You're sitting at your desk feeling pretty good about yourself. You've just worked for weeks on a marketing initiative that you know will be a money-making home run. Suddenly, you get an email back from your legal department. Attached is your Word document filled with nothing but red lines. Your excitement is quickly reduced to depression as you realize that your legal department took your great idea and reduced it to complete garbage.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Nothing can take the wind out of your sails more than having an adverse relationship with your legal team. Does legal always have to be the "Business Prevention Unit?"

As much as your legal department can be a constant source of frustration, marketing and legal don't have to always be at odds. With four simple steps (although is anything really simple when we're talking about lawyers?) learn how to educate and integrate your legal department into your marketing process for a greater degree of alignment and, ultimately, sanity.

Author notes: Sean Cheyney is the VP of marketing and business development for AccuQuote. Read full bio.