Running example project — Legally securing a small business (audit & action plan)
- Goal: carry out, for a real or fictional company, a simple legal audit and security action plan — from contractual foundations to risk management.
- Materials: the Legal & Compliance cheat sheet below (key habits, watch points, questions to ask) to keep at hand.
- Method: one step per level. Lay the foundations, secure contracts, frame commercial relations, bring data into compliance, protect assets, then map risks and get support. Reminder: law varies by country — this project is educational, not legal advice; validate important matters with a professional in your jurisdiction.
⬇️ Download the Legal & Compliance cheat sheet (TXT)
Step 0 · Level 0 — Frame (L0)
Describe the company and its legal form (liability, taxation, governance). Identify, in its activity, decisions with a legal dimension and your contacts (lawyer, accountant). Check which law applies.
Step 1 · Level 1 — Secure contracts (L1)
Review your key contracts (customers, suppliers). Check the essential clauses (subject matter, price, liability, termination, jurisdiction), spot trap clauses, and adopt the "read and negotiate before signing" habit.
Step 2 · Level 2 — Frame sales (L2)
Draw up or check your GTC/Terms of Use (and their enforceability). Organize the quote→order→delivery→invoice chain, unpaid prevention, and review your liability and commercial practices.
Step 3 · Level 3 — Bring data into compliance (L3)
Map your personal data processing, build a simple register, check legal basis, purposes, retention, security and informing individuals; prepare to answer their rights requests.
Step 4 · Level 4 — Protect assets (L4)
File/check your trademark, secure ownership of your creations (rights assignments), respect others' works, and bring your website into compliance (legal notices, privacy, e-commerce if selling).
Step 5 · Level 5 — Manage risks & support (L5)
Map your legal risks (likelihood × impact), choose a strategy for each (avoid/reduce/transfer/accept), check your insurance, and organize your monitoring and relationship with a professional.
Success criteria
- Clear framing: legal form understood, decisions with a legal dimension identified, applicable law identified — and awareness that law varies by country.
- Secured contracts: essential clauses checked, trap clauses spotted, "write/keep" and "read/negotiate before signing" habits acquired.
- Sound commercial foundations and data compliance: enforceable GTC, unpaid prevention, processing register, legal bases, informing individuals.
- Asset protection (filed trademark, rights assignments, compliant website) and risk management (mapping, insurance, monitoring, calling a professional at the right time).