Get legal advice before making contractual commitments, whether that be in their personal lives like the purchase of a new home. Photo / File
Get legal advice before making contractual commitments, whether that be in their personal lives like the purchase of a new home. Photo / File
Brought to you by Treadwell Gordon
Seeking legal advice early in the context of a commercial dispute often leads to faster, more cost-efficient outcomes being achieved.
Savvy folk commonly get legal advice before making contractual commitments, whether that be in their personal lives eg. the purchase of a new home, or as part of due diligence in complex commercial transactions.
In short, they do their legal homework and ensure that their legal interests are best protected before the horse bolts.
When it comes to legal disputes or claims, occasionally, the need to engage a litigation lawyer, of necessity at short notice, arises.
This may be where legal rights are unexpectedly under threat, which would not be capable of adequate remedy without urgent court intervention being taken.
Applications to the court for injunctive relief to require a party to immediately cease a particular activity or to perform a legal obligation fall into this category.
In such cases, your lawyer must urgently pull out all stops and, sometimes, we are expected to attempt to pull rabbits out of hats.
Most legal disputes, however, do not start out with such a hiss and a roar. On the whole, contentious issues between parties requiring some form of resolution, whether that be through negotiation, mediation or court processes, do not tend to occur overnight, allowing for a carefully measured and strategic approach to be taken.
What is clear, is that seeking legal advice at an early stage of a dispute often leads to speedier, more cost-efficient outcomes than claims where parties have been trying to nut things out without legal input, and only seek advice as a last resort – or, worse, because court proceedings have been served on them.
It seems obvious that the reason for delaying the engagement of a dispute resolution/ litigation lawyer may in large part be costs-related. Approaching legal disputes in this way, however, is not necessarily good practise and may well prove counter-productive and not in a client's best interest – both in terms of cost and ultimate outcome.
Obtaining legal advice at an early stage of a legal conflict with another party can assist to achieve an early resolution, with the potential to avoid hefty legal costs in a protracted claim that may otherwise be spent if the dispute is not settled and litigation is pursued.
The earlier legal advice is sought, the sooner a party gains a clear understanding of their legal rights, paving a way for informed decisions to be made based on the strengths and weaknesses of their legal position.
It allows your lawyer to collaborate with you to formulate an appropriate strategy to the dispute, based on such matters as the nature of the dispute, the relationship between the parties, the amount involved (assuming that $$ are in issue).
Sound advice at an early stage will also include an informed assessment of the financial implications of any proposed course of action.
Conversely, trying to fight a claim (or the threat of a claim) without balanced legal advice can potentially lead to increased costs, time wasting, potential focus on issues of little legal importance and misunderstanding of the merits (or otherwise) of a claim.
Even where court proceedings are necessary or have been issued against a party, seeking legal advice at the earliest opportunity allows a party to gain an understanding, not only of their legal position, but importantly of the court process, the timing of steps throughout that process, and the likely costs and consequences of any particular step.
Lisa Douglas from Treadwell Gordon Auckland. Photo / File
Good, clear legal advice at the outset should greatly assist parties as they move through the process, and ensure that nasty surprises are minimised, if not avoided altogether.
And, to finish with a tip. When you seek the early advice, it generally assists your lawyer hugely, to be provided with a brief written summary of the story and timeline surrounding the dispute, and to be provided with all relevant documents collated in easy to follow order.
This will save your lawyer time, and that, for you and your pocket, is a good thing.
