Litigate or Alternative Dispute Resolution? £150k fee
Discussion
Hi everyone....I was not sure whether to post this here or on the speed,plod and the law. Hopefully here is appropriate.
I'm at a turning point in a business dispute... 2 months of too and fro negotiation is leading to deadlock. The sum I believe my business is owed is £150k, which has not been forthcoming.
My opponent is prevaricating, falsely accusing my firm of breaches, not responding to emails on specifics and I think...subtley blackmailing...
The fee is due as a share of a success fee on an M&A transaction. My company and my opponent company worked on a transaction jointly, we have a very clear agreement between us.
I am looking for your collective advice on:
1. Finding an appropriate litigator for this kind of sum, as though it is a lot of money, it is not when put into typical corporate litigation and I do not want to burn the fee in legal fees. Though I have a small budget to fight this...around £20k. So I'm looking for recommendations on individuals or firms who can act in this small business type dispute.
2. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) seems attractive and recommended before any legal action, but I fear my opponent will continue to prevaricate and it will lead to nought. So does anyone have any good experience of ADR and can advise on any decent mediators?
3. Identifying a decent lawyer who can advise on strategy and my case. All the guys I deal with in normal business e.g....Pinsent Masons, Allen & Overy , Olswang etc are too big to deal with a case this small..(I know it's not that small).
I am reluctant to to discuss the case specifics on here as it will be a little boring and complex. So can we stick to recommendations? Or recommendations on strategy going forth?
Your collective wisdom is most welcome....and thanking you in advance...ok to PM...
I'm at a turning point in a business dispute... 2 months of too and fro negotiation is leading to deadlock. The sum I believe my business is owed is £150k, which has not been forthcoming.
My opponent is prevaricating, falsely accusing my firm of breaches, not responding to emails on specifics and I think...subtley blackmailing...
The fee is due as a share of a success fee on an M&A transaction. My company and my opponent company worked on a transaction jointly, we have a very clear agreement between us.
I am looking for your collective advice on:
1. Finding an appropriate litigator for this kind of sum, as though it is a lot of money, it is not when put into typical corporate litigation and I do not want to burn the fee in legal fees. Though I have a small budget to fight this...around £20k. So I'm looking for recommendations on individuals or firms who can act in this small business type dispute.
2. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) seems attractive and recommended before any legal action, but I fear my opponent will continue to prevaricate and it will lead to nought. So does anyone have any good experience of ADR and can advise on any decent mediators?
3. Identifying a decent lawyer who can advise on strategy and my case. All the guys I deal with in normal business e.g....Pinsent Masons, Allen & Overy , Olswang etc are too big to deal with a case this small..(I know it's not that small).
I am reluctant to to discuss the case specifics on here as it will be a little boring and complex. So can we stick to recommendations? Or recommendations on strategy going forth?
Your collective wisdom is most welcome....and thanking you in advance...ok to PM...
Do you have a formal contract in place? Does it have anything in it about dispute resolution? I know most construction contracts these days have a section for dispute resolution.
Failing that, do you have a professional body/ chartered status etc.... that have a say in your professional field that kind of govern the work you do? you could speak to them, they quite often can mediate. again construction (its my industry) you could use the RICS (Royal institute of chartered surveyors) for a dispute resolution/ arbitration which is much cheaper than going straight to court to fight it out.
obviously if the you think the other party wont even listen/ take on board/ consider anything from a mediation, then maybe its not worth it and court could be the only option.
Failing that, do you have a professional body/ chartered status etc.... that have a say in your professional field that kind of govern the work you do? you could speak to them, they quite often can mediate. again construction (its my industry) you could use the RICS (Royal institute of chartered surveyors) for a dispute resolution/ arbitration which is much cheaper than going straight to court to fight it out.
obviously if the you think the other party wont even listen/ take on board/ consider anything from a mediation, then maybe its not worth it and court could be the only option.
I have used, a number of times, this chap.
http://alistairpye.com/
He is VERY good IME and better than the other mediators I have used. If you contact him, let him know Jason sent you..
http://alistairpye.com/
He is VERY good IME and better than the other mediators I have used. If you contact him, let him know Jason sent you..
Jasandjules said:
I have used, a number of times, this chap.
http://alistairpye.com/
He is VERY good IME and better than the other mediators I have used. If you contact him, let him know Jason sent you..
