If you are the owner of a small or medium sized law firm and are looking to add a corporate compliance element to your practice, then you are not alone. Corporate compliance is one area of the law that businesses cannot do without, so adding it to a law practice is a common sense decision for many firm owners. Even if you don’t have the capacity in house currently to handle corporate compliance cases that need things like mediation or arbitration, there are ways to contract with companies outside that specialize in them. Below are just a few of the ways that offering coporate compliance to your larger customers can really be a benefit:
Environmental Regulations – The environment seems to be on people’s minds now more than ever before, and businesses must be aware of this. We know that over one-third of the counties in the continental United States will face higher risks of water shortages as a result of global warming, but that’s not all. Studies show that over 40 percent of Americans worry about things like air quality, carbon emissions, tropospheric ozone, radon, and sulfur oxides today, many of which are caused by pollutants being released into the air. Research also shows that 5,000 lives could be saved every year and thousands of respiratory and heart disease cases prevented if we could just reduce the amount of toxic air pollution from industrial plants. If your firm handles commercial cases representing any business that needs to adhere to environmental regulations, being able to offer them a corporate compliance program could be extremely compelling.
Data Security – Another issue on people’s minds is the security of their data. It seems that every single week there is a new breach in security at a large corporation that requires some sort of damage control or public service announcement so that everyone can change their passwords, contact credit bureaus, and more. If your firm represents an organization that collects customer data, then it is imperative for them to be compliant in the areas of data security. The quickest way for them to lose a customer is to have to call and let them know that their data has been compromised and they could face issues in the future like identity theft which sometimes takes months to figure out. Data security also plays a vital role in the protection of intellectual property as well.
International Compliance – If your firm has clients that do business overseas, then they not only have to worry about the regulations of our own country, but the regulations of all those countries where they do business as well. This can, of course, involve an incredibly complex set of rules depending on the country they are working with, and your corporate compliance program can be helpful to them when they are looking for help.
You don’t ever want to have to tell a long time client that the type of law they need help with is something that your firm cannot provide, but when you are a small or medium sized firm, it can happen! That is where the role of outside experts come into play. If you have a contract with a company that specializes in areas of law where your attorneys have little expertise, you can simply be a phone call away from helping the client that is sitting in front of you.