5 Steps to take in a Legal Dispute

Let’s face it; disputes are a fact of life – whether you meet them in the office, at home, or out on the road during your daily commute. Although you cannot expect to be prepared for the moment when an issue that can’t be resolved quickly will occur, you can positively respond to it adequately with the knowledge of who to turn to.

In the following, you’ll better understand a handful of ways to keep a dispute from escalating into the costly territory. These can be applied in your personal life as well as at work, in fact.

1. Anticipate Issues

Preparation is the enemy of surprise. With this in mind, if you take the time and effort to anticipate the occurrence of disputes, you’ll implement a system for resolving them efficiently. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee anything – other than better damage management than you would otherwise have had. Besides, you don’t need the extra stress of running around trying to build a resolution from the ground up. Do the research on lawyers in your area beforehand, for example, and have their numbers close.

2. Understand Contractual Obligations

Most disputes in business are actually anticipated through a contract – which is the primary reason why it exists in the first place. As such, one of the first things you should do in the event of a legal dispute is to simply consult the contract. After all, you want to know if you’re actually in the right – to the extent that this can be determined – before you retain legal counsel.

Find the terms that govern your particular dispute, see what the options for a resolution are, and then see how the termination clause applies if you decide to end your business relationship.

3. Try an Amicable Resolution

This is the final thing worth considering before you take it to litigation by hiring an attorney. In the case of personal business disputes with a partner, think what you both have to lose – lots and lots of time, for starters, as legal disputes are time-consuming; not to mention the cost for the losing party.

If you’re involved in a personal injury dispute, however – you should skip this step. You should always turn to a personal injury lawyer immediately because there’s virtually no expectation that your employer will compensate you justly. You definitely need an attorney’s guidance in the latter case. It’s entirely possible to settle out of court, but you will need a lawyer to appraise what you need from the defendant and what you’re owed as compensation.

4. Consider Arbitration

Legal cases don’t always need to end up before a judge. Arbitration is generally less expensive, and the rules governing proof are more flexible – which often works in favour of the prosecution. The primary difference in arbitration over full-blown litigation is that “both” sides can win, in a sense. The issue is adjudicated in a way that considers the stances of both parties. Nonetheless, you will need to counsel a lawyer to navigate the legal complexities and to be sure whether arbitration is actually a better option or would litigation be in your best interest.

5. Taking It to Court: Full Litigation

This is the most expensive proposition. Sometimes, however, it is the only viable one, and you’re definitely going to need to retain the services of an experienced lawyer, offering a 24/7 service, well-equipped to facilitate a just resolution. In the end, the most costly thing about litigation for the winning party is time – in many instances, the loser is legally bound to pay the winner’s court costs. In cases of personal injury and workplace accidents, the retainment of a lawyer is an absolute must.