In theory, the courts are accessible to everyone. Anyone, regardless of immigration status, country of.
In theory, the courts are accessible to everyone. Anyone, regardless of immigration status, country of citizenship, or history of criminal convictions, if any, has the right to file a civil lawsuit against a party that has caused him or her to suffer financial losses, bodily injury, or both. The right to file lawsuits extends not only to individuals but also to companies. In practice, though, filing a lawsuit arising from a business dispute is stressful, time-consuming, and expensive. Everyone wants to avoid being a defendant in a business lawsuit, and everyone who has thought about it carefully enough also wants to avoid being a plaintiff. The good news is that it is usually possible to resolve business disputes without resorting to litigation. Here are five strategies you can use to de-escalate business disputes before you end up facing your former business partners in a courtroom. It is easiest to avoid business litigation if, in the early phases of the dispute, you contact an Arizona business law attorney.
How to Avoid Business Litigation
Detailed Business Contracts
If your business dispute results in a lawsuit that goes to trial, you have the best chance of prevailing if you can point to clauses in your business contract that show that you had the right to do what you did. That is only the worst-case scenario, though. More often, though, contracts can stop a business lawsuit before it starts. The more detail you include in the contract about the rights and obligations of each party, the less room there is for disagreement about what each party should and should not do.
The parts of the contract that people dismiss as “the fine print” and only skim before they sign count just as much, though. Your contract should include details about what constitutes a breach of contract and what each party should do if they are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations. Its dispute resolution clauses should also include prerequisites for filing a lawsuit.
Documenting Everything
A detailed business contract is a start, but other documents will help you, too, whether or not the dispute ends up in a lawsuit. If you file a lawsuit, you must go through the pretrial discovery phase, where each party shows the other the evidence that it plans to present at the trial. If you have the contracts, invoices, receipts, emails, and text messages to show that you are in the right and the other party is in the wrong, you can get a ruling in your favor at trial. Furthermore, you may be able to persuade the other party to pay you the money you are requesting without having to jump through additional hopes before a judge orders the other party to pay you.
Clear Communication, as Friendly as Possible
The best time to be transparent with the other party about your mountains of documentation is before the pretrial discovery phase begins and, ideally, before anyone says the word “lawsuit.” In fact, you should communicate with the other party in a collegial manner instead of making threats. Dispute resolution is the easiest and least expensive when it is a collaborative process instead of a zero-sum game where one party wins and the other one loses.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is where the parties engage in a formal dispute resolution process, but that process is not a trial. The two main types of ADR are mediation and arbitration. Mediation is a series of negotiations facilitated by a mediator, where the parties eventually arrive at a settlement. In arbitration, the arbitrator decides, and the parties sign an agreement. The dispute resolution clauses in some business contracts require ADR. Even when they do not, judges in business dispute cases sometimes order the parties to attend mediation before they schedule a trial, like what happens in family law cases.
A Business Law Attorney
It is never too early in a business relationship to consult a business law attorney. Your lawyer can help you review an existing contract and propose collaborative solutions that will enable you to avoid business litigation. Even before the business relationship formally begins, it is a good idea to hire a lawyer to draft the contract or review it with you and suggest amendments before you sign.
Contact Singular Law Group About Business Disputes
A business law attorney can help you communicate effectively with your business partners so that you can avoid the costs of business litigation. Contact Singular Law Group PLLC in Arizona, to set up a consultation.
An Arizona business law attorney can help you with business contracts, pretrial discovery, and alternative dispute resolution.
