In November, a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing its updated overtime regulations, which would have required, among other things, that exempt employees be paid a minimum salary of $913 per week. Because of the injunction, the new overtime regulations did not go into […]
One of the central purposes of liability insurance is to protect the insured by providing a defense in the event of a lawsuit. But what defines the limits of an insurer’s duty to defend its insured under Wisconsin law? How is the insurer to decide whether or not to defend an insured in a given […]
When buying or selling a business, it is critical to take the negotiation and preparation of the letter of intent seriously. All too often, I hear the phrase, “letters of intent are not binding, so we don’t need to spend time negotiating them.” Other times, a new client will have already signed a letter of […]
Although the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) market reforms eliminated the ability of employers to permissibly reimburse employees for individually-incurred health insurance or medical costs, recent legislation now affords certain small employers with an alternate reimbursement option. The 21st Century Cures Act amended the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the creation of a new stand-alone HRA […]
In March 2017, Milwaukee WISN 12 reported a heart-wrenching story about a criminal investigation alleging two neighbors defrauded a 92-year-old woman suffering from dementia. According to the allegations, they acquired her home as a gift through a deed and gained control of her nearly $2 million in assets through the execution of a durable power […]
In a reversal of a decision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Pajian rejected a common bankruptcy court practice of not requiring secured creditors to file proofs of claim in order to receive distributions toward pre-petition secured arrearages as […]
Attorney Seth E. Dizard has recently been appointed to the National Board of Directors for the Ruffed Grouse Society. Established in 1961, the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) is North America’s foremost conservation organization dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, and other wildlife. RGS works with […]
Arbitration is a common form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in which parties agree to resolve a dispute by submitting it to one or more neutral decision-makers, or arbitrators, for decision. Arbitration consists of a formal hearing, similar to a trial, where the parties are represented by legal counsel and present evidence and testimony. The […]
Given my combination of experience (13 years in the home office of a national life insurance company) and expertise (working with clients on the creation and execution of succession strategies), a growing part of my practice is in leading financial advisors in the creation of a succession plan that ultimately leads to the sale of […]
A successful succession plan maximizes the value of the business in order to take care of the people the owner cares about. Of course, that raises an important question: “What factors maximize the value of a business in transition?” That question leads to another important question: “Why does a buyer want a particular business?” The […]
