Commercial dispute resolution, also known as commercial litigation, falls under the umbrella of general dispute resolution. This particular branch of law deals with disputes between commercial entities.
We prefer to use the term ‘dispute resolution’ rather than ‘litigation’ as a number of issues faced by companies and individuals can be resolved without the need to get the Courts involved or to engage in expensive or relationship-ending litigation.
What is commercial litigation?
Commercial litigation refers to any dispute between commercial entities, which includes businesses, partnerships, limited companies and even sole traders. This can cover areas such as contract disagreements, partnership disputes, redundancy law and more.
The dispute will generally stem from a commercial relationship with another entity. It can also affect individuals within the commercial entity, such as directors, partners, shareholders and employees.
Dispute resolution in the workplace
The most efficient way of resolving disputes in the workplace is to seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity of highlighting a potential issue so that you can be advised on options for avoiding a dispute. In the case a dispute does arise, again it is best to get a law firm involved as early as possible so that you can be provided with options.
Dispute resolution can take on many forms depending on the nature of the dispute. Some disputes can be resolved without involving the courts, through a settlement or other form of alternative dispute resolution. If none of these are appropriate, you may be advised to pursue the matter through the court.
At AFG Law, we take the time to understand the sector involved in the dispute and apply the legal options to the factual situation to be able to reach the best solution for you.
How do you resolve a commercial dispute?
As mentioned previously, dispute resolution can take many forms depending on the nature of the dispute. Each issue is specific on its facts, so law firms take the time to fully understand the background, the business and sector, the issues at hand and what you would like to achieve. However, please be aware that the legal answer is not necessarily always what you want to achieve, or is the best commercial outcome for you.
Dispute resolution for small business
Again it depends on the nature of the business, but commonly there may be issues with landlords (renewals of leases for premises, payment of rent in the present environment or dilapidations when they leave premises), supply issues (getting goods or items from suppliers, contract disputes (supplying goods /services or selling goods / services), debt issues (people not paying or struggling to pay their own costs).
How do you avoid contractual disputes?
In order to avoid contractual disputes it is important to understand what has been agreed under the contract; whether that be a written agreement or oral. We would advise clients to be aware of what they are required to do, and if it looks like the client may breach those requirements, or the other party may be about to breach those requirements, it is wise to seek some initial legal advice. It may be that the issue can be simply resolved, or it may be necessary to ensure that your position is protected in case matters progress.
There is no golden way of avoiding disputes; sometimes they happen whether you want them to or not, so it is important when they do happen that you are as protected as you can be from the outset. If you are currently in a situation where you believe a dispute may arise, get in touch with us today and explore your options.