What are the proven strategies for efficiently resolving a California or San Diego business dispute?  Business disputes are about money, time and relationships.  It is always important to resolve a business dispute in the most efficient manner, as no business owner or corporate manage wants to have a contingent liability clinging to the books for months or worse, years.  The sooner a dispute is resolved, the sooner the parties can move forward with business and reinvesting corporate assets into more profitable opportunities.

3 Key Takeaways about a California or San Diego Business Dispute:

• Business disputes are usually based upon money, performance and relationships.  It is often important to balance the value of present and future business into the dispute resolution equation.
• There are multiple proven strategies to resolve a business-to-business dispute in a timely, cost-effective manner
• The Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of our business dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest, least expensive path to resolve this type of dispute or lawsuit.

Proven Strategies Based Upon 40+ Years of Experience

However, in many cases a business dispute involves a business partner with whom your company has conducted a lot of business in the past, and it is a relationship you wish to preserve for the future if possible.  Perhaps a better question would be: “What is the best strategy for resolving a California or San Diego business dispute while preserving important relationships in a timely and cost-effective manner?”

The experienced business dispute attorneys at the Watkins Firm have more than four decades of experience in these matters, and we thoroughly understand the complex nature of these transactions and the relationships that underpin them.  We provide proven strategies based upon more than 40 years of experience to resolve a business to business or B2B dispute.  The primary and most effective tool in these cases is leveraged negotiation.

Our attorneys extensively and quickly prepare a thorough chronology of events and a mastery of available damages based upon all relevant facts, communications, documents and associated damages.  These tools allow us to open constructive negotiations with the leverage generated by our preparations.  Our presence communicates our client’s serious resolve to hold the other party accountable, yet our demeanor creates a productive working atmosphere designed to encourage a prompt resolution that meets our clients objectives, while preserving the underlying business relationships when necessary.  It may surprise you to learn that the Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of our cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest and most cost-effective strategy for business dispute resolution.

Pro-Tip: “We’re going to want to document every aspect of the situation in a thorough timeline and document the damages.  This is how we communicate with other attorneys, with anyone, is from the perspective of actions over time.

Let’s say we’re not able to resolve things through negotiations with the other party or parties.  Now you bring in former superior court, judge Jones, and he’s looking at us, the lawyers, and he knows BS when he sees it. And he’s going to go back and forth and have the purpose of settlement on his mind, which is what we both want. And a lot of times, here’s the thing: I’d say 50% of our cases don’t settle at mediation. But after a good mediation a month or two later, it’ll settle because of the mediation. Some mediators actually call us a month after when we came so close and say, ‘Dan, what can I do? Do you want me to call the other side?’ I’ll say ‘yeah, good idea. Call the other side.’ And then he’ll call the other side. And they’ll their clients have calmed down. They’re relaxed and we’ll settle. We have to get to that 95% somehow. So there’s a lot of different ways using the ADR formula with the court has alternative dispute resolution systems, using them to your benefit. Understanding them gives you the best result in 95% of the cases, which is how they resolve.

And those that don’t resolve often go to arbitration.  Arbitration is when you have an agreement in your contract that basically says, ‘I’m going to resolve this by arbitration instead of in a trial’ and it’s usually quicker and cheaper, but you waive the right to a jury trial and the arbitrator himself can be very expensive. But in the long run, waiting to go to trial for two and a half years and waiting for a judge who has an overburdened docket can be just as risky. So arbitrations are great. They cut to the chase and you really don’t have a lot of time for dramatics. You have to have accurate law and facts when you go in and it’s usually decided by your arbitration brief because the judge knows when he sees a case that has no merit or has great merit.  So it keeps a lot of the extraneous legal stuff out of the way and focuses the matter to a head.  And generally it keeps crazy verdicts from happening because if you win, you’re going to get something reasonable. And if you lose, it’s going to be something reasonable. Their goal is to try to be reasonable. They’ve seen crazy jury verdicts their whole life from time to time. And so, and they know the law on the facts. So normally I would expect, you know, a very reasonable sound fair resolution when I go to an arbitrator.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

Efficiently Resolve a Business Dispute in San Diego and Southern California

While we are most often able to efficiently resolve a business dispute in San Diego and Southern California through leveraged negotiation, we are prepared to manage every aspect of your business dispute.  If there are areas of disagreement that cannot be effectively resolved through negotiation, mediation and/or arbitration may be required.  Most cases are resolved through these 3 strategies, although some must ultimately be litigated in Court.  Our legal team is with you through each step, and has a successful track record in each venue of business litigation across more than 40 years here in San Diego and across California.  We work to resolve business disputes promptly and cost-effectively while achieving our client’s goals and objectives.

If you are concerned about a breach of contract or other legal issue and wish to resolve a business to business dispute we invite you to review our podcast Episode 12 – Business Dispute Resolution Part 2 as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.