The world of commercial litigation is a complex (and often frustrating) one. In the business world, many serious contract disputes and other disagreements need to be resolved in the courtroom. Fortunately, not every business dispute has to result in litigation — there are several alternative dispute resolution options you may be able to choose from as well. Here’s a look at some of the most common business disputes and how to resolve them.
While some business disputes are ultimately resolved through litigation, a business lawyer might be able to help you explore faster, simpler, and less expensive options.
The Most Common Kinds of Business Disputes
If you’ve been in the business world for any length of time, you might already know that virtually every facet of a business relationship has the potential to lead to a dispute. However, some types of disputes are more common than others.
Contract Disputes
Contract disputes — and especially those having to do with breach of contract — make up a significant portion of all business disputes. Even if it seems like the other party has obviously breached the terms of your existing contract, it’s often necessary to bring in legal help if you want to actually enforce your rights.
Partnership Disputes
Disputes relating to your business partner or partners can be both emotionally charged and logistically difficult. Whether you suspect you’re being squeezed out of your business, believe another partner is embezzling or misappropriating funds, or otherwise have an issue with a partner, legal representation is essential.
Intellectual Property Disputes
The law surrounding intellectual property can become very complicated. “Intellectual property” refers to any kind of intangible asset created by the human mind. In practice, that often boils down to the following:
- Patents
- Trade secrets
- Copyrights
- Trademarks.
Disputes involving intellectual property frequently have to do with who legally owns a given piece of intellectual property. If you believe a competitor is stealing your intellectual property (or the competitor believes you’re stealing theirs), a business lawyer might be able to help you resolve the problem.
When you’re dealing with a business dispute, you need solution-oriented representation — and that’s what you’ll find at Weisblatt Law Firm. Give us a call at (713) 666-1981, or get in touch with us online today.
Employment Disputes
Great employees are essential to many types of businesses. Unfortunately, employment disputes can prove to be quite damaging to your company. These are some common types of employment disputes:
- Harassment
- Discrimination based on protected characteristics
- Alleged violation of the employee contract
- Wrongful termination
- Salary or alleged wage theft disputes.
Depending on your company’s stature and the exact nature of the allegations, some types of employment disputes can become very public, causing irreparable damage to your reputation. The sooner you get a business lawyer on board, the sooner we can start doing damage control and developing a plan to defend you.
Customer and Vendor Disputes
Vendor and customer disputes can also be complex, and if your business faces multiple customer disputes alleging the same misconduct, those allegations can sometimes become public. Customer disputes usually start with a chargeback when the customer alleges one of the following:
- They never received what they paid for.
- The products they received were broken, defective, or otherwise not acceptable.
- They were overcharged.
- They were billed even after they canceled a subscription.
- The charge happened as a result of identity theft or another kind of fraud.
Vendor disputes usually arise when you allege that a vendor violated your contract (or vice versa). They commonly start because of one of the following events:
- There was a miscommunication or lack of communication between you and the vendor.
- The vendor ultimately charged far more than the estimate.
- The vendor delivered products but they were of poor quality.
- The vendor frequently arrives late, delivers the wrong product, or otherwise delivers subpar service.
- Supply chain issues cause severe or repeated issues with product delivery.
A business lawyer will be able to start by telling you whether your contract with your vendor is actually enforceable. If it turns out you’ve been using an unenforceable contract, our team can help you create a contract that you’ll be able to enforce in the future.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Exploring Other Options Before Litigation
In some cases, you might choose to go straight to litigation to resolve a dispute. However, most people will choose to pursue alternative dispute resolution (ADR). There are many different types of ADR, but the most common are arbitration, mediation, and negotiation.
Arbitration
This option is somewhat similar to a trial. Each side can present evidence and argue its case, and a neutral third party makes a decision. With some kinds of arbitration, the decision is legally binding.
Mediation
Mediation may be an option if you have a fairly decent relationship with the other party. With this option, a third-party mediator works with you to help guide both parties to a decision. That decision isn’t legally binding, and it usually involves some compromise on both sides.
Negotiation
Negotiation is one of the most informal types of alternative dispute resolution. With it, there’s no neutral third party. Instead, the two sides communicate and try to reach a solution that suits both of their needs. While you don’t have a mediator or arbitrator, you and the other party may each be represented by an attorney.
When to Seek a Business Lawyer
The Right Legal Representation Makes All the Difference
Whether you suspect your business dispute will need to be litigated or not, seeking out a competent business lawyer is never a bad idea. Your lawyer can do much more than represent you in court — they also can talk through your dispute with you and make sure you know all your options before trying to resolve it.
At Weisblatt Law, we have extensive experience helping Houston business owners from virtually every industry solve almost any kind of business issue.
Need help resolving a business dispute? Call Weisblatt Law right now at (713) 666-1981.
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt
Mr. Weisblatt has practiced continuously since becoming licensed in 1992 and has represented businesses ranging in size from one person start-up ventures to multi-national corporations employing hundreds of people in multiple countries. From 2005 through 2009 Mr. Weisblatt was in-house counsel and chief operating officer of a multi-national corporation in the steel products industry. That in-house position provided valuable insight into how businesses work and what they actually need from their lawyers – both in-house and outside counsel. Attorney Bio
