Every year attorneys from Larkin Hoffman receive recognition for their efforts to assist in a variety of complex issues relating to land use and zoning, real estate, environmental regulation, construction, eminent domain and condemnation, and tax law. This year a number of the firm’s real estate and construction practice attorneys have been selected by their
Pandemic is Driving the Pace of Change in Office Environments
Rather than immediately downsizing, employers are considering revamping their workplaces in response to the work from home experiment. According to Erin Fitzgerlad and Gordon Wright, panelists on Bisnow’s webinar Twin Cities Deep Dive: Future of Office, clients are rethinking how they use their space and how to make employees feel comfortable returning to work in
Making the Most of Virtual Public Hearings
Today, most public hearings are conducted online or by conference call, whether before the Planning Commission, City Council, Board of Adjustments or County Board. Every unit of government has switched to some form of telephonic or video hearing format in response to the global pandemic. The good news is projects are still being approved by
New Podcast Series: Land Use and Real Estate Issues Affected by the COVID-19 Crisis
Welcome to Larkin Hoffman’s new series of podcasts discussing issues affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Our senior attorneys will address corporate, employment, real estate, construction, franchise, bankruptcy, insurance, litigation, and other matters in this series. The podcasts are 15 minutes long and can be heard at your convenience. Over the next few weeks, there will
What Happens to Minnesota’s Zoning Shot-Clock During a Peacetime Emergency?
Like many states, Minnesota has an automatic approval statute, or “shot clock,” to protect applicants for zoning and land use applications. Minnesota Statutes section 15.99 requires that local land use authorities must act within 60 days of receiving a completed zoning application. If the government fails to act within that time frame, the application is
Finding the Future: World Leaders Fighting Coronavirus Turn to University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Bill Gates sounds like a prophetic voice today when talking about the day to day impact of a global pandemic and the need for diagnostic preparedness and self-quarantine. Still, his depth of understanding of the current crisis comes as no surprise to those who have watched where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has
What the Paycheck Protection Program Offers Nonprofit Organizations and Small Businesses
The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) provides important public funding to small businesses. The following are some of the highlights of the Paycheck Protection Program (the “Program”) which is part of the CARES Act. This Program is an expansion of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) 7(a) loan program. The available
Construction Material Suppliers in the COVID-19 World
Construction is an essential business under Minnesota’s Stay at Home order. The order itself, has not shuttered construction projects—yet–but there are many other potential impacts of the current COVID-19 crisis on those projects including disruption of supply chains.
Most prime contracts and many subcontracts include force majeure clauses to address the impacts of unforeseen events.
The New Reality – Employees Working From Home
In light of the coronavirus, the majority of employers are allowing, if not mandating, that employees work from home (WFH). What should employers be thinking about when arranging for employees to telecommute?
- Determine which positions lend themselves to WFH. Obviously, some positions require face to face interaction or production with hands-on work, such as manufacturing.
Mediation Can Resolve More Than Monetary Matters
I recently wrote about the merits of using mediation as a tool to resolve business disputes relating to land and business acquisition, land development, public permitting and related conflicts. Mediation is especially helpful, in my opinion, when money is less the object in dispute and it is more so about a difference of opinion. Of