Business disputes can be very disruptive for your business and may end up costing your company a significant amount of money if they are not resolved quickly. If you are embroiled in a business dispute, you may be wondering whether you should hire an attorney or if you can settle the conflict yourself.
For minor conflicts that don’t involve complicated matters, you may be able to work it out with the other party on your own. However, if you are dealing with a significant, more complex business dispute or do not fully understand your rights and responsibilities in the matter, hiring an experienced attorney will likely be in your best interest.
Additionally, if you cannot resolve things with the other party directly, hiring an attorney can be essential when proceeding with business litigation.
Things to Consider Before Hiring a Business Attorney
There are several things you should take into account when deciding whether or not to hire a business lawyer to help solve your dispute. In some cases, hiring a lawyer may be premature. However, at other times enlisting the services of an experienced commercial lawyer is essential, and failing to do so can have severe consequences.
The Level of Risk Involved
One of the most important things to consider during a business dispute is the level of risk involved. When the conflict is a small one, with little chance of having much effect on the health of your company, hiring an attorney may not be necessary. However, when the dispute has the potential to cause significant damages, it is better to hire a lawyer sooner rather than later.
Your Knowledge Surrounding the Matter Being Disputed
There are many different aspects to running a business, and it is unlikely that you are an expert in every field related to the operations and management of your company. If you are involved in a business dispute where you don’t fully understand all the details, hiring an attorney with the required knowledge can be essential to protecting your interests in the conflict.
Your Schedule
Running a business takes a lot of time and energy. You may not really have time to deal with a dispute with a business partner, employee, or rival company. Attempting to resolve a business conflict while handling a million other things at the same time may prove to be too much to take on.
If you don’t have the time to devote to ensuring a solution you can live with, hiring an experienced attorney can be essential to resolving your dispute.
Recurring Disputes
If you are running into the same conflict repeatedly with your business, you may need to hire a business attorney to help resolve the issue. Recurring disputes can be between you and the same party, or it could be a problem with multiple parties that have the same issue.
An experienced corporate lawyer may be able to identify a means of fixing an issue that is causing these repeated conflicts. Alternatively, depending on the size and operations of your company, avoiding disagreements may be impossible. In this case, a business attorney may be able to help you set up a strategy for dealing with these problems more quickly and efficiently.
Whether or Not Litigation Is Required
If your business dispute is going to need to be resolved through litigation, hiring an experienced attorney is crucial. The other party will likely have legal representation of their own. And depending on their budget, they could be represented by a whole team of high-priced attorneys.
Hiring a lawyer of your own will help ensure that you have the legal knowledge on your side to ensure a level playing field.
Your Relationship With the Other Party
Another thing to consider before hiring an attorney is the relationship you have with the other party involved in the conflict. Hiring an attorney can quickly make a situation contentious. If you need or want to maintain a good working relationship with the other party or have a partnership agreement, you may want to hold off on hiring an attorney unless absolutely necessary.
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Different Options for Settling a Dispute
It is important to remember that you have several different options for settling a workplace conflict. Depending on the situation, you may choose to:
- Participate in formal negotiations directly with the other party
- Pursue a solution through mediation
- Resolve your conflict through arbitration
- Go to court
These options get more expensive and time-consuming as you go down the list, which is why it is always best to attempt to solve your issue through direct negotiation, and if that fails, go through the mediation process. If you still don’t have a solution, you will have to choose between arbitration and going to court.
The further down the list you go, the more essential hiring an attorney becomes. While not necessary for direct negotiations, you may want to consider hiring an attorney for mediation. For arbitration or trial, you should certainly have legal assistance.
