As a business owner, you almost certainly use or consider the use of outside vendors. While third party vendors are often necessary, the use of such vendors is not without risk. Therefore, proper vendor management is a must to ensure the limitation of your risk. Our attorneys can help you craft a well-tailored service agreement specifying the deliverables and balancing the risk between the parties. With that, the legal services we offer include a plan to monitor your vendor(s) because the due diligence process continues beyond the inception of the relationship and ongoing compliance with the terms of your agreements is essential.
Managing risks and staying in compliance
When entering into vendor agreements, one of the keys to risk management is determining whether the service or product being delivered is regulated. If yes, regulatory compliance should be your top concern. It is critical that you do not use vendors that do not have written policies and procedures confirming their compliance with applicable law if the product or service being offered is regulated.
Our California Attorneys are well-versed in the factors that impact due diligence and ongoing vendor diligence. We can help you determine your obligations to monitor your vendor’s compliance with applicable law.
If you already have established vendor relationships but worry about ongoing compliance, let us help by starting with a contract review. Examining existing contracts to confirm that they adhere to the practical operation of the relationship is often the key starting point along with determining applicable law. Verifying that each party’s contractual obligations are being fulfilled will allow you to avoid problems down the road.
Consumer Protection
If your business collects personal identifiable information from its customers, your information security policies and procedures are mission critical: your business must ensure the protection of its customers’ sensitive information to limit its own legal risk. Such protection obligations extend to customer data shared with your vendors.
Vendor relationship management, best practices, and limitation of liability are just a few of the considerations our team can guide you through. Reach out to us, we would be happy to speak with you about your business and its use of vendors.