CONTRACTS DISPUTES & ADR

Unfortunately, contract disputes occur among individuals as well as businesses. Often these problems also arise between businesses in several scenarios.

Alternative Disputes Resolution & Litigation, Disputing the ball—Tambako the Jaguar (Flickr.com)

Unwritten Contracts Lead to Disputes

Without a written contract in place, there is often an inevitablity. That inevotability is that there there is likely to be a dispute about what was agreed. 

That is why it is said that unwritten contracts lead to disputes.

First of all, to avoid problems, parties should have prepared a written agreement. If not, then parties should at least have some kind of written record as to what they expect from each other. 

Ideally, each party to an agreement should, have a reputable professional prepare a well drafted contract. As a result, a well drafted contract, in an ideal world, should help the parties to know and understand exactly what to expect from each other. Then, the parties can move to teh next stage and that is signing contracts.

Once a contract has been signed and exchanged, parties can then get on with fulfilling the purpose of the contract. Of course, unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world.

Often the written terms of a contract can be complex and a lack of understanding can lead to problems. Many contract issues involve large sums of money, which is why it is important to seek proper legal advice before entering into an agreement.

Contract Dispute Prevention – Advice – When You Need It

As soon as you discover the possibility of a dispute, it is extremely important to seek professional commercial contract legal advice, especially if you are interested in resolving your contracts issues with minimal fuss. If for whatever reason you have not had the benefit of sound commercial legal advice before entering into a contract, you should avoid disputes by obtaining legal advice well before a problem has even arisen.

Disputes between Directors and Shareholders

Disputes in the boardroom between directors or between directors and shareholders can seriously impact negatively on the wellbeing of a company. These are often due to personality clashes, or different ways of working. Sadly the interests of the company and the shareholder(s) are put at risk and shareholder disputes can also have a ruinous impact on the business.

Some of the disputes involving shareholder that might arise include, claims concerning:

• a shareholder being oppressed, or being unfairly prejudiced;
• concerns around joint venture;
• claims against directors;
• conspiracy type matters.

In other words there are lots of different circumstances that might give rise to a claim or a dispute.

Written Contract or Not – Dispute Prevention Advice – When You Need It

Whilst the traditional method of resolving a dispute is litigation through the court system, there is often another way. Alternative procedures to the resolution of disputes, provide an alternative to court litigation. If you feel that you may be in breach of your contract or that your contract may have been breached, you will benefit from professional advice at the earliest opportunity. Also if you are interested in damage limitation due to an on-going business relationship then it is crucial to seek quality legal advice at the earliest opportunity. Whether you have a written contract or not, you should not hesitate to obtain advice which may well help to prevent a dispute.

Alternative Disputes Resolution

As a contracts and alternative dispute resolution barrister contact Tahir Ashraf now for help you with your contract problems, even before litigation has been started. Tahir can help you to determine what the best course of action might be for your particular circumstances.