Business Relationships Maintained Through Collaborative Law

If you are in business, you know the importance of relationships. You spend time and money establishing, developing, and cultivating relationships. Your business depends upon the transactions and contracts you execute with the parties with whom you have relationships.

Unfortunately, sometimes conflicts arise. Given the global economy and the mobility of the workforce, an unresolved conflict or a broken relationship not only impacts current business, but it may also come back to haunt you years later. Often you deal with conflicts before they become disputes. However, once at the level of a dispute, you may find yourself headed to the courthouse for resolution.

But wait! It does not have to be that way. There are other means of dispute resolution; one of which is the collaborative process.

Remember when you negotiated the contract? Similar concepts apply to resolving the dispute. The collaborative process allows you and the other party, perhaps a supplier, customer, or reseller, to work together the way you did in forming the relationship and the resulting contracts. You set your own schedule for discussions, focus on the interests of the parties, explore all possible options, keep your negotiations confidential, and you don’t involve the courts.

Best of all, relationships may be maintained. The relationship with the other party may remain intact to allow for other contracts. And, more importantly, from a business perspective, potential relationships with other vendors and customers are not negatively impacted by adverse publicity or the belief or observation that your only method of dispute resolution is through the courthouse.

The collaborative process works well in resolving disputes over purchase and sale agreements, operating agreements, subcontracting agreements, promissory notes, employment agreements, non-compete agreements, vendor / customer contracts, lease agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and many other business contracts and situations.

Before following the path of litigation, consider some of the benefits of the collaborative process:

Preservation of existing relationships.

Avoidance of damage to future relationships.

Control of schedules, experts, communications and costs.

Avoidance of courts.

Maintenance of confidentiality.

Consult with a Collaborative Law attorney to see if your situation may be resolved through the collaborative process.

It may be legal, but is it right?