Sacramento Business Law Dispute Attorneys
A business dispute can occur in many ways. Usually, a business dispute arises between businesses when they disagree over the terms of a contract they have entered into. A business dispute can also arise over property disputes, billing issues or other disagreements. Unfortunately, in business, sometimes conflicts are inevitable.
Business owners have four options to resolve disputes with partners, vendors or customers. Each option is based on different assumptions, and entails a different cost. Therefore, it pays to understand them better.
Direct Negotiation
Direct negotiation is typically the cheapest – but not necessarily the easiest – way to resolve a conflict. A good place to start, is to get clear about what one wants, why, and how much one cares for the future relationship with the other person. The next step, is finding out how the situation looks from the other person’s perspective. This task requires effective questioning, listening, and observing. The final negotiation step, is crafting an agreement (in writing!) that both parties believe to be better than all other alternatives.
To negotiate successfully one needs some planning, communication and negotiation skills. Without them, it is easy to end up with no deal, or a bad deal, or even a personal war. You would be best served at having a Sacramento business law attorney negotiate with the person/business you are having a dispute with.
Mediation
The goal of mediation is not to find who is right or wrong, but how the problem at hand can best be resolved. Mediation is a process in which parties who disagree meet with a neutral third-party, who facilitates their negotiations. The mediator doesn’t have any decision-making authority. The parties decide how to resolve their problem, in a way that is mutually acceptable.
Since mediation is confidential, mediation discussions and materials are not admissible in court. In a sense, when people mediate they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. If they are able to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with the mediator’s assistance, that’s great. Otherwise, they can still use the remaining two options. And in that case, whatever they have said or heard, offered or counter-offered during mediation, it does not matter.
Arbitration
The business dispute is submitted to a neutral arbitrator, who examines the evidence, listens to the parties and renders a binding decision. The conflicting parties must accept the arbitrator’s decision, no matter whether they like it or not. Arbitration is past-oriented, and requires a certain amount of fact-finding. Therefore, generally it takes more time (and money) than mediation, but less than litigation.
Litigation
The fourth option is to let the judge decide which party is right or wrong, based on the facts and the law. In actuality, though, the vast majority of civil cases never get that far (some statistics say up to 90%). They settle out of court. A few days – or even hours – before the trial, the two conflicting parties, assisted by their respective attorneys, prefer to negotiate their own agreement, rather than running the risk of losing in court. However at that point the costs of litigation have already accumulated.
For business owners – as well as for anyone else – litigation has two major drawbacks. First, it inevitably has a detrimental effect on the future relationship between the parties. Second, it can be quite expensive in terms of time, money and stress. Nonetheless, when a business dispute cannot be resolved any other way, litigation is always a valid option.
Experienced Sacramento Business Law Dispute Attorneys
Our Sacramento business law attorneys are experienced in advising clients on the business implications of legal disputes. This allows clients to make their decisions with full knowledge of the business and legal consequences. Nothing can hurt a business more than uninformed or un-examined decisions when it comes to resolving a dispute—our Sacramento business law attorneys work with our clients to prevent this.
We are experienced Sacramento Business Law Lawyers. We have helped many individuals and companies with their business planning and incorporation needs. Our business lawyers offer affordable business formation and business incorporation packages and great advice and strategy regarding business law, asset protection, buying or selling a business, business disputes, contract drafting, and annual corporate requirements. Our business law lawyers can help you protect your personal assets and give you the great legal advice and strategy needed to get you the results you want. Contact us today to schedule your complimentary attorney consultation by clicking HERE or by calling 916-999-1376. We look forward to helping you with all of your Sacramento business law needs.
