About Benjy Schirm, J.D.
Benjy Schirm is a storyteller, writer and advocate. He attended the University of Iowa as an undergrad, worked as a theater artist, and went on to earn a J.D. from Western Michigan University so he could take his storytelling from the stage to the courtroom. He has contributed to legal publications in Minnesota, and is a North Star Lawyer, full-time public defender serving Rice County, and on the 4th District Ethics Committee as an investigator.
Articles written by Benjy Schirm, J.D.
What Is Adverse Possession?
What if I told you that someone could take your property out from under you — without paying for it? In general terms, that’s what adverse possession is. If someone trespasses onto another person's property openly and uninterrupted for a certain period of years, the property owner, who has a deed, can no longer sue to stop the trespasser. As a consequence, ownership of the real property passes to the adverse possessor. Speak with a real estate lawyer for personalized legal advice in an …
Environmental Business Regulations: Preparedness and Compliance
It’s a nightmare scenario: You’ve spent your life building your business into a largely successful operation when there’s an accidental chemical spill on your property. How can you, as a business owner, be prepared for this and other unforeseen environmental issues? 1. Report Environmental Issues to the Public Environmental attorney Ted A. Warpinski notes that the first thing a business owner should know is the EPCRA, or Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. The EPCRA …
When Can I Sue for an Environmental Nuisance?
Pollution is an unfortunate reality in our consumer-based economy. To make most products, there will be waste materials. These waste products often affect someone’s health or the use of their property. This can happen in a variety of ways: Groundwater can be tainted Wells can go bad due to blasting Emissions that cause air pollution Septic systems can be filled instead of emptied Pesticides can spread further than they were supposed to go If any of these unfortunate instances happen to you, …
How Do I Protect a Secret Family Recipe in Minnesota?
Your grandma’s secret recipe has been passed down for generations, and now it’s your turn. But who actually owns the recipe? If you and your friends begin a business involving it, does your relative get a cut of the profits? The law involved here — trade secret protection — says that recipes and other food-related products don’t have the same protections that, say, a patent on a light switch or trademarked business name would. The actual product, and the way it’s made, basically …
Negotiating Employment Contracts in Georgia
Every two weeks you get paid, and every two weeks you check your bank account. For some reason, this week, your paycheck was lower than it used to be — though it’s only a few dollars off. What can you do? Once upon a time, the best thing you could do was band together with your coworkers and file a class action lawsuit. However, in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court released an opinion, Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, that held that companies may use arbitration or dispute resolution clauses in …
Minnesota Business Formation: Pitfalls To Avoid
You’ve been talking about it for years: striking out on your own, hanging your own shingle, and being your own boss. If your stars are aligning — you have a business plan, the right partners, and the funding you need — here are some of the pitfalls you can avoid as you head out on your new journey as an entrepreneur. 1. Delaying Decisions About Business Structure No matter what industry or market you plan to enter, in Minnesota, you must consider the legal ramifications of running a …
Minnesota Newlyweds: Beware!
I do. You’re on top of the world: Your wedding plans have worked out flawlessly; all the guests came, and they all had the time of their lives. Now, you and your best friend are beginning your lives together. It may be the first time that you consider an estate plan. Power of Attorneys Any married couple should have a power of attorney in place. This document, signed by both parties, can be incredibly useful, as it allows both spouses the power to sign documents and enter into contracts on …
Is a Trademark Worth the Cost?
If you are beginning a new venture or are running your small business, there is always room for growth in a favorable market. In order to capitalize, one of the best things you can do is to legally secure that growth—and you can do so through trademark registration and service marks. A trademark doesn’t cover ideas, but rather is used as an identifier of a product. Tissue is the idea; Kleenex is the identifier. A service mark, by contrast, is used to identify a service (e.g., CBS and ABC). …
Did My Doctor Make a Mistake?
A 40-year-old woman goes in for a routine mammogram, and is eventually told she has an aggressive form of cancer; both breasts need to be removed. They are, immediately, and as she’s leaving the hospital, the doctors tell her they had mixed up her pathology results with another patient’s. They had removed her breasts in error. “Incidents like this happens all the time,” says medical malpractice attorney Chris Messerly. “But most hospitals don’t want the public to know about their …
Protecting Your Author Rights: Intellectual Property in Book Publishing
The number of authors choosing to self-publish instead of signing a book contract with a publishing house continues to rise. Other than the medium in which a book appears, the big difference between getting a traditional publisher and self-publishing is in the book publishing contracts involved, says Robert Cumbow, an intellectual property lawyer at Miller Nash in Seattle, Washington. How Do I Negotiate a Publishing Contract with a Traditional Publishing House? With a traditional publisher’s …
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