Category: Business Law

How to Protect Your Intellectual Property

• January 23, 2024
• Kelvin Birk
• Business Law

When you come up with something creative – an idea, invention, logo or slogan, a unique way of doing things or process that you hope to turn into a profitable venture – the last thing you want is for someone else to come along, steal your idea, and develop or market it before you do. Fortunately, there are ways to protect intellectual property through legal methods such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks, which are intended to enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from their creations and protect them from infringement by others.  An experienced intellectual property attorney can help by making sure everything is done properly to protect your ideas, as well as de [...]

How to Classify an Independent Contractor vs. an Employee

• February 11, 2022
• Kelvin Birk
• Business Law

The rise of the gig economy has stimulated a lot of discussion in the media regarding how to classify an independent contractor vs. an employee while staying on the right side of employment laws. If you’re an employer, you may see advantages to hiring contractors instead of employees, particularly when needs for workers expand and contract. However, if you aren’t fully aware of what legally differentiates the two, you could set yourself up for future legal problems and issues with the IRS.

Employee Classification Rules in the State of Missouri

All 50 states have their own rules for defining who is, and who isn't, an employee or contractor. The Missouri Department [...]

Do You Need a Lawyer to Dissolve Your Business?

• March 24, 2021
• Kelvin Birk
• Business Law

“Do you need a lawyer to dissolve your business?” This question is frequently raised by business owners as they make the difficult decision to cease operations and move in a new direction.

Honestly, closing a business is complicated. There are always multiple “stakeholders.” It is important to ensure that each is treated appropriately. Also, as a business owner, you must abide by all relevant state and local laws, file very specific paperwork, and position yourself well for the future. So, do you need a lawyer to dissolve your business? Quite simply, yes!

Working with a reputable business attorney can help you dissolve your business efficiently and [...]