Business Law Blog

Kansas Citians learned yesterday (April 23, 2019) of the passing of one of its legendary citizens, Henry W. Bloch (1922 – 2019). I met Mr. Bloch in person only one time to shake his hand in a long receiving line, and I also heard him speak several times as a part of large audiences, so…

Entrepreneurship is alive, thriving and growing on our college campuses! The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), founded in 1997, held its 2018 Global Conference and Pitch Competition in Kansas City, November 1 – 3, 2018, attended by about 1,000 students representing 250 college and university chapters around the globe. CEO’s mission is to “inform, support and…

Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tools are increasingly used to resolve disputes rather than resorting to time-consuming and expensive litigation in which outcomes can be difficult or impossible to predict. Courts in the Kansas City area provide excellent examples of the court system helping to divert litigants into mediation for early and efficient…

A corporate executive goes to a car dealer and tells the salesman she needs a new car to use for business purposes. First the salesman brings out a beautiful car that is an unbelievably bright color of red. The executive says she hates the color red. Then the salesman brings out the fastest sports car…

Renowned Kansas City entrepreneur Ewing Kauffman (1916 – 1993) believed in the “golden rule.” I heard him explain this principle many years ago on a cold January morning to a large hotel ballroom only partially filled due to an overnight snowstorm. He showed up anyhow that morning, because he knew some of us would be…

Bernard B. Levine (August 27, 1927 to February 13, 2018) Today, on what would be his 91st birthday, I celebrate the memory of my dear friend Bernard (Bernie) Levine.  Bernie was many things: a devoted husband to his lifetime partner Joan, a proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather, a faithful and deeply spiritual Jew, a patriot…

As is the case in many states, Missouri requires a business to register a “fictitious name” (which is the same as a d/b/a, or “doing business as” name) in order to conduct business in Missouri using a name other than the actual name of the person or entity conducting the business.  (Kansas happens to not…

I am fascinated with the subject of how to persuade people to do what you want them to do.  In my professional life I have been trying to do that for about thirty-five years, sometimes successfully, and sometimes not so much, but overall I think fairly well.  I am reminded that my college professor for…

From our offices in the Livestock Exchange Building we have a front row seat to watch the construction of a new $41 million mixed-use residential development to include 232 luxury apartments. This modern-day facility is being built on the historic site of Kansas City’s Stockyards District, first developed in the late nineteenth century and operated…