Westminster Legal Group

Regulatory guidance may eventually force manufacturers to adjust how they incorporate and market CBD-infused products, but many well-known brands are still willing to be on the leading edge of this trend. What do they know that you don't? https://youtu.be/X_QB4BQhsWM

Thank you Friends and Colleagues of the Northwest Chamber of Commerce for this award and vote of confidence. I am incredibly humbled and honored by this recognition and so excited to see what more we can accomplish together.

Dear Gold Star Families and Survivors everywhere, We honor you and the loved ones that you have lost by remembering President Lincoln words of condolence to Mrs. Lydia Bixby in 1864. The nature of the sacrifice has not changed much over time, nor has the grief and pain in making it. Thank you for our freedoms. Executive Mansion,... Washington, Nov. 21, 1864. Dear Madam, I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Yours, very sincerely and respectfully, A. Lincoln

Would a law criminalizing fake news fly in the US? There were some states that passed laws doing this but nothing currently exists on the federal level. I think though that a change is inevitable. https://www.npr.org//kenyas-crackdown-on-fake-news-raises-

General Data Protection Regulation Compliance: Doesn’t Apply to Your Online Business? Not so Fast. If you do any business or provide services to customers on the Internet, May 25, 2018 is an important day. That Friday is the deadline for companies to implement and comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that governs the collection and use of personal identifiable information. Personal identifiable information includes any data that can be us...Continue reading

TOP 7 CONTRACT TERMS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND BEFORE SIGNING People often ask me, a business lawyer, what I look for when I review contracts. My unvarying response is everything. That, by the way, should also be the response of any competent and careful attorney charged with protecting a client’s interest. The point of a written contract is to clearly state the parties’ respective expectations. Contracts should also provide unambiguous guidance for frequently-encountered situ...Continue reading

NUTS AND BOLTS FOR THE NON-LAWYER: Attorney-Client Privilege and Confidentiality The FBI’s recent raid of the office, home and hotel room of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, has pushed the issue of attorney-client privilege and confidentiality into the national conversation. At the time of the raid, the FBI sought documents and information relating to alleged hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal to determine whethe...r Cohen’s involvement rises to a level of a crime, prompting the President to post on Twitter that, attorney-client privilege is dead. The FBI’s raid is unusual and there is particular sensitivity in this case because Cohen’s activities were allegedly performed for the direct benefit of the President who the FBI may be investigating for possible obstruction of justice. In this context, the attorney-client privilege and confidentiality deserves some explanation. Fundamentally, the privilege exists so that a client is free to be completely honest and transparent with his legal counsel without fear of exposure or reprisal. Read our full article here: https://www.linkedin.com//nuts-bolts-non-lawyer-attorney-/ www.westminsterlegalgroup.com

Missouri House Passes "20-Week Ban" Prohibiting Abortions After Twenty Weeks of Gestation In a week of competing big headline news, there is something from Missouri that largely flew under the radar. On Wednesday April 4, the Missouri House of Representatives passed House Bill 1266 on a 117-31 vote. Modeled after legislation drafted by the National Right to Life Committee, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibits a doctor from performing or inducing an aborti...on once a fetus reaches a pain-capable gestational age. That is specifically defined as twenty-two weeks after the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period, generally consistent with the time that is twenty weeks after fertilization. If passed by the Missouri Senate, the law would subject a physician to discipline by the licensing board including, but not limited to, the loss of professional license to practice medicine. Opponents of the bill argue that the so-called 20-week ban is unconstitutional and that the US Supreme Court has consistently ruled for more than forty years that states may not ban abortion prior to viability in the first trimester. Opponents also assert that the measure is not based in science or fact. Despite the opposition, the bill is widely believed to be one that will easily pass in the Missouri Senate and eventually be signed into law. Chase this link to read the entire House bill: https://house.mo.gov/billtracki//hlrbillspdf/4392H.01P.pdf Westminster Legal Group focuses on business law, commercial transactions, real estate and litigation. Conveniently located in St. Louis, Missouri, we serve national and local clients in the Bi-State area where the demand for our professional skills and expertise span dozens of local counties in Missouri and Illinois. Please visit us at www.westminsterlegalgroup.com.

NUTS AND BOLTS FOR THE NON-LAWYER: When Does the Law Require Agreements to be In Writing? Most people are generally aware that verbal contracts and agreements are enforceable (so-called hand-shake deals). Difficulties typically arise, however, in situations where one side reneges on a verbal contract and the other side wants to hold the other party to its word. Without a written document containing the specifics of the parties’ agreement, disputes normally degenerate into a...Continue reading

The US Supreme Court ruled Monday, April 2, 2018 that service advisors at car dealerships are excluded from federal overtime pay requirements. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that automobile service advisors are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 29 U. S. C. 201 et seq., which requires employers to pay overtime compensation to certain employees. By its plain language, the FLSA exempts from its overtime-pay requi...rement any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, if he is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling such vehicles or implements to ultimate purchasers. 213(b)(10)(A). 213(b)(10)(A). Although the Department of Labor initially interpreted it to exclude service advisors, the Court rejected that view. In classifying service advisors as salesman, the Supreme Court stated that a service advisor is obviously a salesman, reasoning that the ordinary meaning of salesman is someone who sells goods or services. Even if service advisors do not spend most of their time physically repairing automobiles, the FLSA does not make that distinction. Read the slip opinion here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1362_gfbh.pdf

For Singles, Widows and the Divorced, Estate Planning is Still Essential Whether never married, widowed or divorced, single people face unique estate planning issues that require advanced planning and they need to pay just as much attention to their estate planning as married couples do. Some complicated estate planning objectives for singles include: (1) ensuring that their assets go to relatives, loved ones and charitable organizations of their choosing rather than going to... distant relatives or escheating to the state; (2) identifying specific individuals who may make decisions in cases of illness or incapacity instead of leaving that decision to a distant relative or a stranger appointed by the state; and (3) ensuring that accounts and assets will not end up in the hands of a former spouse. To ensure that assets and decisions concerning their assets wind up with the relatives, loved ones, charitable organizations and persons of their choice, single persons should create a will and an irrevocable trust that specifically states how their assets are to be distributed. Also, certain accounts such as bank accounts, retirement plans and even life insurance policies require owners to designate a beneficiary when they enroll. These beneficiary designations are usually upheld, even if the owner gave the account to someone else in a will. Therefore, a thorough evaluation should be conducted to ensure that beneficiary designations are up to date and properly made. It is also important for single persons to designate a trusted loved one or friend to manage assets and health care decisions in case of an emergency or in the event of incapacity. Without proper directives, important decisions may fall into the hands of distant, unfamiliar relatives or state-appointed strangers. Single people should have the proper documents prepared that allow a known and trusted person to make financial and medical decisions through a general power of attorney, an advance health care directive, and a HIPAA authorization. Call us today for a consultation @ (314) 795-9148 or contact us by email at [email protected].