It doesn’t matter what type of business you have. Whether you are a SEO Agency or a building contractor they are all the same in the sense that no business wants to go through litigation. If you have a small business, the expense and other costs of litigation are like to put you right out of business, or at least take many years to recover from. That is why it’s important to consult with litigation lawyers immediately in order to find a resolution before it is too late.
The reason for the litigation may not even have been the fault of your business, but going through the courts to prove it is not only costly, but time consuming and is still likely to cause a loss of reputation, even if you eventually win the case. The actual details get lost over time and all anyone remembers is the court case, the gossip and the problem that you were accused of. They may not even remember – or believe – that you were innocent.
In any case, going through litigation is a costly and time consuming business, not to mention extremely stressful, so it is better to avoid it if possible. This can happen if you offer alternatives right at the start, before the litigation has become a fact. What alternatives are there?
- Direct negotiation with the other party
- Mediation with a neutral third party to facilitate the discussion. This person makes no judgement on or about the outcome; they simply ensure it is agreeable to both parties.
- Arbitration where a third party hears the problem from both sides and decides what should be done for a resolution, when the parties cannot agree.
Sometimes it is necessary to try all three before you can resolve the dispute. This is still better than allowing the matter to go to court as a litigation suit. Litigation not only costs a lot in finances, time and stress to the person who is being sued. It also costs the person who is suing your company in time and stress, because they don’t always know for sure that they’ll win, something that they don’t always realise.
Your litigation lawyers will advise you on how to go about offering and setting up negotiations with the other party. In fact, they should do this for you and they will deal with the other party’s lawyers rather than the person who is suing you. If direct negotiation fails, they will suggest who to use as a neutral third party to facilitate the discussion. It will need to be someone who knows about such matters and has the ability to calm what is often a volatile situation.
It is highly likely that when both parties involved realise the consequences to them of going on to litigation, they will be more likely to try and settle out of court.