By Monika Hall, Law Office of Ronald D. Weiss
Disclaimer: This article should not be treated as legal advice. It’s recommended that readers consult legal counsel and contact a lawyer should they have any concerns regarding business litigation.
When we’re talking of businesses, we try to make sure that all processes involved in the business are in order. This means having a good marketing strategy and advertising campaign that fits with the overall goals we have for our products and services. However, part of this is also having to make sure business structures are in place in order to help ensure smooth operations throughout the workplace. Another thing we need to make sure we don’t forget is considering the legalities of our operations as it can help us prevent business litigation.
Business litigation is a tricky aspect of business as it involves legalities that are not often elaborated upon until we officially start our business. However, it’s important to be aware of the potential impact business litigation could have on your business in order to ensure you don’t have to waste valuable time and resources to either settle or take the dispute to court. You never want your business to go bankrupt and your assets lost in the process, right? Below are some key tips for you to follow on how to help prevent business litigation.
Small Business Today Magazine explains that because business litigation often requires the spending of time and money to settle or take cases to court, it can be extremely costly if it happens often. An initial investment on systems to ensure litigation doesn’t happen in the first place will pay off in the long run as this can save you months or even years of focus and productivity that allow you to instead keep your attention on your operations.
Don’t be careless about business contracts
Business litigations are extremely costly, and it can cost a fortune if this happens a lot due to missing clauses or procedures from contracts that have caused the conflict and lawsuit in the first place. It might be an expensive investment, but it’s important to get the help of a legal professional in order to make sure all contracts are reviewed properly and are properly created in order to avoid potential conflicts in the future. The money you pay the professional who will review your documents will pay off, especially if you consider how their presence can help avoid lawsuits in the future.
- Make sure you review your previous contracts and your current contracts in order to get a good idea on where to improve in the future. This is especially true if there were contracts that were rescinded or terminated due to clauses present in the document. Reviewing what went wrong and improving future contracts can greatly aid you in avoiding litigation.
Don’t forget to audit your insurance policies
Your insurance policies for your business might not be the same with the way other businesses tackle their policies, but always remember to check if the depth and breadth of coverage that your company desires and needs are covered by the policies you’ve signed. If you’re looking towards getting insurance, you may ask the help of a legal counsel in order to give you advice as to what kind of policies your company needs based on your business structure.
- There are multiple kinds of insurance you can obtain for your business, but this really depends on your needs. There’s insurance that protects your company and your employees from accidents or covers some aspect of your budgeting should there be emergencies.
- Try to only get the insurance you need and you might need in the future as getting insurance of all kinds even if you don’t need them or if they don’t fit your business structure will just add unnecessary extra expenses on your part.
Don’t forget to keep records, documentation
Another thing you shouldn’t skimp on is documentation as sometimes a record of something can help avoid litigation. Always remember to find ways to establish a protocol on the kind of documents you keep and how you keep them including manuals, handbooks, reports, and performance evaluation. This allows you to cover various aspects of work with proper documents and records so future litigation can be avoided.
- Have a protocol on the kind of documents you keep and the kind of documents you destroy every now and then, especially when it comes to physical documents.
- It might help if you go digital as well because digital databases save space and documents stored online are much harder to lose.
Don’t forget training, coaching
Perhaps another important part of avoiding business litigation is to make sure your employees and their managers are aware of what they should and what they shouldn’t do while working for the company. These include confidentiality, issues that the company should keep internally, and the details they can divulge to the public.
- Proper training and coaching as to the kind of policies the company has and following them properly, including the provision guides, can be an excellent way to avoid litigation in the future as everyone is well aware of their obligations.
Conclusion
Business litigation can be difficult to study, but it’s not an impossible endeavor. This is best done with the help of a legal professional because they have the training that will help you be acquainted on other key tips on how to help prevent business litigation. They are also equipped to be able to give you adequate advice on making sure your systems in place are appropriate to avoid business litigation and the legal aspects of your business are taken care of.
Remember that the key tips as described above aren’t immediately the best way to go to prevent business litigation, and they’re not the only ways to avoid business litigation. Always remember that your business is different from others, which means it’s best to consult a lawyer to see how these key ways fit in your business structure.
About the Author:
Monika Hall is a businesswoman and has been a law writer for the past 12 years. She is currently writing a new law piece and hopes to impart her knowledge to others in her writing. Monika is forever a creative spirit. She always expresses herself with creative pieces such as poetry whenever she has the time.
