The experienced business litigation attorneys at the Watkins Firm are often asked by our clients how to resolve a potential business dispute in San Diego or anywhere throughout the State of California quickly and cost-effectively.  The Courts here in San Diego and across the state are clogged with cases, and a typical business dispute will take much longer than a year to bring into a courtroom for resolution.  There are some cases and situations where the best option for a resolution that meets the goals of our clients is to take the case to trial.  In reality, the Watkins Firm is able to resolve a potential business dispute in San Diego through effective, leveraged negotiation.  The vast majority of our business disputes are resolved in this manner.  This is the fastest and least expensive strategy for resolving any business dispute or lawsuit here in California.

Our attorneys bring 40+ years of experience serving the business, science and tech, real estate and medical / healthcare communities here in San Diego and across California.  We take a unique approach to litigation that is designed to provide the greatest opportunity to resolve a business dispute quickly and efficiently.  The core of this approach is our proven track record of successful negotiations based upon two factors: “leverage” and the creation of a positive and productive working atmosphere.  Most business disputes involve parties who have an established business relationship and many of clients wish to preserve the underlying relationship while resolving the matter at hand.  Our attorneys are seasoned business professionals who understand the nature of business relationships and the importance of preserving them while seeking a resolution that meets our client’s objectives.

The key to resolve a business dispute lies in the development of a thoroughly documented chronology of events, as well as a mastery of any associated “damages.”  Damages are the financial value of the impact caused by the business dispute.  Our attorneys work to quickly and accurately develop these tools, providing the leverage necessary to quickly gain the attention and cooperation of opposing parties in order to open productive negotiations.  We work diligently to seek a resolution or settlement that will resolve the legal issues at hand.  We gain a clear understanding of the issues in dispute, the perspective of the other party and the external forces that may have played a role in the dispute.

When areas of principled disagreement exist that cannot be fully resolved through negotiation we represent our clients in alternative resolution strategies such as mediation and arbitration.  The primary goal is usually to resolve the dispute in a positive manner in the shortest possible time frame and with the minimum of expense.  Our clients value our experience and expertise, the savvy with which we represent them at each step in the process and the successful outcomes we are able to achieve.

Pro-Tip: “We want to get the facts down and we want the evidence they have in chronological order, because that’s the best way to communicate to a third party, to anyone is in chronological order. That’s how we think. Then I want to help our clients analyze the damages. Whether you are feeling like they owe you something, they’re not complying with the agreement or vice versa. So I work with our clients to not only analyze the potential for damages, but also to analyze what it’s going to cost to fight, as well as any issues associated with an important business relationship and the potential for future business. Can we, should we can salvage this relationship? All of those important things should come into play.

In a business dispute its usually really clear who broke the agreement. However, businesses operate on a longitudinal graph of time. So if you just analyze which party broke this agreement and don’t analyze what the value of the overall investment or business relationship is, then you’re not really doing yourself anything good. You’re just being too focused on one little breach. When you could focus on that breach, balanced against how much profit I made over the years, balanced against my total investment balanced against whether or not want to continue on, all those factors, which, believe it or not, we have experts for.

These experts can put it in a number if we have to go to trial, but we can also talk intelligently with our clients about the financial and business impact as well. In that way, we’re not thinking too narrowly in a small box, we’re thinking outside the box and we know what we’re talking about. And what’s good for us as a business decision, a financial decision, and as a legal decision.

We give good advice. Sometimes we’ll even advise our clients how we would think about it and then let them go talk to their partner or whoever they’re dealing with on their own armed with our knowledge and our negotiation technique.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

If you are looking for business attorneys with decades of experience who know how to resolve a potential business dispute in San Diego or anywhere in California we invite you to review our podcast Episode 11 – Resolving Business Disputes as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.