Business Legal

5 Strategies to Help Manage the Cost of Business Litigation

When a business goes through the unpleasant mess of litigation, it will cost them a great deal in legal fees to their lawyers as well as what they have to pay the person who sues them – always supposing they win. However there are other costs that are largely hidden and often cannot be recovered, let alone even worked out because of their very nature.

The cost to the reputation of the company can bring it to its knees because such things can drag on for years. During this time the media will make a big fuss and the public tend to think, Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. In other words, they convict the company in their minds and this usually translates into not dealing with them anymore.

The CEO and other management have to spend a great deal of time with their lawyers and external stakeholders – they may even bring in external risk and reputational management professionals with whom they will have to spend time. This means they are not focussed on managing their business to the extent that they should be. Under such stress, they may make poor business decision, or lose a client due to neglect. This too, has a great cost that can never be worked out.

So here are 5 ways a business can manage the cost of litigation

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3 Ways To Protect Your Family Lawyers Business Against Legal Action

Unique is not the right term to describe the scenario where a family lawyers business faces legal action, either from a client or another party. For those not familiar with the legal world, the assumption might be made that lawyers within any legal field, be it family law, commercial law, or criminal law, for example, never face legal action themselves, but they do, and it happens more often than many realise.

This then leads us to a situation where lawyers, including family lawyers, need to be represented by another lawyer. The specific legal speciality of that lawyer will invariably depend on what type of legal action is being taken. Whichever it is, a family lawyer must ensure that they can defend their business against any legal action and here are three ways to do so.

Prevention Is Far Preferrable To Litigation

It should hopefully be the realisation of everyone that preventing any form of legal action from taking place is a far more agreeable scenario than having to defend it, including having to go to court. Within your family lawyers business, preventative measures can cover a wide array of actions, but some to consider include:

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Cancellation Policies And What They Should Include

One area of debate within the world of business is that of cancellations and refunds, and when we say debate, that has a wide scope and ranges all the way from a reasonable discussion to a heated argument. In the most extreme cases arguments about a cancellation or a refund have gone to litigation, and thus the business has had to ask their litigation lawyers to step in and help resolve the matter.

Of course, this can happen on both sides of the fence for business owners. Either they are the one who sold the goods and services and there is a dispute over their own refund or cancellation policy, or they are the customer of another business and they have found that their rights to cancel or receive a refund for faulty or incomplete goods and services are being denied.

These issues arise for many reasons; some are as a result of a business not making its cancellation and refund clear enough, a business not fulling its obligations with regards to cancellations and refunds, or it might be that a customer believes that they are entitled to cancel and receive a refund in all circumstances, which we hope you already know is not the case.

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5 Tips for Drafting New Employment Contracts

Employment contracts can be confusing, especially if you’re a new business owner who hasn’t employed many people before. Because of this, it’s important to spend some time getting familiar with the legalities surrounding contracts and how they should be drafted.

Many employers use an employment lawyer to ensure they’re complying with their legal obligations, which is never a bad idea. We’ve also put together the following list of our top tips for drafting new employment contracts to help you get started.

Without further ado, let’s jump straight into it!

Specify What the Role Entails

For starters, it’s always a good idea to specify exactly what a job entails when you’re putting together a new employment contract. Make sure you think carefully about the key roles and responsibilities of the position and how you expect your new employee to approach them. On top of this, speak directly with said employee to ensure they’re aware of their exact role.

Explain Sick and Vacation Leave

Clearly outline everything your new employee needs to know about sick and annual leave. Include information about how many paid sick days are available and what happens if you use them all up. Is unpaid sick leave an option?

Similarly, outline everything necessary about annual leave. Consider how much notice needs to be given, what happens to unused leave at the end of the year, and whether or not an employee can be forced to take leave.

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Why a Lawyer is Essential for Your Business Sale Agreement

No matter whether you are buying or selling a business, the sale agreement is the document that the whole deal will pivot on. It is essential to have your lawyer draw it up if you are selling, and if you are the business buyer you will certainly need to have the document assessed by an experienced digital agency or a solicitor to ensure everything is above board and legally correct.

There are many ways you can be scammed when purchasing a business, but a lawyer will be able to pick up on anything that is not right or even a bit suspicious and check into it. Here are some of the problems lawyers can catch.

Hidden debt. Sometimes a business owes people lots of money and when you are buying it, you can become responsible for all the debt. This can become a crippling obstacle standing in the way of those profits you expected. A lawyer can go through the document and add a clause that makes the sale legal only if there are no outstanding debts.
If you are purchasing a business, the lease is an important part of it, unless you are planning to re-establish in another location. A lawyer can look at the lease and tell you whether it is favourable or needs some clauses added to it so you can continue to trade in the way you planned.

