FMJ Law Podcast

In this episode of the FMJ Law Podcast, attorney Karen Schlotthauer joins Adam Brown to discuss prenuptial and postnuptial agreements under Minnesota law. Karen explains how these agreements work, what they can and cannot accomplish, and the legal requirements necessary to ensure they are enforceable. As Karen discusses, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements can often be misunderstood, and many pe...

In this bonus episode of the FMJ Law Podcast, Nate Snyder and Adam Brown are joined by Addison Watson, in-house attorney and co-founder of the Tees & CLEs event, for a wide-ranging conversation at the intersection of law, business development, and the evolving legal and technology landscape. The group took some time away from the event to record the podcast live! The episode kicks off with the...

In this episode of the FMJ Law Podcast, Adam Brown is joined by Nate Snyder for a wide-ranging conversation that uses golf as a surprisingly effective lens to explore some of today’s most pressing legal issues. Adam and Nate tee off with real estate, and they discuss a variety of considerations tied to golf course development, from land use issues, environmental law, and conservation/protections t...

Attorney Anna Swiecichowski and Adam Brown break down the fundamentals of the appellate process and explain what can happen after a trial court issues a decision. Anna and Adam begin with the basics: what is an appeal and how does a case reach the appellate stage? They discuss the procedural history that typically leads to an appeal and explain the role appellate courts play in the legal system. U...

Nate Snyder and Adam Brown explore the legal issues behind employment contracts in sports, including cause and without-cause terminations, liquidated damages, offsets, and mitigation obligations. Using recent college football coaching changes as examples, they discuss the ways in which carefully drafted contracts control multi-million-dollar outcomes and how legal guidance can protect both organiz...

Cameron Caprio, the founder of VentureMFO, joins Nate Snyder, David Ness, and Adam Brown to discuss Family Offices and the strategic business and wealth management options they can provide for high-wealth individuals, including business leaders, athletes, and entertainers. The group discusses the mechanics of family and multi-family office structures, how to create these business entities, and how...

What are the current legal issues facing youth sports organizations? In this episode, Nate Snyder and Adam Brown discuss the variety of legal services, assistance, and advising that youth sports organizations and other sports businesses and organizations need but may not know about. They first discuss corporate and nonprofit formation and governance issues, including forms, formalities and require...

In this episode, Daniel Wyatt and Adam Brown discuss estate planning strategies for potential periods of incapacity. Have you asked questions like these before: “Who can make medical decisions for me if I cannot?” “Can I help my adult child with medical and financial issues if they are incapacitated?” Daniel outlines strategies and planning documents available to help with healthcare and medical d...

Minnesota’s statewide paid family and medical leave program (PFML) goes into effect January 1, 2026. By the end of 2025, every covered employer must have a compliant PFML policy in place. Is your organization ready? In this episode, Natolie Hochhausen and Adam Brown discuss the history of this legislation and the PFML program’s evolution, compliance deadlines, program mechanics, coverage and appli...

V. John Ella and Adam Brown discuss defamation and reputation protection in Minnesota. John provides a definition of defamation (including a discussion of the somewhat antiquated terms “libel” and “slander”), lays out the elements of any defamation claim, and addresses defenses, statements of opinion, defamation v. disparagement, and so on. The team also discusses online reviews and responses, alo...

Nate Snyder, Adam Brown, and our law clerk, Erick Kriewaldt, tackle the legal landscape surrounding high school sports, athlete transfers, and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) compensation. They break down a California antitrust lawsuit challenging high school athletic transfer rules, examine Minnesota State High School League policies, and discuss how NCAA transfer portal regulations affect colleg...

It's finally Cabin Season! In this episode of the podcast, David Ness and Adam Brown sit down to discuss estate planning strategies for cabins, family farms, condos, and other types of property and unique assets. As David said, the goal of planning is to avoid a mess, so he and Adam talk about ways to ensure that cabins and unique assets pass from one generation to another without the mess. Learn...

