Business Disputes

What Matters

A key part of every business dispute is to work out quickly the client objective. Litigation can be used as a sword or shield, and to achieve different commercial aims.

It is true that some disputes have to be taken to trial if no settlement is reached because the issues at stake are business critical. This may often be the case in intellectual property litigation where the essence of the dispute is the significant heart of the business.

Conversely a decision may be taken that the objective of the litigation is to extract some commercial advantage and then to settle. And of course within the matrix that contributes to identifying what matters is how much cost will be incurred in pursuit of the objective. And whether the case facts are sufficiently compelling to deliver the strategy.

Once an initial view is taken on what matters to the client the strategy is in place and informs case tactics. The nature of complex litigation is that it is fluid and has elements of pro-activity and reactivity. It is often compared to a game of chess as each party takes a step the other is bound to respond with a move of its own. All of which means the strategy needs to be constantly re-appraised as the case progresses enabling the board to take informed decisions as to whether a change of course is needed.

Effective case strategy and implementation gives the best prospect of reaching the pre-determined goals. As a niche disputes practice we have evolved a depth of understanding that allows us to navigate successfully to the end game.

Expertise

Success at Court, arbitration or indeed any other form of ADR depends on a mix of factors. Intellectual strength that permits a correct analysis of the facts and law, identification of what matters, dedication of lawyers and client to the end result, and a case strategy that consistently informs case tactics.

At Spring Law we have advised clients across all divisions of the Court system, typically in the High Court or International Tribunals. Whilst we do undertake County Court work we always carefully assess with our client in advance whether the case upside merits a degree of legal spend or not.

As a boutique firm we have expertise in most character of dispute and interim Court orders such as injunctions, seizure orders and enforcement. Specifically we have expertise in the following areas of law:

• Contract Law
• The law of Contractual and Tortious Damages
• The Misrepresentation Act
• Injunctions and Seizure Orders
• Intellectual Property Law
• Negligence
• The Law of Equity including unjust enrichment
• The laws of Defamation, Privacy and Confidence
• Civil Fraud
• Identification and Tracing of Assets
• Sales of Goods and Services
• Construction
• The Law of Guarantees and indemnity
• Registration and Enforcement of Judgments

Every dispute is different and it is our job to accurately apply the law to the facts and to assess whether the client has a good prospect of winning or defending it. The type of cases that involve the above areas tend to be claims connected to breaches of contract which often include parallel claims in the alternative for misrepresentation, negligence and fraud.

We always produce a strong case theory at the start of every claim that directs us and our client to what is required at law to succeed. We then work through a process as early as we can in the life of case to understand whether the evidence can prove the case theory. This is where clients that are Litigation Ready™ achieve an advantage of those who are not.

A critical part of our thinking is whether a claim, even if it has strong prospects of success, is going to lead to a financial recovery for the client or not. Where the client has resources and the claim is of a significant value we always recommend the client invests in asset due diligence to understand whether the Defendant has assets equal to the claim value, and if they are within friendly and accessible jurisdictions.

We recommend the use of barristers where we think it is in the client’s best interests. As a matter of course we tend to use our own in-house advantages for interim hearings that may include the application and defence of injunctions, strike out claims and claims for summary judgment.