Navigating through troubled waters? | Ways a Business disputes lawyer can guide you to safety.

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

Bridge Over Troubled Water lyrics © Paul Simon Music

It is not uncommon for small business owners to find themselves in troubled waters – that is a difficult situation where there is disagreement that causes problems. You may find yourself in a difficult situation with a disgruntled client or your supplier has made a mistake that turns into a loss for you or you are having problems with an employee. Read on for some self help advice and ways in which your business disputes lawyer can help you safely navigate the troubled waters you find yourself in.

There is much that you can do to help yourself stay afloat if you do end up in troubled waters.

The number one piece of advice we as business disputes lawyers give is to keep lines of communication open. Don’t ignore the person or the problem because you can be sure that if you do, the person will become unhappier and the problem will become larger. Reach out to the person you are in dispute with and talk with them to better understand their problem. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are unsure about something, clarify a situation, outline expectations and always listen to what the other party has to say.

Take time to control your emotions. If you react angrily from the get-go things are likely to escalate quickly and the other party will become defensive. Take time before you respond to a complaint for example. Sleep on it before replying is good advice here! Read some great tips about how to talk to clients when their expectations are not met in our blog post here.

Write it down. Follow up discussions with an email outlining the key points discussed and anything agreed to. People are busy and don’t always remember what was discussed or they may leave a discussion with a different understanding of what was canvassed and agreed to. Following up in writing helps bring you both onto the same page.

As you can see communication is key. Communication with your business disputes lawyer during these times is also important.

Navigating through troubled waters takes time and energy and will likely cause stress. But you don’t have to go it alone. Contact your business disputes lawyer for advice and in the words of Simon and Garfunkel “like a bridge over troubled water [that advice] will ease your mind”.

Talking through a problem always helps because it is the best way to get some perspective about the problem and some advice on what you can do.

If you have your legals set up properly and you are using them, working through a problem is so much easier and less damaging to your business and your clients. Once your legals are in place often you and your business disputes lawyer can simply refer to the relevant document (your terms and conditions, employment agreement etc) identify the applicable provision (cancellation and refund policies, payment of fees, etc) and work through how the provision will apply to the situation you are dealing with.

In addition to making things clear, your business legal documents generally have a dispute resolution clause. This clause is incredibly useful when things do go wrong and one party wants to race off to court. The aim of a good dispute resolution clause is to give you a process that can be followed to settle a dispute quickly and relatively cheaply without needing to end up in court.

Your business disputes lawyer will be able to provide you with advice that is designed to help you resolve any issues without incurring costly legal fees and without having to resort to litigation if that is possible. Our advice is to avoid litigation unless it is completely necessary and unavoidable. Sometimes litigation is unavoidable because of the nature of the dispute which requires determination by a Court. Litigation is always expensive, lengthy and stressful. Attempting to negotiate a resolution to a dispute is always recommended.

Ultimately, how your business fares when you hit troubled waters will depend on two things - how well you prepared before you set off in business and how you react when you hit troubled waters.

We cannot emphasise enough these two points:

1. be well prepared by getting the right business legal documents in place for your business; and

2. keep the lines of communication open when a problem does arise.

We recommend you read our Legal Advice for Small Business l Ultimate Guide which sets out what steps you need to take and documents you need in place to help you safely navigate any troubled waters ahead. And don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you need help.