Avoiding Litigation: The win/win for Attorneys and Clients

When most people think of attorneys, they envision John Grisham books come to life though the magic of Hollywood. A well dressed, impressive attorney, arguing in flawless form in front of the jury and providing the final “gotcha” moment that turns the case in their favor and creates the perfect ending. But in reality, the work most attorneys do is all about keeping you from seeing the inside of a courtroom.

Think about it. When circumstances arise where clients have been faced with defending allegations or regulatory infractions and the end result is a favorable outcome due to the diligence and research done by their attorney, aren’t those the best cases where the client is spreading high praise and word of mouth about their attorney? It makes the most sense to seek out an attorney that has all the tools and resources available to them to counter allegations with factual data and evidence to prove that you, as a client, have done nothing wrong.

In the case of brand compliance and digital advertising, the key to avoiding litigation is operating in a Safe Harbor. Safe Harbor guidelines afford protection from liability or penalty under specified circumstances or if certain conditions are met. Typically, in the case of brand compliance, documentation and establishing a defined path to remediation is the key to favorable outcomes.

Here are a few considerations that you or your attorney should think about to make sure your digital advertising is documented, verified, and will be remediated in the case of an infraction.

• What systems do you have in place to inventory all your content?
• Do you know who is publishing your content?
• Do you have a technology solution in place to identify infractions?
• What documentation are you keeping when infractions are discovered?
• Are you providing a permanent record of your remediation attempts in order to operate within a safe harbor?
• When an infraction is identified, do you have adequate resources to remediate the issue?

Being able to answer these questions and document your system and process will help prevent that “gotcha” moment from happening to you.