Business Legal Audits Explained
Building and managing a business is no task for the faint-of-heart. Making sure your company is in compliance with all laws and regulations is a constant and permanent process, and most growing companies cannot afford the catastrophic effects of a lawsuit or other major legal issue.
The best defense you can mount against slipping up, breaking the law, and losing what you’ve worked so hard to create is to take preventative action. By taking a proactive approach to the possible legal issues your company could potentially face in the future, you can save yourself a great deal of money and stress. If you are searching for the right business or bankruptcy attorny in Southfield to help you with a business legal audit, you have found the right place. Read on to learn how a business legal audit could help your business stay on the right track and avoid possible mishaps.
A comprehensive legal audit conducted by experienced and knowledgeable business legal counsel can help you plan for and prevent legal mishaps. It can also help your company strategically plan for your growth and expansion goals.
In a legal audit, your attorney will sit down with you and discuss your company’s plans, recent actions, goals, etc. He or she will also closely examine important records and documents and analyze your current and any potential legal needs or issues.
The list of topics which a legal audit could address and help you plan for is practically endless, but some of the possibilities include:
- addressing legal weaknesses or risks
- protecting intellectual property
- business entity structuring and legal compliance (reviewing by-laws, minutes, record-keeping, etc)
- employment practices and other H.R. related topics
- product liability
- ADA compliance
- insurance coverage
- contracts
- planning for expansion to foreign jurisdictions
- analysis of retirement plans or other benefits
- and much more
Many businesses elect to conduct legal audits periodically to ensure that all of their practices and procedures remain in full compliance with the law and to help minimize their risk of lawsuits or other liability issues. Others utilize legal audits for specific events, such as opening a new branch of their business in a foreign jurisdiction or for a planned purchase of a company. Essentially, if there are laws that govern the actions you are taking, it can be helpful to utilize a legal audit ahead of time in order to address possible problems before they occur.
Legal audits are based on the specific needs of your company and can be limited to auditing very specific aspects of your business, or they can be incredibly complex and expansive in order to prepare for any and all possibilities your company could face in the future.
Some entrepreneurs may think they can conduct their own legal audits, but it is essential that you utilize a business lawyer with an expansive knowledge of the law and the experience required to be able to find flaws and liabilities in your company that could be exploited in the future and remove them. Please call Maxwell Dunn, P.L.C. to discuss how we can help you manage your company’s risk and strengthen your business for continued, long-term success. We are your go to business and bankruptcy attorney in Southfield.