Are you searching for successful, proven strategies for settling a breach of contract dispute in San Diego or anywhere in the State of California?  We help our clients to review every aspect of the breach of contract including damages, potential loss of business, impact on customers and potential risks.  We provide real world perspective informed by decades of experience in San Diego and California business disputes and litigation.

Key Takeaways Regarding Settling a Breach of Contract Dispute in San Diego:

• The first step is to develop a thorough, well-documented chronology of events, as well as a mastery of all potential or available damages.
• The Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of business breach of contract dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest, and most cost-efficient route to resolve the dispute at hand and move forward.
• Once a lawsuit has been filed by one of the parties, the Court will mandate a Settlement Conference, where the Judge (or other experienced, skilled professional) will work to help the parties to resolve the matter and reach a settlement agreement.  If the parties cannot resolve their dispute fully at the Settlement conference, business mediation is often the next most prudent option.
• Arbitration is a process that is often specified within a business contract as an alternative to pursuing the matter at trial.

Resolve a Breach of Contract Dispute Quickly and Cost-Effectively

The first step is to develop a thorough, well-documented chronology of events, as well as a mastery of all potential or available damages.  These tools provide the leverage to gain the attention of the other party (and their counsel) and open negotiations.

The Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of business breach of contract dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest, and most cost-efficient route to resolve the dispute at hand and move forward.

Settling a breach of contract dispute in San Diego or anywhere in California involves protecting our client’s interests, while preserving our client’s options for achieving the “benefit of the bargain” with or without the other contract party.  In some cases it is simply a matter of time.  In other situations, there may be an unforeseeable business development and a component or widget may no longer be available.

What Happens if the Parties are Unable to Resolve The Breach of Contract Dispute Through Negotiation?

If a business dispute cannot be fully resolved through negotiations alone, the dispute typically follows a more structured legal path. For many parties, the progression looks like this:

• Filing of a lawsuit, which formally brings the dispute before the Court
• Court-mandated Settlement Conference, where a judge or other neutral, experienced professional works with both sides to explore resolution and encourage settlement
• Business mediation is often the next most practical option if the dispute can not be fully resolved at the settlement conference.

Each of these steps is designed to promote resolution before the expense and uncertainty of trial become unavoidable.

In many business disputes, the contract may require the parties to pursue arbitration rather than a trial. Arbitration is a private, contract-driven process intended to resolve disputes more efficiently than a trial in Court. Key features of arbitration often include:

• A mutually agreed-upon arbitrator with the authority to marshal testimony and evidence, and issue a binding decision
• A structured process with clearly established procedural rules and timelines
• A much shorter resolution period compared to traditional litigation

Although arbitration is generally more streamlined than a trial, it remains a formal legal proceeding. The experience, preparation, and strategic judgment of your attorney can have a substantial impact on how effectively the matter is presented and how the final outcome is shaped.

The experienced San Diego business attorneys at the Watkins Firm work to resolve a breach of contract dispute quickly and cost-effectively.  We discuss the situation with our client to establish clear goals for a resolution of the breach.  We evaluate what has happened and the potential financial impact or “damages” our client may face.  We advise our clients on any action they may be required to take to mitigate the damages in order to protect their position in the transaction and preserve their ability to recover for losses.

While we are skilled trial attorneys with an extensive, proven record in Court, and prepare every case as if it will go to trial, we are able to represent our clients in every step of the process.  This ensures our client’s goals and objectives are protected and accomplished, in the shortest time and in a cost-efficient manner.

Pro-Tip: “First of all, when you are in a lawsuit over a breach of contract or anything, you are investing money to get money. So if you don’t know how much you’re fighting for, how can you know how much you should spend?  This is why it is important to develop a thorough, well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of potential damages in the case.

Secondly, if you organize and document the damages, if you can prove what the damage to you is, if you obtain and collect all the evidence about the damages, even before you worry about why you were damaged or what the law was breached, you can understand the case, the way a litigator understand understands it. You can help your lawyer and in the long run, you’ll be more successful in your case, by thinking about how you were damaged, and then working it way back to who breached what and who broke what law.

So, if you’re the party that’s caused the breach, you’ll want to minimize the risk of the damages downstream, however, its even more complicated and deeper than that. You don’t have to decide that you are the person that breached. But if you’re being accused of breaching a contract, the first thing you and your lawyer should talk about or think about is how much are the potential damages the other party is alleging that I caused and how can I, with very little expense, limit those damages?” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

Settling a Breach of Contract in San Diego and Southern California

Settling a breach of contract dispute in San Diego and Southern California should protect our clients financially while accomplishing their business objectives.

If you are looking for a San Diego business attorney who values what is best for you as the client, while providing the informed insight of decades of experience we invite you to review our podcast Episode 5 – Breach of Contract as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.

Meet Daniel Watkins:

Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares deeply about what others are going through.  Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems.  He contributes his insights candidly and constructively.

Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.

Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a trusted litigation strategist and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.

He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.

THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR

Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.

In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.