Top Tips for Protecting Your Company from a Lawsuit
Companies enter into many different transactions and relationships every day. From signing contracts with suppliers and vendors to providing products or services to customers to hiring employees, the relationships that companies form are essential to ongoing operation and business success. Unfortunately, in transactions and interactions that are essential to doing business, there is often the risk that disagreements or disputes will arise. Your company needs to make sure you do everything possible to reduce the chances you’ll be named as a defendant in a lawsuit so you can avoid legal costs and reputation damage that comes along with being sued. Smart companies consult with business attorneys for advice on ongoing operational decisions and work with lawyers to develop a litigation avoidance plan to reduce the chance of being sued. 
Brown & Charbonneau, LLP provides legal representation to established companies, growing businesses, and startup companies. Our business attorneys in Irvine have provided legal guidance and advice to small and large organizations who are serious about reducing the chances of getting sued. We can consult with you on the important decisions you make, provide you with advice on litigation avoidance strategies, and help you to do everything possible to maximize business success while reducing burdensome and costly litigation against you. To learn more about how we can assist you in preventing lawsuits from being filed, give us a call as soon as possible.
Business Attorneys Can Help Companies Explore Ways to Avoid Lawsuits
The first step to avoiding lawsuits is to make sure you know the common reasons why companies are sued. Business attorneys familiar with the corporate litigation field can offer insight into some of the most common reasons lawsuits are filed against companies. For example, common reasons why companies are sued include:
- Employment discrimination allegations.
- Wage and hour disputes.
- Hostile work environment claims in which employees claim their work environment was uncomfortable due to their protected status.
- Partnership disputes, shareholder disputes, or allegations of a breached fiduciary duty.
- Breach of contract claims.
- Warranty or product defect cases.
- Intellectual property claims.
- Premises liability cases.
- Securities law violations
Companies can be sued by customers, by staff, by vendors and suppliers, and by anyone else with whom they enter into business transactions. Knowing the common reasons for lawsuits is half the battle, and can be complicated since the nature of businesses vary so dramatically and since different businesses may be more vulnerable to specific types of litigation than others based on he nature of the products or services they perform. Business attorneys can provide a detailed analysis of your organization’s areas of vulnerability which will identify the areas where your company is most likely to end up being faced with litigation.
How to Protect Your Company From a Lawsuit
Every company should have a litigation avoidance plan that is aimed at the specifics of their operations, taking into account the type of organization they run; the level of interaction they have with the public; and the ownership and employment structure of the organization. Some of the different things that companies may wish to incorporate into their plan to avoid litigation include:
- An anti-discrimination policy and an employee handbook. You should have a clear policy in place prohibiting any discrimination in the workplace and providing a way for victims to make complaints. Employers could be responsible for hostile work environment and other discrimination claims if they don’t make it possible for employees to report problems and if they don’t take immediate action to investigate if a reasonable allegation of a problem is made.
- A detailed review of applicable regulations. Companies need to review wage and hour laws, and both state and federal laws specific to their industry and organization. You must know what is expected of you to ensure you are following the rules. Ignorance of the law is not a justification for failure to follow it, and you can still be sued even if you didn’t know you had done something wrong. Business attorneys offer invaluable assistance explaining all of the myriad rules that could apply to you and making sure your company complies.
- A policy of attorney review of contracts. You want a lawyer to look over any contract before you sign it so you can understand your obligations and avoid signing agreements that are disadvantageous.
- A regular maintenance and/or product safety testing plan as well as safety training for employees. You can be held liable if a negligent employee on duty caused injury to someone. Your company could also be sued if you failed to maintain a premises you invited customers to or if you released a dangerous product. Regularly taking steps to ensure the safety of your products and locations can help you avoid litigation.
These are just some of the things that you can do to avoid a lawsuit. Business attorneys can offer more specific guidance based on your biggest risks. Call Brown & Charbonneau, LLP today at (866)237-8129 or contact us online to find out more about how our Irvine lawyers will assist you in litigation avoidance.