Delegatus Legal Barometer

Is your business well protected?

Measure your business’ Legal Maturity IndexTM and find out its risk level exposure with the Delegatus Legal BarometerTM

What is the Legal Maturity Index?

It is an indicator that tells you about the level of exposure to legal risks of your business. This data can be very useful for a small business (SME) that does not have a legal advisor on board. As a general rule, the more management regulates common legal risks, the less the business will be exposed to negative impacts on its finances, operations and reputation

The calculation of the Legal Maturity Index consists of identifying the level at which your business is situated in order to develop a tailor-made risk management strategy.

Answer the questions in our Delegatus Legal Barometer and score one point for each affirmative answer.

Operations

  1. Has a shareholders’ or partners’ agreement been signed (or a protection mandate and a will if you are the sole shareholder)?
  2. Do you have a business continuity plan for your key activities?
  3. Have you implemented a privacy program to protect the personal information of your employees, clients and suppliers?
  4. Do you have your potential partners and suppliers sign a non-disclosure agreement before sending them confidential information?
  5. Have you registered the lease of your place of business to protect your rights in the event of the sale of the building?
  6. Are your contracts listed in a register accessible to employees who must refer to them?
  7. Do you monitor the laws and regulations that govern your business activities?

Human Resources

  1. Do you have your employees sign employment contracts?
  2. Do you confirm in writing the terminations and severance pay of your employees?
  3. Have you developed a code of conduct or employee manual to clearly outline your expectations and requirements?
  4. Do you have a policy for the prevention of psychological or sexual harassment in the workplace and for handling complaints?
  5. Are the telework or hybrid work measures well framed by an internal policy?
  6. Does your business have an emergency response plan?
  7. Do you have an occupational health and safety prevention program in place?
  8. Have you adopted a policy governing the use of social media?

Sales and marketing

  1. Do you have terms and conditions that govern the use of your website?
  2. Have you registered your trademarks and domain names?
  3. Do standard terms and conditions govern the sale of your goods and services?

Information Technologies

  1. Do you have a cybersecurity policy?
  2. Have you developed a security and privacy incident management plan?

What is your score?

1 to 4: VERY LOW Maturity Level – INACTION

Management has little concern for risk management and has not taken any significant action to address common legal risks. It manages almost all risks in a reactive manner, which exposes the business to a very high level of risk. This has the potential to lead to severe negative impacts on its finances, operations and reputation, which greatly reduces its value.

5 to 8: LOW Maturity Level – AWARENESS

Management has been learning about risk management and has taken a few actions to manage common legal risks. It continues to manage the majority of risks in a reactive manner, which exposes the business to a high level of risk. This has the potential to have a significant negative impact on its finances, operations and reputation, thereby reducing its value.

9 to 12: AVERAGE Maturity Level – IMPLEMENTATION

Management is committed to risk reduction and has taken several actions to address common legal risks. Many risks are managed proactively, which has the effect of reducing risk exposure to a moderate level. This situation is likely to result in moderate negative impacts on the finances, operations and reputation of the business, with little effect on its value.

13 to 16: HIGH Maturity Level – CONTROL

La direction évalue la performance des nombreuses mesures qu’elle a prises pour encadrer les risques juridiques courants. Elle gère la majorité des risques de façon proactive, ce qui a pour effet de réduire l’exposition au risque à un niveau faible. Cette situation est susceptible d’entraîner des impacts négatifs mineurs sur les finances, les opérations et la réputation de l’entreprise, ce qui augmente sa valeur.

17 to 20: VERY HIGH Maturity Level – OPTIMIZATION

Management is continuously improving the multiple actions it has taken to address common legal risks. It manages almost all risks proactively, which has the effect of reducing risk exposure to a very low level. This situation is likely to cause negligible negative impacts on the finances, operations and reputation of the business, which maximizes its value.

We are here to help you!

Whether your maturity index is low or high, the experts at Delegatus are ready to support you in implementing legal risk management strategies that will reduce both your risk exposure and your legal costs.