A dispute is an argument or disagreement between two or more parties.

It might be something as simple as an argument over the cost of building work done on your home or a change to your contract or work proposed by your employer. Disputes can also occur between businesses, for example if there are problems with a contract, or the use of intellectual property.

Often a dispute will arise out of a relatively small difference of opinion, but may escalate if none of the parties involved wishes to make compromises or to reconcile the differences. If this is the situation, then using a recognised form of legal dispute resolution might offer the solution to the problem.

An introduction to dispute resolution

When a dispute arises, whether it is a commercial dispute, a dispute between an employer and an employee or a dispute you might have as a private individual, it can have a profound effect upon your business or on you as an individual. The prospect of losing a dispute can be very daunting, particularly if there are significant sums of money at stake should you lose.

If you are involved in a dispute, professional legal advice from a solicitor can help when it comes to deciding on a course of action and what form of dispute resolution to use.

Dispute resolution is the name given by lawyers and others in the legal industry to the process of resolving disputes between two or more parties. Nowadays there are many options open to businesses and individuals to resolve a dispute out of court, without having to go down the traditional and potentially very expensive route of litigation (suing the person or organisation with which you have a dispute).

What legal options do I have to resolve a dispute?

In recent years, the range of options open to businesses and individuals to resolve disputes without the need to go through the courts has increased. These legal options, known collectively as alternative dispute resolution, are increasingly used as a first option, with a full court case only being used as a last resort.

Alternative dispute resolution tries to form a consensual agreement between the parties involved. This is different from litigation, or arbitration, where a judge (or an arbitrator) will make a decision on the case, deciding who is at fault and what, if any financial compensation needs to be paid by one party to another.

The exact process involved when using alternative dispute resolution will depend on the nature of the dispute and on the method of dispute resolution that has been chosen.

The most commonly used forms of alternative dispute resolution are mediation, which can be applied to a variety of different types of dispute, and conciliation, which is used chiefly when dealing with employment disputes, such as a dispute between an employee or employees and an employer.

What is involved in mediation?

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that is increasingly being used across a broad range of disputes. Indeed, in some areas of law, there is a growing acceptance of the idea that parties must at least attempt to solve their dispute through mediation before resorting to arbitration or litigation.

Mediation involves a specially trained independent third party known as a mediator. It is the role of the mediator to help the parties involved to come to an agreement – a solution to the dispute that both sides are happy to accept. The mediator will avoid taking sides, making judgements or giving advice, they are simple there to allow effective communication between the other parties, so that a consensus can be built and an agreement reached.

It is also worth pointing out that mediation is in most cases a voluntary process (although there are plans to introduce compulsory mediation in some areas of law from 2015). It is also a confidential process and any discussions that take place won’t be disclosed to anyone outside the mediation hearing, even if the mediation is not successful and the dispute later ends up in court.

I’m involved in a dispute, what should I do now?

If you are already involved in a dispute, on either side, you should contact an independent legal professional as soon as possible. An appropriate professional, such as a solicitor, will see to it that your dispute is resolved as soon as possible and without the complications or potential excess costs that might be involved if you attempt to go through mediation, conciliation, arbitration or litigation without legal representation.

At Canter Levin & Berg, our dispute law team can provide you with advice you need about alternative dispute resolution if you are involved in a dispute as a private individual or as a business.

Author: Sean Carty,

Canter Levin & Berg Solicitors

DISCLAIMER: This article should not be regarded as constituting legal advice in relation to particular circumstances. This article is merely a general comment on the relevant topic. If specific advice is required in connection with any of the matters covered in this article, please speak to Canter Levin & Berg Solicitors directly.