Business Savvy: Protect Your Business from 5 Legal Risks
that Could Tank Your Company
By Marjorie Jobe, J.D.
Unfortunately in today’s business world, it is only a
matter of time before your company is sued or
investigated by some governmental agency. However, you
can lesson the odds by understanding and identifying the
most common legal problems that could come your way and
protecting your company against them.
-
Criminal Investigation
State and federal law enforcement and governmental
agencies proliferate with each passing day. Depending
on your industry, you could be regulated by as many as
ten agencies, not counting the normal and customary
policing departments. The power of government agencies
is blinding. Recently, a trend has emerged targeting
more and more businesses, executives and owners for
investigation and prosecution. It has become so
prevalent that all companies should focus considerable
effort to insulating their owners, employees and
operations from risk.
Adopting a policy that your company will cooperate in
all government inquiries and investigations with the
assistance and counsel of an experienced criminal law
attorney is the best way to insulate you and your
employees from waiving your rights or creating more
risk.
-
Employee Lawsuit
Employment law is the “new black” for Plaintiffs’
lawyers who have watched tort reform narrow their
playing fields. For every perceived harm – real or
imagined, there is a creative lawsuit waiting to be
filed. Sexual harassment, age discrimination,
pregnancy discrimination, racial discrimination, gender
discrimination, disability discrimination, wrongful
termination, retaliation, and injuries, are only some of
the fertile ground for disgruntled employees.
Clear and thorough employee rules and policies are the
first area of defense against this kind of legal
threat. Develop an employee manual and document
employee files. Treat all employees with respect and
with equality and consistency.
Engage a business or employment lawyer to review your
policies and rules.
-
Cyber Issues
With
the move of all businesses toward more and more
dependence on technology and the use of internet
communications and resources, cyber legal issues grow
exponentially every day in ways that are just beginning
to be understood and anticipated.
Specific rules and policies regarding employee computer
usage, privacy and access are critical in today’s
business. Neglecting this area of legal threat is just
asking for trouble.
-
Marital and Divorce Issues
If
you are married or if any of your fellow owners or
partners are married, significant risk exists in the
divorce arena should any marriage fail.
Contractual protections in your entity documents or
business agreements should address these risks so that
you can continue conducting business regardless of
someone’s divorce claims and proceedings. Marital
property agreements can also provide additional
insulation from this threat.
-
Business Contract Lawsuits
Attorneys’ fees and expenses can wreck your bottom line
and distract you and your employees from your core
business operations. Your goal should be to utilize
contractual provisions to minimize the chance of being
sued or having to sue third parties with whom you do
business.
With the appropriate contractual clauses, you can avoid
being drug into a courtroom by requiring arbitration,
choose the state in which you will be sued or in which
the arbitration will be conducted, limit damages, and
require that the loser pay the costs of dispute
resolution. Many more advantages can be built into
contracts in order to give you control over the legal
process.
All
business owners and executives have the obligation and
duty to their employees, shareholders, partners and
families to insulate and protect their companies and
operations from the legal threats that haunt
businesses. By understanding the threats and risks, and
by taking proactive measures to prevent lawsuits and
legal disasters, you can control your own legal destiny
and win the advantage in any future legal battles.
About
the Author:
Marjorie Jobe is the author of "Business
Law Battle Plan for Entrepreneurs: Protect Your Company
from Lawyers, Lawsuits and Legal Disasters" and a
practicing attorney in El Paso, Texas. Visit her website
at
www.marjoriejobe.com or www.jobelawfirm.com.
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