There is a lot to think about and do when you start a business. One thing you do not want to overlook is legal issues.
Lawsuits can easily happen when you do not have expert knowledge of potential issues or the right protective policies in place. So, you need to be prepared.
Here are five ways you can avoid costly lawsuits when starting a business.
1. Put Every Business Transaction In Writing
When starting up any kind of business, you need to make sure you put any deals and transactions in writing.
If you rely on handshake-only deals, all kinds of misunderstandings could happen which would escalate to costly lawsuits.
You should create written documents for all important transactions that detail things like the services you will provide, the price, and the delivery date.
It is a good idea to seek advice from an experienced lawyer to find out what types of contracts your business needs.
Once everything is in writing, you can avoid being sued by others. But to ensure that, you also need to never break any of the rules.
By remaining honest and ethical in all your business dealings and putting everything in writing, you are less likely to face legal problems.
2. Do Not Infringe On Another Company’s Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property consists of things like trademarks, copyright, and patents.
It is crucial that you protect your intellectual property when starting up a new business in order to stop others from stealing your creative works, product ideas, logo, and brand identity.
Just as important is making sure you do not infringe on another’s intellectual property rights.
For example, if you use a trademarked brand name or copyrighted images in your marketing content, you could easily face a lawsuit.
Get advice from a professional law firm like Heer Law to stop your competitors from infringing your intellectual property rights and defeat infringement claims that are made against you.
3. Put Sound Policies In Place
Your business could be subject to various employment laws, such as wage and hour regulations, health and safety laws, and discrimination laws, as well as industry-specific regulations.
To avoid lawsuits, it is vital that you follow sound employment policies. That means never violating things like harassment and discrimination policies, even unintentionally.
By creating and enforcing policies that ensure you stick to all laws and regulations for your type of business and industry, you can avoid getting sued.
A lawyer or human resources consultant will be able to give you advice on how to set up the right company policies.
4. Get Liability Insurance
While having liability insurance cannot stop your business from facing lawsuits, it can help to protect you from having to pay expensive costs.
Liability insurance can cover numerous risks, from data breaches to injuries caused by slips or falls.
Not only can your insurance company cover the cost of lawsuits. They can also handle cases for you, which means you can concentrate on your business and not have to spend valuable hours funding and fighting lawsuits.
5. Communicate Clearly When Unavoidable Issues Arise
Lawsuits can happen when you do not meet deadlines or provide products or services as stipulated in contracts, but such problems can occur when unavoidable circumstances happen.
For instance, you could suffer from an injury that means you cannot work for two weeks or a natural disaster could cause disruption at your warehouse.
In such circumstances, make sure you communicate clearly and quickly to your clients and everyone else involved with your business operations.
When unavoidable delays and issues happen, clients will typically be understanding as long as you communicate with them honestly and openly. You can then find solutions to the problems and avoid costly lawsuits.
