2/22/2019· Chemical Industry
Remember the good old days when our homes were built with only lumber, dry-wall, and roofing? Me neither. However, we talk about 'modern' construction materials like this is a new phenomenon. The truth is 'modern' construction materials started sneaking into homes over fifty years ago. It's not only construction materials that have changed: a century ago, we furnished our houses with wood, cloth, metal, and glass. Today, it's plastics, foams, and coatings.
10/8/2018· Chemical Industry
How a Central Indian Town Changed the United States Code of Federal Regulations
On December 3, 1984, at a pesticide ingredient manufacturing facility owned by Union Carbide, a leak occurred in the Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) plant. Due to the toxic nature of the gases released and the plant's proximity to local residences, the death toll was in the thousands; both plant workers and nearby residents. The first recorded public meeting in response to this incident was on December 9th, in Institute, WV, the site of Union Carbide's only US MIC production unit. Full disclosure: my father was a research & development chemist for Union Carbide and Institute is about 10 miles down the Kanawha River from my hometown of Charleston, WV.
3/8/2017· Premises Liability
Retail Safety Hints: The Proof Is In the Video Replay...
By: Jerry Birnbach
The Patriots won the Super Bowl because they had more Angels on the field which was my Expert observation. As an Expert Witness for Retail liability case, assisting Liability Attorney's across the country, I have trained my eye to observe. So what did I take away from the Super Bowl?
6/24/2015· Design
Retail Design & Display: Chain Store Personal Injury
By: Jerry Birnbach
I have been retained by a law firm as an expert witness in the field of Retail Design and Display. I was asked to review a furniture retail Store located in the above referenced address. It does need to be noted that I was not able to review the actual piece of furniture in question nor the camel statue that fell off of the chest and onto the plaintiff.
9/6/2023· Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit Governance: How to Structure A New Nonprofit Organization
By: Jess Birken, Esq
When starting a new nonprofit, most founders are focused on their mission. Who are they going to be? What kind of work will they do? What impact are they going to make? But those aren’t the only things nonprofit founders need to decide. They also need to decide on the structure of the nonprofit and how it will function, too.
8/12/2022· Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit Board Member Removal: A Dilemma For The National Endowment For Democracy
By: Jess Birken, Esq
Working with nonprofit organizations, I deal with a LOT of people problems. And it makes sense, right? When you ask a group of people passionate about a cause (aka, the board of directors) to come together to make collective decisions…disagreements and confrontations are inevitable.
9/27/2022· Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit Scams: Exempt Status And What 501(c)(3) Really Means
By: Jess Birken, Esq
Here’s the thing: I wish my clients understood that a nonprofit's public charity status is NOT everything. It might be necessary and important, sure. It helps communicate to donors that the nonprofit is a public charity....But it’s certainly not the end-all, be-all of a successful nonprofit.
9/28/2021· Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit Conflicts: Succession Lessons From The Jeopardy Host Fiasco
By: Jess Birken, Esq
So, what does this have to do with nonprofits, you ask? Well, as a lawyer for nonprofits, I've seen lots of organizations go through the process of selecting new leaders – and not all of them do it right, especially when an insider is involved. This Jeopardy host situation reminded me of those cases.
4/28/2022· Nonprofit Organizations
Feeding Our Future Nonprofit Defrauds Government
By: Jess Birken, Esq
Feeding Our Future (FOF) was a Minnesota food assistance nonprofit that was awarded millions in federal grant funds in the past few years. FOF passed those funds through to other small organizations and businesses to provide food to children, primarily BIPOC and immigrant children in the Twin Cities and beyond.
9/25/2019· Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit Startups Paperwork: Trust me, the paperwork isn't just paperwork
By: Jess Birken, Esq
The reality is, starting and running a nonprofit is more than just the mission-driven work. Taking the time to understand the organizing documents, the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws, will help the organization going forward.
