Provide your business and your employees with the information needed to handle infractions in the Michigan criminal law code whether intentional or not. The criminal law code may be violated through an employee's honest mistake, or unethical employees may purposely commit violations. Whatever the case, knowing the criminal law code and how it pertains to your profession will help you protect your business.

Create a plan of action for how your business will deal with accusations of violations of criminal law in Michigan whether they come from outside your business or from your staff members. While you can hope you'll never need to implement those plans, it's better to have an established course of action if you run afoul of Michigan criminal laws than to be caught unprepared by such charges.

1. Run a Michigan criminal law background check on potential employees.

2. Educate yourself on criminal law in MI to avoid making administrative errors that could be criminal.

3. Research a Michigan criminal lawyer to protect your professional reputation and assets.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Screen your staff by performing a check of criminal law history in Michigan

Provide yourself and your staff members with proactive protection by screening potential employees prior to making a job offer. Run a criminal background check that includes misdemeanor as well as federal convictions so you can rest assured that your staff is comprised of competent and ethical people.

I recommend: Intelius provides you with the means to search the Michigan criminal law history of all potential employees. GovCriminalsRecords.com allows you to do a criminal background check on anyone. Enter their name and the state of Michigan to find the information you need.

Evaluate procedures to avoid mistakes that violate Michigan criminal codes

Take a hard look at your office procedures to ensure you're not breaking any Michigan laws through carelessness or misinformation. Educate yourself on the legal requirements for how you handle billing, payments or confidential information so you can avoid potential problems in the future.

I recommend: Lake Superior State University and Northern Michigan University both provide outstanding research materials and staff members who are willing to help you help your clients succeed.

Retain Michigan criminal attorneys to protect you and your staff

Avoid being caught unaware and unprepared by aligning yourself with a highly skilled Michigan criminal defense attorney. Build a solid working relationship with your defense attorney so you feel comfortable with the protection that attorney provides.

I recommend: AllLaw.com allows you to search for Michigan criminal lawyers by location so you can find Michigan criminal law firms in your area. StateLawyers.com provides you with a complete list of Michigan attorneys organized by city to help you locate an attorney close to you.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Retain or research a Michigan criminal attorney before you need one; doing research on an attorney while you or your business is facing criminal charges is difficult at best.