Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Disputes between partners occur regularly, which can have a devastating effect on the business, and often can be fatal to even the most successful business, resulting in time-consuming and costly litigation. Encore Law Group believes that many of these disputes can be resolved without resorting to litigation and with minimal effect on the business. As a prophylactic measure, we work with business parties early on to document the relationship in order to be able to address any situation that may arise in the future. When drafting commercial contracts, we include precisely drafted provisions to ensure limitation of liability, warranty disclaimer, indemnification and other measures to protect the client.

Contracts should not take a one-size-fits-all approach to choice of law, venue, jurisdictional and dispute resolution matters. Whereas in some deals it may make sense to include an arbitration provision, in some it does not. Not all contracts should include an attorneys’ fee provision. Also, when dealing with international parties, it is wise to include provisions requiring official documents to be in the English language, in addition to having the international parties agree in advance to personal jurisdiction and service by mail in the local jurisdiction. These types of provisions should be carefully considered at the time of drafting each contract.

The cycle of resolving a dispute can include one or more of the following procedures: negotiation, mediation, arbitration and/or litigation. Encore Law Group has represented clients in all of these procedures, either independently or with special litigation counsel. Ultimately, we work closely with the business owners, directors, managers or partners to identify the source of the dispute and guide the principals to a satisfactory resolution.