When legal disputes arise, many expect to be vindicated by a decision made at a trial. The justice achieved in jury or bench trials is dramatized regularly on television, and we buy into that picture of litigation. But the reality is that juries are not made up of actors, and jurors don’t always behave in predictable, stereotypical ways. Sometimes, alternative dispute resolution is a less expensive and more secure way to achieve the goals in your legal dispute. Before insisting on their day in court, litigants should consider arbitration in West Virginia.

Need help with West Virginia power of attorney laws? You’ve come to the right place. This blog is the first in a series of three dealing with powers of attorney in the Mountain State. In it, we’ll give an overview of the most common powers of attorney. The remaining two blogs will address the legality of online power of attorney forms, as well as specific powers of attorney in West Virginia.

I have lost track of the number of times in my 27-year career—usually when giving a seminar presentation—that I have been asked the question, “How can I keep from being sued?” My response never varies, “You can’t.”  A person or a company can do the very best that they can—follow all the rules to the best of their abilities—and, yet, still be brought into litigation. Sometimes, despite best efforts, they have made a mistake (and the larger the company, the more individuals there are to make those mistakes).  Sometimes, they simply are wrongly accused. Sometimes, unfortunately, they (or someone in their organization) did not believe the rules applied to them. All that can be done is to lessen the risk of suit by employing best practices. The overriding reason for employing best practices, however, should never be simply to avoid lawsuits, but instead to instill a culture where people work well together to achieve a good result. Reducing the risk of litigation is just one positive byproduct. 

Starting a new business is hard, and finding the funding to get that business off the ground can be one of the hardest parts. Recognizing the challenges faced by financing a business in West Virginia (WV), in 2016, the West Virginia Legislature passed the WV Small Business Capital Act (the “Act”), codified at Chapter 32, Article 5 of the West Virginia Code.  

Did you read the excruciatingly boring 30-page “Report of the General Counsel Concerning Employer Rules” that was issued on March 18, 2015, by NLRB General Counsel Robert F. Griffin, Jr.?  Don’t embarrass yourself by admitting this fact – and don’t cry when you learn that the effort was totally wasted.