How Commercial Litigation Safeguards Your Business Interests

In any business, disputes will happen. It’s important to deal with these issues sensitively and correctly when they arise, as unresolved or poorly handled disputes can often lead to significant problems for a company. From defamation to contract disputes, commercial litigation can be incredibly beneficial for a business, helping to protect it from the effects of a disagreement. In this guide, you can explore commercial litigation and the role of commercial litigation solicitors in preventing a business from suffering.

An Introduction to Commercial Litigation

Commercial litigation refers to the process of taking legal action against a company or a business entity. Essentially, it helps to resolve disputes that cannot be settled informally, and has a legally binding outcome that will protect a business’s financial and operational interests.

Common Types of Commercial Litigation

Commercial litigation can be used as a way to manage several different types of disputes, from breaches of contracts to disagreements over employment. In this section, you can discover some of the most common disputes that result in commercial litigation.

Breach of Contract Disputes

A prevalent type of commercial litigation is breach of contract. This refers to a scenario in which one party has failed to meet the contractual obligations they have agreed to. A breach of contract can come in many forms, from failure to deliver services and goods to not paying for goods or services.

Commercial litigation can help to resolve breach of contract disputes by taking several key steps. For example, litigators can analyse a contract’s terms, determining whether a breach has occurred. Commercial litigation can help to obtain remedies too, such as money to cover damages or injunctions.

Employment Issues

When disagreements occur between employers and their staff, this is typically a type of employment dispute. These can often be complicated and heated, requiring legal intervention to be resolved.

Employment disputes can arise as a result of:

●      Discrimination

●      Harassment

●      Pay disputes

●      Unfair dismissals

●      Wrong terminations

Commercial litigation can help a business to survive these struggles, often by disproving any claims against them surrounding employment.

Partnership and Shareholder Disputes

Shareholders of a business can hold an enormous amount of power, as they are typically responsible for investing funds and making decisions for the business. This can unfortunately lead to complications when disputes happen. Disagreements can be between the shareholders and other influential people in the business, or between the shareholders themselves.

Thankfully, commercial dispute resolution can help to clarify and enforce the shareholders’ rights, ensuring fairness and overall compliance. By helping to resolve the disputes between partners and shareholders, commercial litigation can address any instability within the business that puts it at risk.

Protecting Your Business with Commercial Litigation

Commercial litigation is more than just a way to deal with disagreements. The process can also help a business to continue to thrive, protecting it from threats. From contract enforcement to strengthen a company’s image, discover some key ways businesses are protected by commercial litigation below.

Enforcing Contracts

Contracts are fundamental in any kind of business, helping to protect all parties involved. If a contract is breached, commercial litigation can help to reinforce the terms, preventing the business from suffering any loss or damages that could impact them significantly.

Recovering Financial Losses and Damages

Compensation is often required for losses and damages that may have been incurred as the root of a dispute. In a breach of contract disagreement, for example, payment for specific goods or services might not have been received, leading to significant problems for the supplier. Commercial litigation can help to ensure that the money owed is received promptly.

Resolving Disputes

Internal conflicts between parties can have a destabilising impact on a business, making it advisable to get them resolved as soon as possible. Commercial litigation thankfully can protect the business from wrongful claims, while also ensuring full legal compliance. No matter what the dispute is about, commercial litigation should aim to provide a clear and indisputable resolution to the matter.

Strengthening Reputation

As a business, it’s important to have a strong reputation. How your brand is perceived can have a direct impact on the levels of trust granted to your business, and on how loyal your customers are to your services. Commercial litigation can help you to protect your reputation, by deterring unfair competition, fraud, and unethical practices. It can also defend against defamatory statements, protecting your brand image.

Key Stages of Commercial Litigation

While no commercial litigation will look the same due to the complexities and individual nature of disputes, some key steps will typically be followed to reach a resolution. Learn about three of the main steps in this section.

Preliminary Correspondence

The first step in any commercial litigation process is to try to resolve the dispute out of court. If informal communications are unsuccessful, you can formally notify the defendant by sending a detailed letter with the terms of the claim. At this stage, you may try alternative resolution techniques, known formally as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). If these methods are unsuccessful, however, commercial litigation may be needed.

Filing a Claim

If your attempts to try alternative resolutions are unsuccessful, you will need to file a claim to the court. Any claim you make will need to include the details of the claim, as well as the key facts about the dispute. Following this, the claim will be sent to the defendant, who will have a maximum of 14 days to respond.

The Trial

If a resolution cannot be reached between the parties outside a court, the dispute will be heard by a judge. The judge will take steps to gather all the relevant information, including consulting the given evidence, speaking to any witnesses, reviewing the law, and considering the arguments. When considering together, this information will help a judge decide on the outcome.

Alternatives to Commercial Litigation

As mentioned, before the process of commercial litigation begins, you will have the option to find alternative ways to resolve a dispute. Here are some of the most popular types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods that you may encounter.

Mediation

One of the most popular alternatives to commercial litigation is mediation. This process is a negotiation where an unbiased third party, known as the mediator, will help the parties having general problems to resolve them. The third party mediator will not make any decisions. Instead, they will simply help the parties to come to an outcome that will be beneficial to both.

Arbitration

Similar to mediation, arbitration involves an impartial third party. Unlike mediation, however, the third party will decide on a way to resolve the dispute, after hearing the arguments of each party involved. Whatever the outcome decided by the arbitrator, this will be binding, ensuring the parties will comply with their decision.

Conciliation

When there is a particular dispute, conciliators can often help. Unlike mediators, who help with problems in general, conciliators are there to help when there is a specific legal dispute. They are there to help the parties come to their own resolution to their dispute, rather than directly giving solutions. A conciliator will still be able to explain the legal issues that are involved in the dispute, helping to keep the parties fully informed.

How to Minimise Litigation Risks

While commercial litigation can be incredibly helpful in the event of a dispute, it’s often best to prevent disagreements in the first place, where possible. Learn some tips for minimising the need for commercial litigation.

Drafting Contracts and Agreements

Contracts and agreements are essential for any thriving business. To prevent disagreements and misunderstandings about legal obligations, however, these contracts and agreements must be thorough and well-written. Before hiring staff, employment law specialists can often help you create reasonable contracts that still protect your business effectively.

Reviewing Commercial Contracts Routinely

In a world that changes so rapidly, your contracts will likely need some frequent updating to stay relevant. There will typically be some key times to review your commercial contracts. Consider any changes in the law, for example, as well as any shifts in your industry. The economic climate is also worth taking into account, from small to significant changes.

Proactively Seeking Legal Advice

Having a trusted legal representative is important for businesses, as they are essential in an emergency and can provide expert advice on commercial legal matters. At Duffield Harrison, for example, we take pride in helping companies to thrive. We support a range of local businesses in Hoddeson, Hertford and Enfield, helping them to stay legally compliant and to resolve disputes with ease.

Our Legal Services at Duffield Harrison

If you’re looking for legal representation to help you with commercial litigation, our team at Duffield Harrison is here to help. Since 1843 we have been supporting businesses through disputes, from defamation and privacy cases to contract disputes. Let our dispute resolution solicitors and legal advisors assist your business today.

Please visit our website to learn more about who we are and what we do at Duffield Harrison. Here, you will find full details of the varied legal services we offer, from wills and probate for individuals to commercial law for companies. Alternatively, get in touch with our team directly for further information and support.