| Commercial Disputes |
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People do business with people. Business is all about relationships. Relationships are based on communication. Great communication leads to new business. Poor communication leads to damaged relationships. That is bad for business! It is not difficult to see how it can all go wrong. When a deal is struck all parties focus on the benefits and rewards. Frequently one or all of the parties leap into arrangements without proper due diligence or preparation. Alternatively one party prepares the paperwork which the other simply signs up to without having it properly checked out. Both parties can acting in good faith and with best intentions. However paperwork professionally prepared for one party can be very one-sided. Standard legal precedents for trading terms for example typically come in at least two basic versions – supplier friendly or customer friendly! Lawyers are trained and duty bound to protect their client’s interests. No surprise then that the ‘devil’ is all too often in the detail. The small print can all too often contain some nasty surprises. These can weigh heavily in favour of one party or another. Failing to check before you sign up can lead to expense if the terms are accepted by you or even more costly disputes if they are not. Either way - not a good place for you to be in! Some people believe in ‘setting a thief to catch one’. We can of course prepare documents for you which ensure they are one-sided in your favour (!) Alternatively we can alter documents (before you sign!) to redress the balance in your favour. Many clients however believe in the wisdom of being pro-active and even handed. They can ask us to prepare documents for them in such a way as to strike a fair balance between each parties competing interests to ensure that their expectations are matched. We can also ensure that the documents oblige both (or all) parties to talk through any disagreements and refer any outstanding issues to alternative dispute resolution before resorting to litigation. The parties can be compelled to take all of these steps within very short pre-agreed timescales. This greatly reduces the risk of disputes arising. If and when they do emerge it encourages a very rapid resolution of them on a face to face basis. Problem then solved and relationship restored so a real win-win for everyone involved! If alternative methods of dispute resolution are still called for these can also be arranged by us quickly, conveniently location-wise and very cost effectively. One of our in-house mediators can mediate the dispute for you or alternatively we can attend the mediation as your representative in order to protect your position and negotiate the best possible settlement that can be achieved for you. (See our ‘Mediation Services’ [above/below])’ Despite every effort being made to avoid it, litigation may still be inevitable. You may otherwise already find yourself ‘in the thick of it’. If this is the case then you will need to be advised as to the merits of your position and the costs implications and litigation risks involved. Our highly skilled and experienced dispute resolution team can advise you on the best and worst case scenarios and the range of litigation risks you face regardless of the merits (or otherwise!) of your case. That will enable you to take a commercial view with a view to settling the dispute or to make a decision to ‘fight your corner’ through the courts as you prefer. The important objective for you will be to know exactly where the ‘goal posts and corner flags’ are and be in a position to make a fully informed and realistic judgement as to how best to proceed. The important objective for us and our guarantee to you will be to, one way or another, extract you from the situation as painlessly, quickly and cost effectively as possible! |