Litigation is a costly process that takes up a lot of executive time and has the tendency to destroy business relationships.
Organisations with a mature risk management framework track, monitor, and avoid litigation risks on an ongoing basis.
In this article, we outline a few practical ways that corporations and entrepreneurs can implement to minimise their exposure to litigation risk.
Litigation risks must be appropriately tracked and monitored at all levels of the organisation to avoid or minimise the impact thereof.
Organisations that successfully avoid litigation risks tend to have an effective wider enterprise risk management process.
Robust enterprise risk management enables organisations to identify, assess, treat, and monitor risks to their operations, projects, and transactions.
Once litigation risks are identified, as part of the wider process, the organisation can put in place measures to avoid these risks and track the implementation thereof.
Takuva Law designs and implements proactive strategies, that enable appropriate legal risk at board, management, and operational levels.
Non-compliance with regulatory requirements is a major source of litigation risks, and it can have catastrophic financial and reputational consequences.
Organisations mustenhance employee awareness of applicable laws and regulations relevant to their industry, for example through training.
It is also prudent for organisations to develop compliance risk management plans to actively track regulatory compliance in respect of each applicable statute.
Ongoing monitoring of the regulatory environment is critical to ensure that the organisation identifies and responds to risks in proposed acts and regulations.
Takuva Law provides comprehensive regulatory compliance assurance services, which enable clients to proactively avoid non-compliance.
Organisations must ensure that their agreements are concise, and unambiguous, which entails using plain language drafting to clearly define terms such as:
- Scope of work.
- Delivery timelines.
- Service/product quality.
- Terms of payment.
- Dispute resolution mechanisms.
- Breach and Termination.
Takuva Law’s contract management services enable clients to minimise contractual ambiguity and potential misinterpretations.
Whilst labour laws, regulations and rules are well-established, unfair labour practices are still a hotbed for litigious disputes.
Organisations need to treat all employees fairly and respectfully, in compliance with the applicable labour laws.
It is important for organisations to keep up with the latest case law and best practices on issues such as the minimum wage, overtime pay, leave entitlements, and unfair discrimination.
Takuva Law helps clients to develop and implement best-practice policies and procedures, and to engage in collective bargaining, and shop-floor negotiations.
Protecting intellectual property safeguards valuable intangible assets and prevents unauthorised use.
Importantly, it allows organisations to publicise their protected intellectual property, especially to potential competitors.
When competitors are aware of protected trademarks, patents, and copyrights, they are less likely to infringe on them, which helps to prevent disputes.
Takuva Law supports clients to register and protect their intellectual property rights to maximise the value of their intangible assets.
It is crucial to maintain open and transparent communication with all stakeholdersin the organisation.
Promptly communicating expectations, concerns, and potential breaches fosters trust and reduces misunderstandings.
It is also important to document standing arrangements and any changes thereto, with both parties signing them, to be able to rely on them if a dispute later arises.
Effective storage of documentary records of all transactions, communications, and agreements is also crucial to retain evidence that is relevant to legal disputes.
At Takuva Law we assist our clients in capturing important terms in contracts and addendums and communicating withstakeholders.
Incorporating mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration into corporate and commercial agreementsopens better paths to resolve disputes than litigation.
Alternative dispute resolution has the benefit that it is –
- relatively faster than litigation;
- cheaper to pursue; and
- better suited to preserve the relationship between the parties.
Takuva Law provides dispute resolution support in corporate and commercial disputes,both before and after a dispute is declared, to find win-win solutions.
Building these basic practices into an organisation sets a strong foundation to prevent litigious disputes, which saves time, money, and damaged relationships.
Pre-emptively engaging an attorney can enhance dispute prevention and management and provide effective guidance through dispute resolution processes.
Takuva Law works closely with entrepreneurs, executives, and in-house legal advisors to proactively assess their regulatory and contractual environment, identify and assess legal risks, and design, monitor, and track mitigation measures.
Contact us to explore our informed insights and innovative solutions on your journey to effective litigation risk management.
