Birmingham Corporate Law & Compliance Lawyers
Legal Support for Your Business in Oakland County, Macomb County, Wayne County, Livingston County, & Detroit
A strong compliance program, aligned with corporate law in both the United States and the state of Michigan, is an important part of corporate survival and success. It serves to help protect corporations from lawsuits, serious financial losses, and massive public relations damage. The mere fact that a compliance program is in place and being taken seriously can give business owners or C-level executives peace of mind. A well-drafted and executed compliance program sets the foundation for success.
Types of Corporate Compliance
Corporate compliance is both the design and the implementation of a program that ensures everyone associated with a business is following both the legal requirements the business faces, along with generally accepted best practices.
Compliance falls into three categories:
- Statutory compliance: This is basic compliance with federal and state laws. An example would be ensuring that hiring practices are non-discriminatory, in accord with civil rights legislation.
- Regulatory compliance: Federal and state agencies that oversee industries are regularly updating regulations. A prime example that is relevant to our area is environmental regulations that might apply to the automotive industry. Another example of regulatory compliance would be workplace safety. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) frequently updates their regulatory code. It’s the job of your firm’s compliance attorney to keep up with the changes.
- Industry compliance: This involves rules and processes that might not be enforced by law or a government regulator but are expected of firms in your particular industry. An example in this case might be the technology used to handle sensitive data. While the privacy of the data itself would fall under statutory or regulatory compliance, the specific means that are chosen to do so could be accepted industry norms. The failure to follow industry norms might be damaging in the court of public opinion — and perhaps even in a court of law — if any type of breach were to occur.
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What Makes an Effective Compliance Program?
An effective compliance program must be marked by great attention to detail and be comprehensive in its implementation. A program that does not thoroughly reflect all appropriate laws, regulations, and industry standards will not stand the test of time. The program must also be regularly updated as standards change.
A program that no one knows about or understands isn’t going to provide much value to a business. Compliance training needs to be done. A part of your program’s success will depend on how well the person you’ve placed in charge can take abstract legal concepts and make them come alive for each employee.
The strongest corporate compliance program will be regularly monitored and audited and have clear guidelines to follow in the event of a violation.
Common Issues in Corporate Compliance Law
Laws, regulations, and best practices encompass an enormous amount of territory, so the potential issues that might arise in corporate compliance law are quite wide-ranging. But there are some challenges that come up more frequently than others.
For example:
- Corporate reporting: Depending on the structure of your corporation and how your ownership is set up, there will be reporting requirements for the state of Michigan.
- Employee behavior: Complaints of discrimination or harassment have major legal implications and, if not handled correctly, can put your company in an unwelcome PR spotlight.
- Workplace safety: If your business is already up and running, you probably have a poster in a prominent place detailing what employee rights are. This is just the start of the compliance issues a business must deal with to ensure the safety of its workforce.
- Data management: Most businesses have credit card information on file, but medical offices have much more than that. Laws ranging from HIPAA to Gramm-Leach-Billey are in place to ensure the protection of people’s personal information. Your corporate compliance program must line up with these and other relevant laws governing the protection of data.
- Environmental regulations: Everyone from farmers to auto manufacturers face regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- Product safety: The correct safety protocols in how you manufacture your product could end up financially significant if a product liability lawsuit is filed against you.
Lippitt O’Keefe, PLLC has spent over 25 years dealing with these issues and more. We understand how to draft compliance documents and how to work with you to make sure what’s in those documents becomes a living, breathing part of your corporate culture.
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We are often in demand to assist as local counsel in litigation and transactional matters in Southeastern Michigan.
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Our elite team of attorneys is committed to pragmatic, client-focused counsel.
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Our team has over 100 years of collective experience.
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Our firm specializes in the core areas of Commercial Litigation, Business and Real Estate Law.