For most businesses, disputes arise rarely. But when they do, they can inflame passions and become a major distraction.
From our perspective, effective dispute resolution involves the early identification of issues (both commercial and legal) and the implementation of a strategy designed to obtain a result whilst minimising the impact on the business.
This usually requires a detailed upfront investigation to get to the heart of the issues, so that informed, unbiased advice can be given and sensible decisions can be made. Indeed, our main area of expertise is the early identification of the parties’ rights and obligations, so that solutions can be found without the parties having to go to court.
In some cases, it may be that litigation is the best (and only) way to bring matters to a head. Often though, there may be other ways to resolve the matter that are faster, less labour-intensive and more cost-effective. The key is knowing which strategy to use, having regard to the commercial and legal circumstances at play.
We are routinely engaged by clients to advise and act on commercial disputes. Some examples are set out below.
We act in litigation in all Australian States and jurisdictions, and regularly participate in mediations and arbitrations. It is impossible to provide an exhaustive list, however examples of matters where we have recently been involved are:
- Contract default/performance disputes
- Payment disputes
- Employment disputes (unfair dismissal, adverse action, discrimination claims)
- Construction disputes, including security of payment
- Partnership and shareholder disputes, including shareholder oppression claims
- Intellectual property disputes, including disputes over technology ownership and trade marks
- Urgent interlocutory applications, including injunctions
