By the time an attorney is retained, disputes have usually been thoroughly discussed but no agreement has been reached. An attorney can break that road block and help bring the parties back together so they can achieve their business goals. Skilled business people retain attorneys to help bring resolution to a dispute that otherwise would go unresolved. Those skilled business people work together with their counselor and advocate, their attorney, to apply just enough pressure to bring a case to resolution.

Litigation attorneys employ tools at their disposal to bring a matter to resolution. Those tools range from “demand letters” to “litigation through trial and appeal” and all areas in between. Business people who hire attorneys know that legal fees can sometimes be expensive and hope to spend only the amount necessary to bring resolution to their disputes. Litigation attorneys seek to bring about a prompt resolution to disputes without an extraordinary expense to the client, but are prepared to take the dispute through trial if required. The efficient resolution of disputes is accomplished through demand letters, early meetings with the opposing party, early structured mediation conferences, or arbitrations.

Demand Letters: 

Before a lawsuit is ever filed, most attorneys provide notice to the other party of the dispute through a written “demand letter”. This letter informs the opposing party of the nature of the dispute, the background for the dispute, the amount of money involved, the likelihood of litigation to break the impasse, and the opportunity to resolve the dispute. The receipt of a demand letter typically “elevates” a dispute beyond the employee level up to the management level. Many times this is enough to bring a dispute to resolution. Parties personally involved in a dispute can become entrenched in their position. The review of a dispute by a management level employee can sometimes bring needed lucidity to the decision making process.

Informal Settlement Conferences: 

Before a lawsuit is filed, many times an attorney will coordinate an early settlement conference between the parties. When parties engage in settlement discussions without attorneys they are sometimes reluctant to speak openly because of the fear that their discussions will harm them in litigation. Attorneys can help open the lines of communication at pre-suit discussions by drafting confidentiality agreements to preserve confidentiality. Many attorneys, who are also skilled in alternative dispute resolution, can employ their special knowledge and training to break impasses and help bring the parties to an early resolution.

Mediation Conferences: 

A mediation conference is a structured settlement conference conducted with the aid of a skilled and trained, neutral, third party mediator. At mediation, the parties are given an opportunity to air their differences. The mediator then separates the parties and works with each side to bring them closer to a compromise solution. A mediation may be conducted at any time, even before a lawsuit is filed. The overwhelming majority of civil disputes are resolved at mediation. For that reason, many attorneys encourage the parties to mediate early in the dispute before substantial expenses are incurred.

Arbitrations: 

An arbitration is an expedited trial using a private arbitrator, where the rules of evidence are relaxed, discovery is limited, and there is virtually no right to appeal. An attorney may steer clients to arbitration when the budget is limited and the client is likely to prevail. The downside to arbitration is the limited right to appeal in the event of an unfavorable result. For that reason, if arbitration is agreed upon, it is important that the attorney help the parties select a skilled arbitrator to resolve the dispute.

In order to lend credibility to pre-suit settlement conferences, it is important that the law firm involved be ready, willing and able to proceed to litigation, if necessary. If the opposing party perceives unwillingness or inability to effectively litigate, all leverage is lost and dispute will be less likely to resolve.