In California, there are various different grounds that can lead to a business dispute. Often, prior agreements and contracts have terms that the businesses disagree upon. Disputes can also occur over property matters, billing issues or other disagreements.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

The first step when involved in a business dispute in Los Altos Hills, California should be to review any documents relevant to the matter, such as contracts. It might have already been determined in these documents how disputes will be handled. Not all contracts have dispute resolution clauses, of course, and occasionally neither business has any documents relevant to the dispute at all. If that is the case, a court might be needed to resolve the dispute. California courts look to the individual cases in determining the best resolution. Where two parties have not agreed beforehand on how to handle a dispute, a specific set of legal principles is used instead. Disputes over contracts and other agreements are handled differently depending on the laws of each state. Lawyers in Los Altos Hills know the laws of California, and can offer individualized advice for those involved in business disputes. Discussion with the other business about how to resolve the dispute might also proceed more smoothly under the direction of an attorney, avoiding the need to go to court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Sometimes contracts themselves require that disputes under them be resolved outside of court. Methods of conflict resolution of this form are called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. ADR includes Mediation, Arbitration and sometimes a combination of the two. ADR focuses on reaching the same resolution that a court would have, without the parties actually going to court. Methods of ADR often involve their own protocols, occasionally bringing in a third party to find a solution based on local law. An attorney experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution can help you with your business dispute in Los Altos Hills if it is to be resolved out of court.