Commercial litigation can be a stressful, costly, and long affair. Your brand takes a hit, your finances take a hit, and your reputation takes a hit. You don’t want it to ever happen any innocent business, not even to your corporate rival.
Essentially, you want to avoid it like the bubonic plague. But how can you? In addition to hiring a commercial litigation lawyer, there are a series of measures you can employ in advance.
Here are five legal ways your business can avoid commercial litigation:
1. Always Handle Your Affairs with Contracts
Years ago, businesses handled their affairs with the handshake. The handshake was as solid as oak. As the years went by, thanks to unscrupulous individuals and the plethora of loopholes, the handshake became archaic and now everyone is depending on contracts.
It is now a fact of life that everything should be writing at all times.
Do you want your business to avoid lawsuits, litigation, and the limelight (in a negative way)? It’s simple: conduct all of your affairs with contracts, documents, and signatures.
By doing this, you can ensure that you are legally protected at all costs!
2. Maintain & Update All Your Records
Recordkeeping is an essential part of doing business. These records practically serve as a timeline to all of your affairs and matters.
Because of their importance, they should be maintained and updated frequently.
Let’s say that you have started an account with a new client. From the moment they agree to your terms to the time their contract is up for renewal, you must make sure that every single contract, paper, communication, email, and anything else is stored, maintained, and updated whenever necessary.
Nothing will ever be disputed if everyone knows how meticulous your enterprise really is.
3. Learn to Communicate with All Personnel
Despite considerable advancements in the world of technology, our ability to communicate has diminished. We just don’t talk anymore. If we do convey a message, it is through emails, memos, and text messages.
Is this what it’s like in your office? It’s time to change your ways.
To avoid confusion, to prevent harassment, to refrain from misunderstandings, you need to incorporate a better system of communication. This could consist of more face-to-face meetings, a process of handling internal affairs in more personal manner, and/or changing the makeup of the office itself (you know, make it an open concept).
4. Keep Your Legal Team in the Loop
You have hired a legal team for a reason. If you’re proposing a change to the corporation or you are considering letting go a senior manager, you need to keep your legal team in the loop.
At the same time, your attorneys should also keep you in the loop if something new has been introduced to the labour code or a new bill is being debated that could affect your company.
Whatever the case, like communicating with personnel, you need to keep in touch with your lawyers on a regular basis.
5. Is Litigation Inevitable? Consider a Settlement
A legal case can be long, arduous, and drawn-out affair. Your reputation could be hindered, your name could be dragged through the mud, and your brand could garner a lot of negative publicity.
What does this mean exactly? Perhaps you should consider a premature settlement.
Commercial litigation requires a lot of time, resources, energy, and risk. It is unnecessary if a settlement is more prudent. Many individuals who take corporations to court are likely to accept a settlement. So, you just need to present a reasonable offer, have a contract ready, and cease legal recourse before it becomes too much to bear.
Should you fail to adopt these strategies in advance of a legal claim being filed against you, it would be a wise idea to hire a commercial litigation lawyer. They have seen and fought a wide variety of claims made against a company – large or small – so they have first-hand knowledge of how to ensure you are victorious in commercial litigation.
In the meantime, use these tips and your firm can avoid commercial litigation altogether.
