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Zusatztext Richard J. Hunter The Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business Helpful and interesting....Schweich offers a very readable commentary on solving a major issue for corporations and business executives. Informationen zum Autor Thomas A. Schweich is a partner in the St. Louis office of Bryan Cave, LLP. His practice focuses on the negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation of commercial and government disputes. He also conducts training seminars for corporate clients and trade groups on how to avoid lawsuits. A graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, he lives in St. Louis with his wife and two children. For more information on preventive law, visit his Web site, www.tomschweich.com. Klappentext THE ESSENTIAL BOOK EVERY EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO AVOID WORKPLACE LIABILITY Corporate litigation has spun out of control and can cost up to 10 percent of overall earnings. Changes in the law enabling lawyers to mount business tort claims have caused damages to soar sky-high. In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Schweich, a pioneer in the field of preventive law, turns the tables and offers managers and all employees who act as agents a manual for avoiding the mistakes that could land them in court. In comprehensible layman's terms, Schweich shows employees from companies of all kinds and sizes how to avoid lawsuits by analyzing the Eight Big Mistakes that can lead to litigation, with examples culled from his experiences at Bryan Cave, LLP, leaders in preventive law. This book will benefit all employees -- from the CEO of a major corporation to the average deal-making employee. An invaluable tool for avoiding workplace liability, Protect Yourself from Business Lawsuits is a must-read for every businessperson. PART ONE: A System Out of Control "Litigation" is a term that encompasses the lengthy process of filing a lawsuit, developing information about the other side's case, preparing the case for trial, trying the case before a judge or jury and, if necessary, appealing the verdict or judgment to a higher court. More than ever before, both you and everyone in your company have a strong vested interest in avoiding this arduous process. If you own a small company, protecting yourself from lawsuits may even be the key to survival. During the next several years, corporations will value much more highly than in the past those employees who keep the company out of court. Employees whose actions embroil the company in litigation on the other hand will increasingly be shown the door. This chilling policy will hold true even if an employee caught in litigation is morally, legally, or ethically right. The mere fact of litigation will hurt and could destroy your company and/or your career because of the changing nature of business lawsuits. There is a worsening stigma associated with corporate litigation. It was not always that way. Twenty years ago, employees and executives often sailed through successful careers despite frequent involvement with legal proceedings, even when the propriety of their own job performance was directly at issue. Recently, I was preparing a crusty senior vice president of a major corporation for a "deposition" -- pretrial testimony taken under oath. I asked him whether he had had previous experience testifying in legal proceedings. He smiled, looked down at me through his bifocals, and said, "Son, I've testified before four grand juries; I've testified in three civil trials; and I've had my deposition taken nine times." He was clearly proud of his litigation experience. There is no doubt that in the "old days," weathering litigation successfully was a badge of experience, almost a rite of passage in many corporate cultures. The reason was simple. Litigation meant the company was tough and principled and that it would get what it was entitled to have. Trial lawyers and individual executives often earned the same reputation. The halls of majo...