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Why You Need an Experienced Property Lawyer to Lease Commercial Premises

Starting up a new business? One of the main things you need are premises from which to run it. You won’t generally want to buy such premises as that would be very costly. Leasing commercial premises is the usual way to find a good home for your enterprise. However, don’t go in and sign a lease unprepared. Unless you know a lot about leases there are too many things that can work against you. Consulting a well known lawyers list list such as www.lawyerslist.com.au and then hiring an experienced property lawyer to examine the contract and make any necessary changes is the best way to go.

A lease that is drawn up by the landlord will ensure that all his or her needs are met, but may be rather light on what the lessee needs. If you have never leased before, you will most likely be unaware of what these needs are. And often the legal language is confusing, so you may not understand exactly what is meant by some terms or clauses.

Here are some of the things that can happen when you sign a lease without really knowing what it contains.
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Why You Need a Corporate Lawyer for Shareholder Disputes

There are many different kinds of shareholder disputes and the best way to solve them is to consult with commercial lawyers. A lawyer will be able to see things with an impartial eye and help you negotiate through what is often a painful maze to get the best outcome for you and for the company. So what kinds of disputes can happen if you own or are a director of a company?

Here are just some: –

Disagreement over the direction the company is taking
conflict of interest if you or any other director has an interest in another business
Poor performance from a director or a shareholder
Disputes can arise if the directors or board members are paying themselves high wages instead of paying shareholders
Disagreements between partners for various reasons.

If you are an owner, it is wise to be prepared to handle disputes in advance so that you can get on top of them immediately rather than letting them drag on or escalate, neither of which will do the company any good.

A corporate lawyer can set up an agreement as to the steps you will take if and when a dispute between any parties happens. Having a legal agreement will ensure that the dispute is settled quickly.

It may prevent the need – and cost of – going to court to settle. Mediation by a neutral party can ensure that a fix that is agreeable to both parties is found. This may be that the aggrieved party is bought out by the others at a fair price.

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Company Structure – Why You Need an Experienced Corporate Lawyer

Many people dream of of setting up their own business without really looking into it. While you may have special skills that would make a great business, you also need to know a lot about setting up and running it. In fact, you really need an experienced corporate lawyer to help you set the company up in the first place. Why?

For a start, there are four different business models, so which one is best for your business? What you choose can have a big impact on things like insurance, tax, asset protection and even legal costs. Rather than choose a model that suits you at the moment, you have to include your future vision for the business and ensure the model you choose will still be right for it when you expand.

Your business may even take a different track that you hadn’t thought of, into the future. If the business model is inflexible, you face all the costs and hassle of changing over to one that suits your plans better. It is a wiser course of action to be guided by a property lawyer, who will ask the right questions to get you thinking about the future of your business.
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How a Litigation Lawyer can Help You

Have you been injured at work or hurt in a car accident that was not your fault? If so, a litigation lawyer can help you. Most likely, the last thing you want to do is appear in a court of law and be questioned by lawyers who will do everything in their power to make you look bad or as if your injury is not as bad as you say it is.

That would be bad enough if you were well, but recovery from a bad injury can take many months and make you feel unable to face up to emotional struggles. The trouble is that you only have a few months to start such proceedings, after which you cannot claim any compensation. But with a litigation lawyer you can get compensation without even having to appear in court yourself.

They do everything that is necessary, from telling you which doctors to go to for assessment and examination to appearing in court on your behalf to negotiate with the insurance company the amount they believe is the right compensation. Continue reading “How a Litigation Lawyer can Help You”

Why You Need a Will

Many people put off making a Will until it is too late, while others don’t think they need one. However, if you have property – and this includes superannuation – you need a Will to ensure it is distributed properly after your death. Dying without a Will only makes thing more difficult for your family and it costs a lot to have the court decide who should benefit from your assets. This cost will be taken out of your assets, so your family will get much less than otherwise.

The trouble with an old Will

You may have made a Will years ago and think that is the end of the matter, but just like many things in this life, a Will may need to be upgraded or rewritten. If you divorce and/or remarry, your current Will is no longer of any use as it is not considered valid. At least, that’s how it is in Western Australia. So a new Will must be made to take into consideration your new circumstances. Then again, if your Will was made when you were younger and you now have more children or grandchildren that have not been mentioned, you may want to rewrite your will to include them.

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