Preparation is Key Since there is no telling what may happen in or to your business, you must be prepared in each and every area. As your company grows, you may find that, if you do a lot of government business, you need a "compliance officer" to keep you abreast of all the ins and outs of dealing with government agencies.

In the same way, companies that generate an inordinate amount of paperwork for various reasons – chemical firms, public utilities, law firms, etc. – may find it a good idea to assign at least one employee full-time to records management and archiving. There is no better defensive strategy than being prepared for any eventuality.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late If you do end up being sued, or deciding that you need to take legal action yourself, you do not want to be shopping around for a commercial litigator at the last minute. You need to have an established relationship with an attorney or legal firm, whether you have them on retainer or make some other arrangement.

Make sure to interview a number of the leading commercial law firms and litigators in your area. You need someone whom you can trust, certainly, but also someone who understands your business niche, and your personal and professional needs. Having good legal help available is something that you should be considering at every point along your company’s growth path.

As your company grows, you need to scale up your legal coverage the same way you scale up your insurance coverage. One of the most dangerous times for younger businesses is when growth starts outstripping the ability of the corporate infrastructure to support it – so plan ahead and follow your plan. Because one major lawsuit (from a tainted product or an employee injury) can threaten your company’s very existence, legal coverage is by no means optional or "a luxury."

"Risk reviews" should be a normal part of doing business, and should be done at least monthly if not more often. Everything that happens in every department is important from a legal standpoint, so train your department managers to stay aware of any situation that could expose the company to legal action. Whether it’s a leaky pipe in the ladies’ room or a theft from your loading dock area, anything that causes a loss of employees, work time or company property is putting your business at risk.

With planning and foresight, you can be prepared for any legal eventuality and keep your business running smoothly. Good preparation – meaning that you save all company documents, regularly review risk procedures, and have commercial litigators on call – will see you through any potential challenge.

Page 2 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next