As the year draws to a close, small and mid-sized business owners must take proactive steps to protect their businesses and prepare for success in the coming year. At Gertsburg Licata, we deeply appreciate our relationship with each of our clients and are committed to helping businesses thrive. Below are ten essential legal recommendations to ensure your business remains compliant, secure, and well-positioned for growth in 2025.
1. Review and Update Your Contracts and Employee Handbooks
Ensure that your contracts and employee handbooks comply with best practices and changing laws and regulations. Include key provisions such as disclaimers of warranties, limitations of liability, at-will employment clauses, confidentiality agreements, and dispute resolution clauses. Regular updates to these sections are crucial.
2. Reassess and Update Your Estate Plan
Your estate plan should reflect recent changes in tax laws, family circumstances, or business assets. A robust estate plan can minimize taxes, protect assets, and ensure your business’s continuity in alignment with your wishes.
3. Conduct a Proactive Legal Audit
Lawsuits and government investigations can be expensive, time-consuming, distracting, and often preventable. Identify and address potential legal pitfalls in your business to mitigate risks and avoid costly mistakes. Your compliance checklist should cover both general and industry-specific requirements and best practices. Appoint a skilled compliance manager, either internally or externally, to ensure adherence to your checklist. If the process feels overwhelming or you need assistance, consider our CoverMySix® service, which offers comprehensive help (details below).
4. Centralize and Update Corporate Records
Ensure that your corporate record books are up-to-date and accurately reflect all changes and decisions made in 2024. This includes reviewing shareholder notices and decisions made by the board of directors. Implement a centralized record-keeping system to maintain consistency, accuracy, and accessibility of documents, thereby managing your records more efficiently and reducing the risk of errors.
5. Analyze 2024 Legal Spend and Plan for 2025
Examine your legal expenses from last year and pinpoint opportunities for optimizing spending and reducing costs. Develop a budget that prioritizes risk management and liability reduction, preparing your company for success in the upcoming year.
6. Obtain Fee Quotes and Negotiate Fee Reductions for Pre-Payments in 2024
Obtain quotes from your attorney for upcoming projects and negotiate discounts for upfront payments. This not only helps you benefit from potential tax advantages in 2024 but also reduces future legal fees. GL offers a substantial 15% fee reduction for prepayments toward the CoverMySix® program (details below).
7. Review Hot Button Legal Issues and Anticipated Changes
Stay proactive by reviewing pressing legal issues and anticipated changes, particularly those resulting from the outcomes of the 2024 elections. Take steps to prepare your business for any potential impacts.
8. Review and Update Business Insurance Policies
Ensure that your business insurance policies are sufficient and compliant with changes in your business environment and the market. Have your attorney review your policy and its exclusions to understand coverage gaps, and purchase riders as necessary to cover additional activities.
9. Leverage CoverMySix® for Comprehensive Legal Protection
Our unique, proactive legal risk assessment program, CoverMySix®, is designed to help you avert and mitigate lawsuits and investigations. It evaluates a company’s exposure to six primary types of litigants: employees, customers, owners, competitors, government bodies, and suppliers, and provides a methodical, detailed action plan to neutralize litigation threats, establish effective internal policies and procedures, ensure compliance with current legal and regulatory requirements, and enhance attorney-client relationships.
10. Prepare for Tax Season
Organized financial records are essential for tax compliance. Collaborate with your accountant to identify deductions, credits, and strategic tax planning opportunities.
Schedule a Year-End Legal Consultation
Don’t wait until a problem arises. A quick conversation with us can help you identify risks, prioritize solutions, and start 2025 with confidence. As you gear up for the coming year, taking these ten steps can protect your business, streamline operations, and reduce legal risks. Want to learn how these strategies can work for your business? Contact our team at (216) 537-6000 or [email protected] to schedule a year-end consultation today.
Alex Gertsburg is a co-managing partner at Gertsburg Licata and co-author of “The Lawsuit-Free Company: How to Use the CoverMySix Method to Minimize Risk, Increase Value and Protect Your Freedom.” Specializing in litigation, corporate law, and trade secrets, Alex provides cost-effective legal solutions for businesses of all sizes. He may be reached at (216) 573-6000 or at [email protected].
Louis J. Licata, Esq., co-managing partner at Gertsburg Licata and co-author of “The Lawsuit-Free Company: How to Use the CoverMySix Method to Minimize Risk, Increase Value and Protect Your Freedom.”. Mr. Licata oversees the firm’s operations and directs its Global Business Group. With expertise in global strategy, new market entry, corporate governance, and risk management, Mr. Licata serves as a trusted chief legal advisor to domestic and international middle market businesses. For consultations or inquiries, he can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at (216) 573-6000.
