Hiring a legal team (or at the very least a company lawyer) is smart regardless of what industry you’re in. But for some companies, this legal counsel is an outright necessity. The reasons vary depending on the seriousness of the business and the content it covers, but it’s safe to say that companies under these branches should always have a lawyer ready.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry is obviously an important business to have a legal team for. You are dealing with people’s lives, and occasionally a life-or-death situation can leave you in a tight legal bind. For all you know, a former patient may make unwarranted claims that can get you in hot water, and they might not even be true!
A lawyer can give you advice to secure yourself from any false allegations. They can also help you protect your employees who are only trying to do their best. Fortunately, most doctors and hospitals have the money to make this happen. Just make sure to hire someone legally competent.
Banking
In the financial world, you are working with peoples’ lives in a different sort of way. Rather than helping people recover from illness, you are managing people’s money, which can also create huge legal problems if you aren’t careful. If you aren’t careful, trust in your business can collapse.
To prevent these problems, Dodd-Frank requires financial institutions to institute risk controls in their business. Lawyers can analyze your situation and determine whether you are following protocol. When you are not, they can point out the areas you need to fix to be in accordance with the law.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is a little bit different. It doesn’t have the life-altering role like healthcare and banking do, but it is still important to have a lawyer for your company. Manufacturing jobs can be pretty dangerous, as workers are surrounded by heavy machinery day in and day out. Therefore, injury is pretty common on these sites. An injury lawyer can inspect your work environment to determine that everything is up to code. If someone does get hurt, you can reach out to them for help. It’s also important to cover your liabilities for any product flaws that may occur in manufacturing.
A thoughtful and proactive legal team can help you dramatically. Not only can they catch potential liabilities before an incident happens, but they can closely work through lawsuits you will inevitably receive. As with all things, hire before you desperately need them.
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