I'll second Alistair Pye, used him on my dispute and got what I wanted (was happy with), very sharp (took my solicitor to task a couple of times in order to stop any game playing slowing things down). He's not cheap, but a damn site cheaper than solicitors/Barrister/expert witness/courts etchttp://alistairpye.com/
He is VERY good IME and better than the other mediators I have used. If you contact him, let him know Jason sent you..
Jim
First step is to go and get an advice from a solicitor or barrister used to litigating similar matters. Your budget to fight this is small so you need to know how strong a position you are in before deciding how much effort/money/risk to invest in the matter. The money at stake is a reasonable sum (as in will be multitrack and fully exposed to costs), meaning you'll likely be exposed to well over your £20k (the legal costs of you and your opponent combined) budget before it got anywhere near trial.
Have you any insurance that might cover legal costs?
Have you any insurance that might cover legal costs?
I appreciate no help to the OP however if someone doesn't want to pay it is extremely hard to get sums from them eg read expensive and time consuming. Better to not rack up the fee in the first place of course. I've been burned many times (powerful company director type) although I tend to stop work one month after non payment which does keep the sums down.
TX.
TX.
Happy Jim said:
I'll second Alistair Pye, used him on my dispute and got what I wanted (was happy with), very sharp (took my solicitor to task a couple of times in order to stop any game playing slowing things down). He's not cheap, but a damn site cheaper than solicitors/Barrister/expert witness/courts etc
Jim
Thank you very much for this recommendation.... I think on balance mediation ADR is the way to go... This chap looks excellent... Naturally I'll credit you both should I engage Alistair. Jim
janesmith1950 said:
First step is to go and get an advice from a solicitor or barrister used to litigating similar matters. Your budget to fight this is small so you need to know how strong a position you are in before deciding how much effort/money/risk to invest in the matter. The money at stake is a reasonable sum (as in will be multitrack and fully exposed to costs), meaning you'll likely be exposed to well over your £20k (the legal costs of you and your opponent combined) budget before it got anywhere near trial.
Have you any insurance that might cover legal costs?
Thank you JS...Alas no insurance.... I do realise this is a small budget... And when one costs out stress, loss of productivity.. The costs get even higher... But as an Austrian friend said to me it challenges your soul, not to let someone get away with this.... I am hoping this isn't an expensive lesson....Have you any insurance that might cover legal costs?
On the train tonight I tried to be in his shoes...tried to think as my opponent is thinking....
We had a call and his tone completely changed.... All paid....
I wonder if he'd taken advice on our contract?
What a complete waste of time....
A testament to staying calm and keeping the dialogue going...
Also to recording the telephone calls so I could quote verbatim his ever changing stance...
Thank you all of you for you support.
I wonder if he'd taken advice on our contract?
What a complete waste of time....
A testament to staying calm and keeping the dialogue going...
Also to recording the telephone calls so I could quote verbatim his ever changing stance...
Thank you all of you for you support.
AndrewCrown said:
Also to recording the telephone calls so I could quote verbatim his ever changing stance...
If they've been recorded covertly is it admissible evidence? I had a feeling from somewhere they had to know they were being recorded.Delighted you've got the right result so quickly.
Simpo Two said:
If they've been recorded covertly is it admissible evidence? I had a feeling from somewhere they had to know they were being recorded.
Delighted you've got the right result so quickly.
To the best of my knowledge, if it were relevant, the court would be able to take it into account, despite it being illegal to share the recording with a third party without permission (RIPA). Delighted you've got the right result so quickly.
Great result OP.
Simpo Two said:
I had a feeling from somewhere they had to know they were being recorded.
Depends on the intended use. You cannot record calls to share with a third party unless notification is given.Useful info here:
http://www.businesssystemsuk.co.uk/is-call-recordi...
There have been one or two situations in the past when I've smelt a rat and have recorded the meeting or call...if only so I can minute it properly....so my own use...I do not like doing it. But needs must sometimes..
Great result OP.
janesmith1950 said:
Simpo Two said:
If they've been recorded covertly is it admissible evidence? I had a feeling from somewhere they had to know they were being recorded.
Delighted you've got the right result so quickly.
To the best of my knowledge, if it were relevant, the court would be able to take it into account, despite it being illegal to share the recording with a third party without permission (RIPA). Delighted you've got the right result so quickly.
Great result OP.
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