Focus Team: Manufacturing & Distribution
Not only is manufacturing and distribution the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy, it plays a prominent role in our 100-year history. We represent many of the area’s largest manufacturers and have grown with them over the courses of our histories.
As a full-service business law firm, our attorneys provide a diverse spectrum of services for manufacturers and distributors of locally based operations to internationally based facilities. We have extensive experience advising clients on a wide-variety of issues, including day-to-day operational issues as well as sophisticated transactions that are key to a business’s success.
The challenges faced by manufacturers are real. We understand the competitive and increasingly global marketplace and the pressure to be lean, cost-effective, and proactive. Working as trusted advisors to manufacturers and distributors, our attorneys combine legal knowledge with business acumen to provide clients with decisive, sound counsel.
We work collaboratively as a firm to provide our clients with timely, practical, and cost-effective legal guidance. Clients benefit from an attorney team with experience in all of our comprehensive practice areas. Services include:
- Business succession planning
- Commercial litigation
- Deferred compensation
- Distribution agreements
- Employee manuals
- Employment and personnel issues
- Employment contracts
- Entity formations
- Finance and lease arrangements
- Licensing issues
- Loan and equipment lease documents
- Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Operating agreements
- Purchase and sale of manufacturing and distribution operations
- Purchase and sale of real estate including manufacturing facilities
- Regulatory compliance
- Reorganization strategies
- Risk management strategies
- Shareholder agreements
- Shareholder disputes
- Stock options
- Supply agreements
- Tax advice
- Terms and conditions of sale
- Trademark protection and intellectual property matters
- Warranty and product liability issues
- Work force issues
In addition, Ruder Ware is a member of Meritas, a premier global alliance of independent law firms working collaboratively to provide businesses with qualified legal expertise. Our membership allows us to connect clients to rigorously vetted law firms anywhere in the world.
Founded in 1920, Ruder Ware provides business, employment, estate planning, and litigation services. A full-service law firm, over 45 attorneys provide clients with a one-stop approach to their legal needs. Ruder Ware, Business Attorneys for Business Success.
Posted on February 28, 2023 by Sara J. Ackermann
Last week in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, the Supreme Court affirmed employees must be paid a fixed salary of $684.00 per week to be considered “exempt” under the popular administrative, executive, and professional exemptions. The case involved Michael Hewitt, an oil rig worker who was paid a daily rate. His paycheck, issued […]
Posted on February 24, 2023 by Kelly T. Wilfert
About 98 percent of U.S. farms are family-owned, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So most farm owners are not surprised that an important part of farm succession planning is balancing the expectations of and promises to their children. In drafting a farm succession plan, the farm owner will be asked to make the […]
Posted on February 22, 2023 by Lucas P. Sczygelski
When it goes into effect on January 1, 2024, a provision tucked inside the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) will impose lengthy new reporting requirements on many business entities, including many single-member LLCs. The final rule recently issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network clarifies the scope and applicability of these new […]
Posted on February 14, 2023 by Sara J. Ackermann
If you are a federal contractor, keep reading. Last summer, the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a notice to all federal contractors that the Center for Investigative Reporting had requested EEO-1 reports for 2016-2020 pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). While the motive is uncertain, it is likely that this […]
Posted on February 3, 2023 by Ian Colby
To do business in Wisconsin, a business owner needs to file numerous documents with federal, state, and local governments. Congress recently added a new one. Under the Corporate Transparency Act, most corporations, LLCs, and similar company types doing business in the United States must file a report divulging the personal information of anyone who “controls” […]
Posted on January 11, 2023 by Sara J. Ackermann, John H. Fisher II and Nicole L. Stangl
Dear Ruder, we are getting lots of long emails from various sources about this proposed noncompete ban. Can you please break this down in easy-to-read language so we don’t have to review the entire 216 pages of the FTC’s proposed rule? Dear Reader, Yes we can! See our answers to some frequently asked questions below! […]
Posted on January 6, 2023 by Sara J. Ackermann and John H. Fisher II
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started the new year off with a bang when it announced in a press release on January 5, 2023 that it is proposing a new rule that would ban many employee non-compete clauses. The press release follows a 3-1 vote by the FTC to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking […]
Posted on January 5, 2023 by Nicole L. Stangl
The Speak Out Act (“Act”) became law on December 7, 2022. The Act prohibits the enforcement of non-disclosure or non-disparagement provisions which are agreed to prior to an allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment (“sexual misconduct”). The Act applies to disputes regarding alleged sexual misconduct that occur after December 7, 2022. A full version […]
Posted on December 29, 2022 by Mary Ellen Schill
The Internal Revenue Service issued the 2023 optional standard mileage rates today for computing the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. The most notable change is the three-cent per mile increase for businesses. Effective January 1, 2023, the optional standard mileage rates for the use of a car […]
Posted on October 26, 2022 by Jessica A. Merkel
Paying for nursing-home and long-term care can seem daunting when the cost can be $5,000 to $12,000 per month – or more. When a married couple is no longer able or willing to privately pay out of pocket for care and chooses to apply for Medicaid, it’s a complex process. The Medicaid agency must analyze […]
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