How companies incur losses due to the actions of lawyers and accounting, and what to do about it

Have you ever tried to buy something from a company for business, but first needed to compile a package of documents with 10 items? I have, multiple times. What did I do? If the product wasn’t exclusive and could be bought elsewhere, I did just that. Time and nerves are more valuable.

What does this mean for the company I was considering working with? Due to their overly complicated purchasing process, they lost a client. I believe the CEO was likely unaware of what was happening internally. Everyone knows how important lawyers and accountants are, and often companies turn a blind eye to their actions, no matter how absurd.

One of the first companies in Russia to understand that the legal and accounting departments should serve production, not the other way around, was “VkusVill.” They introduced a revolutionary practice – accepting returns for defective goods without a receipt. The company’s management described it as: “Let accounting make sure we work for the benefit of customers, within the law. The specifics are not our concern.”

In the early 2000s, Ford conducted research to find out why customers chose their cars. One key reason was the ease and convenience of the purchase process. Ford realized that customers valued not only product quality but also the simplicity of the process, setting them apart from competitors. As a result, Ford simplified sales and leasing contract procedures, improving the customer experience and boosting sales.

It’s important to consider the journey your customer takes and the challenges they face. Your service departments – legal and accounting – might indirectly affect sales.

Even the legal departments of the largest corporations make mistakes, despite seemingly having the means to employ the best lawyers!

In 2017, Ryanair suffered significant losses due to mass flight cancellations caused by errors in pilot vacation planning. The company’s legal department failed to timely resolve labor issues and contracts, leading to losses exceeding 25 million euros and a decline in reputation among passengers.

As for myself, I decided that I don’t need an in-house lawyer. A contract template can be created once. In complex cases, it’s cheaper, faster, and more efficient to get outsourced consulting. With such money, it would only be possible to hire a not very qualified lawyer in-house. Finding a good lawyer on outsource also takes effort, but I was lucky to meet such a person. We’ve been collaborating for many years, and now within the framework of Presentica 2024, the legal company “Legal Point,” as stated in the contracts, represented by Dmitry Viktorovich Kostyukov, became our partner. The company mainly works with businesses, but also has a private practice.

Primary areas of business support: contract work, deal execution, contract review, dispute resolution, and court defense.

I can add that it’s very comfortable working with “Legal Point”; they handle such an important part of the business as legal work. We focus on organizing exhibitions, confident in our reliable protection, without dealing with endless paperwork.

Dmitry Kostyukov developed a document collection process involving company leaders minimally, only on the most important issues. The rest can be gathered by a secretary or personal assistant.

We also had an experience where Dmitry independently negotiated with a partner’s legal department on an important issue. It’s invaluable when lawyers can resolve matters among themselves without involving leaders.

Recommended: https://pravovayatochka.ru

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