Now, I am not a lawyer, but I do know from my own experience that it wouldn t take much of a lawsuit to knock a small business out of business for good. Two years ago, I was involved in a lawsuit that was not only expensive, but took up valuable time and kept me from running my business. While I ultimately triumphed, the lost revenue during the time that I spent with lawyers on interrogatories and depositions far exceeded the legal fees. My experience just goes to show that lawsuits can seriously burden a small business, regardless of whether you are a plaintiff or defendant and regardless of whether the suit is legitimate. The emphasis should be on quick resolution of disputes, not on expensive and time consuming litigation.
Every business depends on other businesses.
The more problems we can anticipate and fix, the better it will be for everyone. Second, Congress must encourage the settlement of Y2K disputes to happen as quickly as possible. If my vendors do not provide me with the data and access I need, I cannot operate. If my clients aren t satisfied with the service I provide, they will stop using my company. It doesn t take long for a company operating in a competitive environment such as ours to go out of business.