Resolving a San Diego business dispute is about the damages and how to limit them while working toward a productive settlement.  The Watkins Firm takes a unique approach to business litigation focused upon accomplishing our client’s goals quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.  The key to all business disputes and business litigation lies in the damages.  Watkins Firm attorneys work to efficiently and accurately assess the financial damages associated with the dispute.  In business disputes it is not a legal option to force an outcome.  The court will be interested in the amount of money needed for the plaintiff to achieve the “benefit of the bargain” at the heart of the dispute.

Resolving legal disputes in a business setting isn’t about battling it out in Court.  Resolving a San Diego business dispute is about the damages – the financial consequences of failing to fulfill your contractual or fiduciary duties.

A thorough and well-documented chronology of events and mastery of associated damages provide the leverage necessary for your Watkins Firm attorney to focus the parties and to facilitate productive negotiations.  We work to develop a “settlement” to allow the transaction or relationship to conclude successfully.  When this isn’t possible the goal is usually to reach a settlement which resolves the dispute.  The plaintiff in these cases is required by law to mitigate the damages associated with the breach of contract or business dispute.  This requires timely, prudent action to essentially identify alternative vendors or solutions and to take measures to limit the extent of the damages.  Failure to mitigate the damages is a strong defense in breach of contract and business litigation cases.

When negotiation is not sufficient to fully resolve the matter, mediation and arbitration are alternatives to consider.  Mediation is a confidential and non-binding environment which allows a neutral third party (the mediator) to guide the parties through a process designed to identify potential options and ultimately resolve part or all of the dispute at hand.  The Watkins Firm represents our clients in mediation to ensure their goals and objectives are accomplished and to positively influence the process with these ends in mind.

Arbitration is much more structured setting specifically designed to bring the matter to a professional conclusion.  The arbiter is agreed upon by the parties and has the authority to establish the process the parties will follow, marshal testimony and evidence and ultimately issue a binding ruling.  The ruling of the arbiter cannot be appealed in the vast majority of these cases.  This is why it is important to work with the Watkins Firm from the outset.  We are able to resolve the vast majority of our business dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest and least expensive path to resolution.  When necessary we represent clients in any legal setting to protect their interests and resolve the matter.

Pro-Tip: “Well, because we start with this chronology and all of our philosophies on how to prepare a case, we’re ready to go to trial. And we’ve tried lots of cases. If it’s a trial, we really enjoy jury trials. If it’s an arbitration, we’re prepared to go and have had tremendous success in our arbitration cases throughout the years.

Now in mediation, you bring in former Superior Court Judge Jones, 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 why don’t settle. 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 said, 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 our unique approach to litigation as well as the 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.” – Dan Watkins, Founding partner

Resolving a business dispute is about the damages and helping the parties to reach an agreement or settlement which allows each to move forward. We invite you to review our podcast Episode 12 – Resolving Business Disputes 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.