The BUSKLAW Newsletter

I had the privilege of presenting at the Embedded GR  group meeting at The Geek Group Lab on January 25. The meeting topic was "Contracting, Consulting, Moonlighting, and Independent R&D," and I spoke about legal and business "red flags" in contractor agreements. Around 30 engineers were in the audience, along with two motley dogs, plenty of geek food (pizza and pop), and a fellow Grand Rapids IT attorney and Hope College grad, Elliott J.R.Church. I learned a lot at the meeting and had a grand time. These IT engineers and software developers are a very entrepreneurial bunch and were receptive to me expounding on what contractors should worry about when asked to sign a client-drafted consulting contractor agreement. Here's the link to my PowerPoint deck , if you're interested. The camaraderie among this group reminded me of my late father's associates - wildcatters -in the "oil business" in Michigan in the 1940s and 50s. These guys...

Organizers of the Embedded GR IT group invited me to attend their next meeting to discuss the legal aspects of folks working as independent contractors on IT engagements. Although my experience in this field has been on the "other side of the table" (i.e., representing businesses hiring these contractors), I do have some thoughts on what contractors should - from a legal view - NOT agree to.  Embedded GR is a group of engineers, hobbyists, students, and managers in the Grand Rapids, MI area. They discuss the development, tooling, and processes associated with the creation of embedded systems. I appreciate the opportunity to share my legal expertise with this group. Much of what I say will apply to all contractors working on projects for employers, regardless of whether their work relates to embedded systems. So if you are a contractor (doing work of any sort), you may want to attend to get my take on what you should avoid (or at least push back on) when signi...