Loislaw.com Charges Off Severance

When Mark O. Beyland stepped down Oct. 3 after less than a year and a half as president and chief financial officer of Loislaw.com Inc., he became eligible for $268,000 in severance pay.

The Van Buren online legal information company will pay Beyland the balance of that sum by the end of 2000.

“We thank Mark for his contributions to Loislaw.com, Inc. and we wish him well,” said a prepared statement by company founder, chairman and CEO Kyle Parker, who has temporarily assumed Beyland’s duties as president.

Loislaw.com has already charged the cost off in its third-quarter report, showing it as a 1-cent per share loss.

The company had $3.6 million in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30, a 97 percent increase over its 1999 third period. And it even claims to have $1.7 million worth of new business. But the firm still had a net loss for common stock of $3.7 million or 17 cents per share for the quarter. Analyst Brent Manderfeld with U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock Nov. 3 to “neutral.”

“Although the company produced continued revenue growth during the quarter, we recognize that our quarterly performance is simply not good enough,” Parker said. “We will focus on each of our main strategies in the current quarter to increase revenues, reduce costs, and ensure financial stability.”

Beyland’s decision to leave came as the Van Buren company’s stock continued a year-long plunge during which it has fallen from $47.50 to $3.81. The stock has since dipped to the low $2 range.

Randell Sisemore, the company’s vice president of finance, will function as interim CFO.