court who issues a lot of opinions on this area. In fact, he issued

New Rent Control Law is Trending in Places like California & Oregon, but is it a Proper Response to an Affordable Housing Crisis?

Last month California announced that in order to combat a staggering growth in homelessness it will implement rent control laws effective January 1, 2020. According to Market Watch: The law limits rent increases to 5% each year plus inflation until Jan. 1, 2030. It bans landlords from evicting people for no reason, meaning they could