One of the scariest things about business is the tendency that legal disputes can arise at any time in your business. More interestingly, it is almost inevitable. Even if you have the most solid business plan, you might still have to face the heat of commercial litigation.
In that light, you need to work with a competent commercial lawyer who will help protect the interest of your business when disputes arise. Experienced commercial lawyers fully understand how to prevent commercial litigation right from the planning stage. They can help you build a solid structure that will allow your business to run smoothly for several decades.
Suppose you are a newbie in the business world. In that case, you need to hire a commercial lawyer to help you prepare to guard against every incident that may result in commercial litigation. However, you also need background knowledge to help your lawyer with the necessary cooperation.
In this article, we have helped you compile some of the essential questions you must ask your commercial lawyer at your first meeting. We have also provided relevant answers from a professional point of view to give you a clue about what to expect.
5 Essential Questions to Ask a Commercial Lawyer about Commercial Litigation
1. What is commercial litigation?
Commercial litigation is a legal dispute arising when an operation or conduct does not seem favourable to an individual or entity. At any point in time, people may confront you with lawsuits when they think they have incurred minor or significant damages. Some matters that may result in cases include contracts, land, real estate, insurance, lease, debt, and more.
2. Is there any alternative to commercial litigation?
Yes! The options are numerous. There are a few alternatives to avoid the stress and unfavourable expenses that comes with litigation. These options are knowns as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Depending on the expertise and experience of your commercial lawyer, he would choose a method he trusts the most. From our professional point of view, the most commonly used method is “Arbitration.” In this method, a neutral party will spend time hearing both sides before deciding. Meanwhile, whatever resolution is made in this method is not seen as specific as it might the binding or not.
Another standard method in ADR is “Meditation.” In this situation, a neutral person will serve as the mediator, facilitating negotiations/ however, this neutral mediator doesn’t have the authority to make the final decision or give any legal counsel to any of the parties involved.
3. What are the types of business litigation?
Disputes arising from a wide range of issues in a typical business environment. For the legal ones, the list can become more cumbersome. Some of the legal disputes that may arise in your business include:
- Breach of agreement cases
- Intellectual property disputes
- Employment disputes
- Construction disputes
- Partnership or shareholder disputes
- Insurance disputes
- Real estate, lease and land use disputes
- Product liability cases
- Personal injury claims
You should contact a commercial lawyer to come to your rescue whenever you face legal disputes. Meanwhile, you must be sure the commercial lawyer is experienced enough to handle the situation before hiring. It takes only a commercial lawyer with a vast understanding of business law and relevant resources to carve out a sure way to bring your company out of the problem.
4. Can you sue your commercial lawyer for disloyalty or negligence?
Yes! You can use your commercial lawyer if his negligence or fraudulent acts cause you losses in the process of battling litigation. But you must be sure you have evidence e for what you are saying. When filling the case, you must prove beyond reasonable doubt that your commercial lawyer is the actual cause of the losses you experienced when trying to settle litigation.
If you don’t know how to go about it, you can try to ask yourself some of the following questions:
- Did the commercial lawyer claim there would be no losses before the proceedings?
- Did you lose an amount more than you expected?
- Did the commercial lawyer persuade you to go into an investment you don’t know how it works?
- Is there any transaction on your brokerage account without your consent?
- Do you suspect or confirmed particular amount of money is missing from your account?
- Did the commercial lawyer mislead you into a false investment?
If you can answer the above questions correctly and they turn favorable, you can go ahead and file your case. Your commercial lawyer has some clarifications to make in a court of law. You can also use your commercial lawyer for breach of verbal contract if you have clear evidence that the contract is binding.
5. What is a complex business dispute?
Sometimes, there may be some situations whereby you experience another level of dispute, called a complex dispute. Although it doesn’t always happen, two critical conditions can result in a complex dispute.
The first one is when you are in business with multiple parties. Usually, complex disputes are almost inevitable when too many people are anchoring a company. Multiple partners would like to introduce their beliefs and perspectives, increasing the tendency to have complex disputes.
Another situation could be if a case involves multiple venues. That means involving several jurisdictions or taking your case to the state or federal level can make it complex.
In Conclusion
It is always an advantage going to meet your commercial lawyer with confidence. It will help you ask the necessary questions and negotiate appropriately before entering the deal. We also recommend that you ask your potential lawyer solid questions about litigation to know whether he truly understands the practices. That is why we provide you with the essential questions and professional answers about litigation to weigh the competence of your lawyer.
The answers will give you a clue of what you can expect as responses. Then, you can determine whether the lawyer is capable of handling your business or not.