Lawsuits are common for businesses, but larger enterprises are more likely to be the target of legal action. According to reports, businesses spend $1.2 million annually to fight litigation. And when you own a dev team, the chances of being sued go up astronomically.
There are many reasons a lawsuit might be filed against your dev team, but most of them center around data breaches and employee misconduct. As a dev team leader, it’s essential to understand the risks associated with your business and take steps to mitigate them. While being sued can be a costly and time-consuming process, there are steps that you can take to reduce your risk of legal action.
The following are just practical tips that can help you avoid getting sued:
Understand the Risks Associated With Your Business
Companies will have varying risks depending on their size, industry, and location. Assessing what risks you may face will help you determine what steps you need to take so you can mitigate them wisely.
You can better understand your brand’s risks by conducting a business risk assessment. This will help you identify areas where your company may be vulnerable and take steps to reduce or eliminate those risks. You will have to factor in your company’s size, the industry you’re in, your geographic location, and the law.
For example, you run a software development team with more than 500 employees in the United States. Based on this, your company’s risks might include:
- data security breaches
- discrimination or harassment claims
- failure to comply with data privacy laws
U.S. law puts strict requirements on how companies must protect the data they collect from consumers. If your company suffered a data breach, you could be sued for failing to adequately protect people’s information. It only makes sense that you would want to take steps to avoid such an incident in the first place.
Implement Data Governance To Protect Your Data
Data governance is the process of managing and protecting your company’s data. This includes setting up policies and procedures for how your brand collects, uses, and stores data. It also involves training employees on how to handle sensitive information appropriately.
Data governance can help protect your company from lawsuits in two ways:
- It can help you avoid data breaches by setting up proper security protocols. This will reduce the risk of sensitive information getting into the wrong hands.
- Data governance can help ensure that your company complies with data privacy laws. This is important because violating these laws could be subject to hefty fines or even jail time.
One way to set up data governance is to appoint a chief data officer (CDO). The CDO will be responsible for developing and implementing policies around data management. They will also work with other departments to ensure that everyone follows these policies.
Don’t forget about equipping your team with the right tools to help them manage data correctly. Many data governance tools like open source and commercial solutions can automate some of the processes involved in data governance. These tools can help you keep track of who has access to what data and when it was last accessed. A reliable provider of such data governance tools will have a proven track record, years of experience, and a team of experts to help you get started. When choosing a provider, find one that delivers developer-friendly APIs and is committed to bringing you expert solutions from planning through deployment.
Keep Up With Changes in the Law
Laws and regulations are constantly changing, and it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on these changes to ensure that your company is compliant. Not doing so could put you at risk of getting sued.
There are several ways to keep up with changes in the law:
- Follow legal publications: Many legal publications will keep you up-to-date on changes in the law. These publications include The National Law Review, LegalZoom, and FindLaw.
- Subscribe to legal news services: Several legal news services will send you updates on changes in the law. These services include Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, and Westlaw.
- Hire a lawyer: You can also hire a lawyer to keep track of changes in the law for you. This is a good option if you don’t have the time or resources to do it yourself.
These are but three practical ways your business can avoid getting sued. You’ll be well on avoiding a lawsuit by being proactive and taking the necessary steps to reduce your company’s risks. Stay up-to-date on changes in the law, and you’ll be in good shape. Implementing these tips will help keep your business out of the courtroom and running smoothly.
