You want to avoid pre-Y2K litigation as much as you can. Still, some vendors seem determined to profit from Y2K, whether or not it's within their rights. Marcoccio says that in January 1997 less than 1 percent of all IT vendors charged for upgrades that rendered their products Y2K-compliant. By Jan. 1 of this year , the figure had risen to 29 percent. Careful examination of contracts is important not just in preventing that kind of manipulation, but also in winning any lawsuits that result.
Documentation is the most effective protection for any lawsuit, whether it's offensive or defensive.
That means retaining and organizing the minutes of every Y2K team meeting, vendor interaction and board of directors update. Obsessive documentation can make a company less vulnerable to litigation by customers, business partners, regulators or shareholders. After getting a neutral observer to ratify the amount of money that will be necessary to fix your Y2K problem, you should then budget that amount. And documents showing that top management approved the remediation plan can also help. Certainly, internal communication with counsel is an important component of the Y2K project.