Davis & Kuelthau is a proud sponsor of BizTimes Media’s Family & Closely Held Business Summit taking place on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.
This forum will provide an extensive overview on how to navigate many of the complex issues related to growing a successful and sustainable family and closely held business. Attendees will learn from family business owners on a variety of topics ranging from culture, growth, transitioning, sustained success, and legacy.
The keynote speaker for this year’s summit will be Tom Deans, New York Times best-selling author of Every Family’s Business. Following the speaker will be an informative panel discussion featuring family and closely-held business owners featuring: Ken Riesch, Co-founder, Owner and President of R&R Insurance, along with Jack Riesch, Owner and Executive Vice President of R&R Insurance. The summit will conclude with attendees having the opportunity to select and participate in four out of 20 roundtable discussions covering the core themes gathered from the program: Growth, Leadership & Culture, Next Generation and Legacy.
Davis & Kuelthau will offer the following roundtable discussions during the program:
Planning for Transition in Your Family Business, Jacqueline L. Messler, Davis & Kuelthau, Trusts, Estates & Succession Planning Attorney
Business owners are often so focused on building and sustaining the business, that they neglect to plan for their exit from the business. When planning for your eventual exit from the business, it is important to incorporate your objectives — whether cash flow, wealth accumulation, continued occupation, or legacy. It is necessary to recognize your obligations under existing business agreements, if any, and consider whether they should be updated to accomplish your personal and professional goals. Your estate planning documents must also be coordinated with such agreements and objectives. Most often, early planning facilitates a smoother transition of your business and leaves more planning options on the table.
Managing Non-Competes – Are Yours Enforceable?, Laurie E. Meyer, Davis & Kuelthau, Labor & Employment Attorney
Whether starting a business or improving the practices of your long-time company, you have an opportunity to add value to your business by restricting certain employees from joining a competitor and/or sharing your proprietary knowledge. In recent months, several court decisions have tightened the reins on what provisions are enforceable within non-compete agreements. If you have not audited your non-compete agreements as of late, now is the time to do so. Laurie Meyer provided insights on how to protect your company’s interests through restrictive covenants.
Secure Your Secrets, Button Up Your Brands, and Patent to Protect Your Profits, James E. Lowe, Jr., Davis & Kuelthau, Intellectual Property Attorney
Your secrets are your business knowledge, your way of doing it the right way. Know your rights when it comes to how to protect those secrets. Your brand is the trademark you use with your goods or services to identify you as its source. Understand how registering your trademarks gives you the ability to protect your goodwill. And when you develop new methods, processes and products you invest money in research and development. The patent system lets you prevent others from making, using or selling those new and unobvious methods, processes and products for a limited time so you can recoup those expenses. Learn what can be patented and how to do it.
This event will take place at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino located on 1721 W. Canal St., in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 12 from 7:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
For more information, please visit the BizTimes Website.