Running a business can be challenging and it presents many incidents that can be hard to deal with. As a business owner, you will have working relationships with lots of different parties. You have suppliers, contractors, customers, clients, and employees. Consequently, it’s not unheard of to end up with business disputes relating to any of these parties. Learning how to deal with and resolve a business dispute is incredibly important, so what should you do?
Here’s a list of tips to help you through the dispute resolution process:
#1 Talk to the other party and negotiate
Sometimes, business disputes can be resolved if you simply extend the olive branch and talk to the other party. Speak to them one-on-one, getting to know why the dispute has happened. If they are unhappy with something you or your business has done, learn exactly what that is and what you can do to resolve it. Likewise, if you feel as though the other party is at fault, tell them why there’s a dispute and lay your cards on the table. Often, negotiating with them like this can help you reach a swift conclusion.
These negotiations can be done independently or through an attorney. It depends on how serious the dispute is. If both parties are on talking terms and can come to an agreement without the need for legal intervention, that’s perfect. However, in a lot of cases, legal representation is needed for a more formal negotiation process.
#2 Engage in mediation
Business dispute mediation is a good way to help mend relationships when there’s a dispute, and it works particularly well for workplace problems. The idea is that a third-party mediator helps the two parties come to a conclusion on what to do about the dispute. In most cases where an employer and employee have a dispute, someone from HR can act as the mediator. The benefit of this is that you have a non-biased person hearing both sides of the argument, so they can help you reach a solution that benefits everyone.
The outcome of a mediation isn’t always legally binding unless both parties agree to make it a formal agreement. Instead, you trust each other to carry out what’s expected of you after the conclusion.
#3 Try arbitration
Arbitration is another dispute resolution idea that doesn’t involve going to court. Like mediation, there is a non-biased third party who will hear both sides of the argument. The difference is that you can have one or multiple arbitrators, depending on the complexity of the disagreement. Additionally, unlike the outcome of a mediation, the outcome of the arbitration is always legally binding, so both parties have to go ahead with the outcome. Again, this is a way of solving unresolvable business disputes in a neutral manner.
#4 Engage with a litigation lawyer
Unfortunately, there are many workplace incidents and business disputes that can’t be solved by trying the points above. Instead, the only option is to take legal action yourself. Working with a litigation lawyer can help you do just that. At Victor Legal, our litigation services touch on a variety of disputes, including employment disputes, business disputes, and much more. When you have an experienced lawyer on your hands, you have a much greater chance of reaching the desired outcome.
Your litigation lawyer will collect all the facts, do as much research as possible, and present their findings to the opposing party. In some cases, alerting the other party of your intention to take legal action can mean that a resolution is met before it needs to go to court. If this isn’t the case, your litigation lawyer will help you throughout the civil court proceedings to ensure you get what you deserve from the situation.
It is a good idea to hire a litigation lawyer if you’ve been unable to resolve the dispute using any other methods. Sometimes, the other party may refuse to negotiate with you, and they might not be open to mitigation or arbitration. Even worse, they could ignore the results of any other dispute resolution methods, meaning you have to take legal action.
Do you currently have a business dispute that isn’t being resolved as quickly as you hope? Try the advice on this list to come to the swiftest resolution possible. If the first three ideas don’t work, you will need to take legal action before the conflict goes on for months and months. Feel free to contact Victor Legal today to learn more about our litigation services and how we can help you resolve your business disputes to get the best possible outcome.