Nate Snyder, Adam Brown, and our intrepid law clerk, Erick Kriewaldt, analyze the House v. NCAA case, which is groundbreaking litigation in the NIL and college sports arena. The team talks about the settlement hearing and the concerns raised by the judge, potential future litigation, testimony raised, the complexities of the case itself and the classes of clients involved, including former college...

In this episode, Nate Snyder and Adam Brown talk about recent legal developments in sports. They start with a discussion of the types of clients we represent at FMJ Law, from owners and athletes to conferences, leagues, teams, and local associations. Nate and Adam also talk about the Minnesota Timberwolves ownership changes, including legal issues, sale structure, disputes, and arbitration. And th...

Let the Madness begin. In this episode, Nate Snyder and Adam Brown discuss the legal considerations involved with hosting a tournament, concert, show, or other event. Nate talks about the work he does with a variety of organizations, from huge sporting conferences and entertainment organizations to local youth sports organizations, and he discusses some of the initial considerations for hosting an...

David Ness joins Adam Brown to discuss new developments in estate planning in 2025 including federal exclusion amounts, federal exemption amounts, state exemptions and considerations in Minnesota (including the three-year look back period), and gifting strategies. Dave also talks about the potential January 1, 2026 sunset for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, potential changes with the new administration...

Nate Snyder and our legal extern, Erick Kriewaldt, sit down with Adam Brown to talk about influencers. During this episode, the team talks about the definition of "influencer," an influencer's role in branding and marketing, "athlete creators," sponsored content, affiliate marketing, revenue and monetization, group licensing, types of sponsorship agreements, and strategies when creating or reviewi...

David Ness joins Adam Brown to talk about hot topics in estate planning right now, especially the sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (which applies to almost anyone that has a business or holds property in an LLC or other business entity). Dave provides a primer on estate and gift taxes to help expla...

There have been so many recent developments in the legal landscape of college athletics. Nate Snyder sits down with Adam Brown to help Adam make sense of it all. Plus, they are joined by FMJ's legal extern for the Fall Semester, Erick Kriewaldt. During this episode, the team talks about conference restructuring (including the apparent success for the Big 10 and the issues for the Mountain West and...

Jamie Briones and Adam Brown are back to discuss additional topics and items that arise in pre-litigation stages. Specifically, they talk about document management and retention, communications (including emails and texts), contracts or evidence of agreements between parties, attorney-client privilege, and confidentiality. Jamie also goes through the settlement process and what goes into a settlem...

Natolie Hochhausen and Adam Brown analyze the new pay transparency law in Minnesota, which requires covered employers to include wage/salary ranges and benefit information in job postings. Natolie and Adam discuss covered employers, requirements under the new law, its effective date (spoiler alert - it's January 1, 2025), and the policy behind pay transparency laws. They also discuss the impact th...

In this special episode of the FMJ Law Podcast, Bob Fafinski takes a look back at the history of the firm and talks about its bright future. Bob and Adam Brown discuss Bob's career trajectory, the origin story of FMJ, the firm's practice philosophy, the keys to success over the years, and the next steps for the firm. Bob also talks about his entrepreneurial spirit, the need for attorneys to have a...

Are you thinking of buying or selling a business? In this episode, Rob Fafinski and Adam Brown go through the transaction process from start to finish. Rob breaks down a deal at each step along the way, on both the buy and sell side, including asset deals, equity/stock deals, entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), and self-funded searches. Rob and Adam talk about letters of intent (LOI), EBIT...

Nate Snyder and Adam Brown discuss the recent 2.8 billion dollar settlement the NCAA has entered into in multiple class action lawsuits, including House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v. NCAA. These were cases based in antitrust law, and the settlement is still subject to approval by a Federal Judge. The settlement does not necessarily establish legal precedent, but it does give some indicat...

V. John Ella and Adam Brown discuss Executive Compensation in Minnesota and the United States.  John and Adam talk about a variety of topics in the Executive Compensation and HR space, and they cover a wide range of topics, including the definition of what makes an "executive," the history of executive and employee compensation in the U.S., benefits, salaries, stock, equity/ownership, restricted s...