All businesses should make it their duty to serve their clients to the best of their abilities. However, few things are as unpredictable as lawsuits. You never know what may happen; someone may say that you have made a false claim, another may claim that they suffered injury because of one of your products, or it may come from one of your employees. In all cases, you have to make sure that you have your bases covered and that you don’t make crucial mistakes.
Here’s what you can do to protect your new business from legal trouble.
Consult a Lawyer
If you’re not talking with a lawyer before you start your business, you’re doing it wrong. Working with a lawyer early will allow you to avoid mistakes or omissions that could get you into trouble. You also want to interview a few lawyers so you can have them on standby if you ever get in trouble or want some advice before making an important decision.
We also suggest that you speak with either an accountant or a tax attorney if you feel your line of business or structure could attract scrutiny from the IRS. Try to hire someone familiar with your business if possible.
Watch Your Words
The image and reputation of your business are very important. This is why you have to make sure that you or your employees don’t make statements that could be problematic. You have to stay away from anything that would be considered slanderous or libelous. You also don’t want to be associated with characters who are known for not having the best of ethics. By working with people like this, you are making yourself a target for a lawsuit by proxy. So, make sure that you conduct a thorough background check on any potential partner. You also want to avoid situations where you or your employees could have a conflict of interest, like someone sitting on a state or municipal board making decisions that could benefit you directly or indirectly.
Make Sure Your Website is Compliant
Your website could also put you in hot legal water. You have to make sure that it doesn’t make any false claims and that you have a well-written terms and conditions section. If you want to know how to draft one, you can use this terms and conditions tool.
There are also other special regulations that you need to abide by and might not be aware of, like ADA compliance, for instance. These make sure that websites are accessible to those with disabilities, and many businesses have been slapped with lawsuits, often for reasons they ignored. As an example, not having a high enough contrast between the background and your text could be an issue, as can having misleading or unclear calls to action. Your best bet would be to get an accessibility assessment. These are free or affordable and you’ll know everything you need to know to ensure compliance.
On top of that, you have to make sure that your customers’ information is safe at all times. This means working with a safe platform. You also have to make sure that the information is properly encrypted and that your SSL certificate is valid. As well as this, it’s important to ensure that only a few individuals have access to critical data and that you put physical and digital barriers in place to prevent insider attacks.
If you take these three simple steps, you should be able to avoid a lot of trouble with the law. Prevention is the most important, but you have to make sure that you monitor your actions and decisions and see which type of impact they could make.