As your small business expands and evolves, it may make sense to consider changing its structure. Many small businesses start out as sole proprietorships or partnerships, with only one or two owners and no employees. Over time, as your business grows and changes, a more complex business structure may become beneficial. There are several key considerations in deciding whether a …
Principal Attorney, Cari Rincker, will visit East Central Illinois Women Attorney’s Association (“ECIWAA”) on Tuesday, November 19th at 11:45am and speak about food and agriculture law. She will be at Biaggi’s along with the ECIWAA crew that day. Cari is a proud member of ECIWAA and supports women in the practice of law.
I was recently asked to speak about agri-tourism and it made me sit back and think about the benefits of agritourism into our community. A big part of having an agriculture business is the relationship with the communities. Most people with an agricultural business have a passion for it and want to share this with others. People visiting an agritourism …
Episode #3 of Ag Law today is now live! I’m talking all things agriculture mediation with Missy Greathouse of the Illinois Agriculture Mediation Program. You can listen to the podcast here. I’m a member of agriculture mediation roster for New York, New Jersey and Illinois. I’m a big believer in mediation (in general) as a dispute resolution mechanism. If you …
So the cat is out of the bag – I will be starting a new podcast soon with Purdue University Extension called “Ag Law Today”. In preparation of entering this new podcasting, I have compiled my old appearances on podcasts. You can view it here. Happy listening and stay tuned for more info on Ag Law Today!
I’m proud to announce that I’ve now been admitted to all three federal district courts in Illinois. Although I practice primarily in state courts, I want to be prepared for my clients in case an issue arises in their life or business that will require a federal court appearance. I’m excited to have these credentials to better serve my Illinois …
[slideshare id=86116441&doc=farmlaborlaws-whatyouneedtoknow-180113203306] I gave this presentation last week at the Illinois Specialty Crops, Agri-Tourism and Organic Conference in Springfield, Illinois. It gives an overview of labor and employment law issues that affect farms and small to mid-sized agribusinesses. It discuss employee vs. independent contractor classifications, unpaid labor, hiring practices, minimum wage and overtime, child labor, Family Medical Leave Act, employment …
Open burning is necessary for the practice of farming, but Illinois also has to balance that interest of farmers with the public interest in preserving clean air. For this reason, Illinois allows open burning for agricultural waste and landscape waste. Agricultural waste is refuse generated on site on a farm or ranch by crop and livestock production practices. What is …
Happy Post- Thanksgiving Break. I ate a lotta turkey down in College Station, Texas over the weekend. So I’ve been getting a lot of questions about partnership agreements lately. A partnership arises when two or more people agree to share in the profits and losses of a business. Oftentimes in business, especially in the food and agriculture industry, partnerships are …
In many types of business agreements, including agricultural ones, it is important for parties to be able to safeguard information they wish to remain secret. Non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”) can be helpful in ensuring that information stays between the parties of the agreement. Put simply, there are two types of NDAs: bilateral and unilateral. A bilateral NDA is one where both …