Goodlegal's Essential Legal Requirements for Increased Business Efficiency

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, but with so many responsibilities to manage, compliance with legal can often fall by the wayside.

However, failing to address legal matters promptly can have severe consequences for your business. That's why business owners must consider investing in legal services to protect their assets, minimize risks, and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.

Legal risk and exposure for businesses

A lawsuit can be financially devastating for a business, and even if the case is ultimately dismissed, the legal fees alone can be enough to put you out of business.

This is why businesses must have access to legal requirements, documents, processes, and services to help understand and identify available legal opportunities and equally address potential obligations putting business operations at risk.

For a business to operate legally, it needs to understand legal requirements and implement policies, procedures, and documentation in line with applicable law in its jurisdiction of operation.

Documents, contracts, and agreements are critical to any business in the following everyday business situations:

• Business formation: Different compliance requirements are required depending on the type of business formation. For example, a sole proprietorship may only require a business license, while a corporation may require articles of incorporation and bylaws.

• Contracts and agreements: Various contracts and agreements are required to formalize relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, and partners. Examples include purchase, non-disclosure, employment, and partnership agreements.

• Intellectual property protection: Businesses may need legal documents to protect their intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. These documents help to prevent others from using the business's intellectual property without permission.

• Regulatory compliance: Businesses must comply with various regulations and laws, such as privacy laws, environmental laws, and labor laws. Legal documents such as tax returns, permits, and licenses may be required to demonstrate compliance.

Access to legal knowledge and documentation

While the knowledge is available, it is often complex and not easily accessible. Legal advice is costly and often is only considered when it is too late.

The maze of requirements, documents, and policies is highly complex, and, unfortunately, an all too common approach is to "just do it and hope for the best."

Access to Contracts and Agreements

When dealing with contracts and agreements, businesses may face several pitfalls. That's why you will find on Goodlegal these essential documents you need to be operationally up and running as part of our Day One Compliance document pack, such as:

• Contract Agreements are formal written documents that establish and define the terms and conditions of a business relationship between two or more parties. They are legally binding agreements that can be enforced in a court of law and can cover a wide range of topics, such as services, products, employment, confidentiality, intellectual property, and more.
• A privacy policy is a document that outlines how an organization collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information that it collects from its customers or users. It is a legal requirement for many businesses, especially those that operate online and is designed to inform users about how their personal data will be handled. 
• A cookie policy is a document that outlines how an organization uses cookies and other similar technologies on its website or online platform. It should explain what types of cookies are used, how they are managed, and how the organization complies with applicable laws and regulations. Cookie policies are essential for building transparency and trust with website visitors regarding their online privacy.
• Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement Generic (MNDA Generic) is a non-disclosure agreement not specific to a particular business transaction or relationship. It is a general template or form of an MNDA that can be used in various contexts where confidential information needs to be protected. MNDA Generic documents are often used by businesses and individuals who frequently engage in transactions or collaborations that involve the exchange of confidential information.
• Terms of Use, also known as terms and conditions or terms of service, are rules and guidelines that govern the use of a website, app, or online service. These documents outline the rights and obligations of both the users and the owners/operators of the service, including restrictions on how the service may be used, limitations of liability, intellectual property rights, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

In addition to the complexities of finding your way through compiling a set of standard agreements you think might work for you, the chances that those agreements are the same or that your contracting party will support those without any modifications are slim to non-existent. This is one of the reasons we hope that the templates you can find in our template library are not unreasonably placing the entire contractual risk and burden only on one of the parties.

Legal professionals can help businesses by reviewing contracts and identifying potential risks, advising on best practices for compliance with laws and regulations, and representing them in legal proceedings if necessary. By working with them, businesses can take preventative measures to mitigate risks and avoid the costly and time-consuming process of defending against a lawsuit.

Peace of Mind: A Legal Infrastructure Platform.

Deploying an out-of-the-box Legal Infrastructure Platform can give you peace of mind as a business owner. Knowing that you have access to the needed documentation and a network of legal professionals in your corner can help you focus on running your business and serving your customers without worrying about the legal implications of every decision.

As a business owner, ensuring legal compliance with everything you do while growing your business, creating new products or services, and providing excellent customer service can be overwhelming.