In business, it pays to be tough — and sometimes that also means being tough on yourself. When business lawsuits erupt, you have to keep your focus on the day-to-day demands of your business if you want your business to survive.
Any business lawsuit is bound to take some of your time and attention. However, it’s important to sharply compartmentalize your thoughts and practices in order to keep the lawsuit from torpedoing everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. No one says this is an easy trick, but there are some methods you can use to get through this difficult time period:
1.) Try to compromise with the other party.
Even if you feel like you can win a case, consider the possibility of a compromise if it’s better for your business. Legal fees, lost time and the drain on your energy may not be worth the win in court. It’s possible that the other side feels the same way. If so, you may be able to come to an agreement that you can both live with in the long run.
2.) Hire someone to help you.
There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you can’t handle everything on your own. You may need to hire a legal assistant to go through emails, search records and compile information for your case. This is also the time you need to rely heavily on your business attorney’s services. Your attorney is there to shoulder some of the load for you so that you can concentrate on keeping your business alive.
3.) Schedule extra time for everything.
You’ll need to build extra time into your schedule around your legal issues. For example, if employees need to be deposed, you need to schedule extra help so that you aren’t running short on staff. If you need to meet with your attorney for an hour, remember to figure in your travel time back and forth when you schedule yourself out of the office.
4.) Don’t let the lawsuit become a focus at work.
This is especially important when employees are involved in the suit as witnesses. You need to make sure that everyone stays focused on work when it’s work time — and set the tone yourself by keeping your focus intact.
Learning to survive the occasional legal conflict requires setting some firm boundaries so that the lawsuit doesn’t take all your attention.
