Now 118 years old, the Uniform Law Commission has over the years quietly developed and shepherded through the state legislatures an array of legislation that serves and simplifies the practice of most lawyers.>>>
Yearly Archive
for: ‘2009’
Our Collective Responsibility
By Martin Cole Recently, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued an order temporarily increasing the lawyer registration fee paid by most practicing Minnesota lawyers. An additional $100 per year is being required for each of the next two years in order to provide funding for the Board of Public Defense and the Legal Services Advisory>>>
Military Justice: An Oxymoron?
The military justice system over the years has been subject to a good deal of criticism, most of it undeserved. In terms of their treatment of criminal defendants, the military justice system has many advantages and some disadvantages over Minnesota’s criminal justice system. The recent tragic news from Fort Hood and the ongoing debate about>>>
Holiday Stories
It’s a Wonderful Life (and Work Balance) By Leo I. Brisbois Boozhoo Niijii; Gdinimikoon. Hello, Friend; I greet you in a good way. The Ojibwe/Anishinaabe people traditionally reserved the months between “freezing-over time”—gashkadino giizis (November) and “maple-sap-boiling time”—iskigamizige giizis (April) as the time for>>>
Opinionated
By Martin Cole At its October meeting, the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board adopted Opinion 21: A Lawyer’s Duty to Consult with a Client about the Lawyer’s Own Malpractice.1 This is the second opinion adopted by the Lawyers Board since the reconstitution of its opinion committee in 2008. The process of posting a proposed opinion>>>
Firearms Bans
A common misstep by criminal defense lawyers is to ignore the lifetime ban on firearms that results from conviction for misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence (MCDV). 18 U.S.C. 922 (G)(9) prohibits any person who has been convicted of MCDV from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition (but interestingly,not including bows or black powder>>>
Contract Myths
Myth: Oral (unwritten) contracts are not valid. Fact: Oral contracts are just as enforceable as written contracts,but they are more difficult to prove. The statute of frauds (Minn. Stat. Ch. 513) and the Uniform Commercial Code do require a written contract in certain circumstances. The writing requirement of the statute of frauds is different>>>
LLCs & Asset Protection
The limited liability company (the “LLC”) is widely used as the business entity of choice by many clients for a number of reasons, including its asset-protection benefits. If a creditor of an LLC member attempts to seize the LLC member’s interest (or the assets of the LLC for that matter) she will have to deal with the “charging order”>>>
The Next e-Discovery Frontier
Burgeoning growth of online social networking has created a huge repository of information about individuals and organizations that attorneys may find useful in litigation. By the same token, those who frequent social networking sites should be circumspect about what information they share and how broadly they define their circle of>>>
What’s Needed to Own a Business Method?
The United States Supreme Court will soon consider In re Bilski, a patent case whose outcome may substantially erode the basis for both existing and future business method patents. >>>
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