Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes or conflicts between parties. There is a common perception that disputes are costly, with litigators leaving the clock running and the process costing time and money.
Our Dispute Resolution team busts some common myths and misconceptions to demonstrate how a good litigator will seek to achieve the best possible outcome for their client in the most cost effective and least intrusive way.
Let’s do some myth busting!
Myth 1: Litigators just leave the clock running and send you a huge bill
False – litigators are constantly assessing costs and will estimate costs for each stage in any matter. We know clients will want to recover a good proportion of their legal costs from the other side and we also have to ensure that such costs are proportionate to the value of the overall dispute; otherwise the end result could be a pyrrhic victory! Court proceedings can be very expensive, especially if a claim goes all the way to trial, which is all the more reason to instruct a good litigator to try to settle a claim before it gets that far.
Myth 2: If I seek advice on a dispute, it will just end up in court
False – litigators will not run a case for the sake of it because, ultimately, when a case progresses to formal proceedings, a firm’s reputation is on the line. Court proceedings are only one of the ways to resolve a dispute and will ordinarily not be the quickest or most cost effective way of doing so. Other options, which we frequently use, include negotiation by correspondence and ‘without prejudice’ meetings, mediation and in some cases adjudication or expert determination. Of course, if the other options do not work then court proceedings, which cannot be ignored, can be effectively deployed – often leading to a settlement early on in the process.
Myth 3: Litigators are not commercial
False – this is the biggest myth because we are consciously alive to the commercial needs of your business. From the minute we are instructed and we understand your objectives (itself critical to how we approach a case), we’re thinking “how can we achieve the best outcome in the most cost effective and least intrusive way possible”. Disputes can take years to resolve and take up precious resource within a company if left to the court system alone and without effective settlement strategies being utilised.
Get in touch to find out more about our Dispute Resolution team and how we can help you.
