When you are running a successful
business, you are in the public eye. While you can control how
you handle your vendors and customers, you cannot control the actions of outside
influences.
At some point, someone will probably try to sue your business. Many business
owners would agree that it’s just a “matter of time”
before your business is sued.
We live in a highly litigious society, so when you are running a financially
viable company, it becomes more of a target. If you ask any small or large
business owner who has been running a company for a while and they will
say that there are definitely appropriate situations where you must litigate.
Benefits of Avoiding Litigation
While litigation is sometimes necessary, if you can find a way to defuse
a situation before it goes to court, you are better off if you can avoid
litigation altogether. What are the benefits of avoiding litigation?
There are too many to count, but one of the reasons is
litigation can drain the business of its funds. Most business owners have zero interest
in going down a torrential path that their business cannot recover from.
Trials are unpredictable, so there are risks involved. One of a business
owner’s jobs is to properly identify risks and mitigate them as
much as possible. Another factor that many executives fail to consider
is the fact that litigation is stressful and it takes the employees’
attention away from doing their jobs.
When employees are distracted by going to court, not only are they taken
away from their jobs, but they experience the emotional consequences as
well, such as fear, anger, and anxiety.
Not only are these negative distractions, they are time-consuming, they
lower employees’ morale, and they hit a company where it hurts –
in their production.
Litigation directly and indirectly affects business relationships. If you
end up in court with a major player in your industry, other players will
take notice.
A single lawsuit can have a ripple effect and impact current and future
business for years to come. Litigation can also damage a company’s
reputation within its industry, among consumers, and even industry leaders.
How do I avoid litigation?
As you can see, there are numerous advantages to avoiding litigation if
at all possible. How do you avoid litigation? There are different ways,
one of which includes taking steps to avoid disputes, such as including
litigation avoidance provisions in your contracts, such as
arbitration or
mediation provisions.
Executives frequently miss an opportunity to avoid litigation because they
have not given a dispute adequate attention when it was in its early stages
– they need to be educated on litigation avoidance techniques.
We found that business owners generally prefer to avoid litigation whenever
they can achieve their objectives through alternative means, especially
when they can save valuable resources.
If you need legal advice on a business litigation issue,
contact our Chicago business litigation firm to take advantage of more than
40 years of combined experience.