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 Marina, California should be to review any documents relevant to the matter, such as contracts. It may have already been decided in these documents how disputes will be handled. Not all contracts have dispute resolution clauses, of course, and sometimes neither business has any documents relevant to the dispute at all. If that is the case, a court may 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 particular set of legal principles is used instead. Disputes over contracts and other agreements are handled differently depending on the laws of each state. Attorneys in Marina know the laws of California, and can offer individualized advice for those involved in business disputes. With an attorney's knowledge of the law, the parties of a dispute may be able to avoid going to court entirely, since negotiations often proceed more smoothly with representation.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Contracts sometimes have clauses that mandate resolution outside of court. Methods for reaching out of court solutions are often called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. Mediation and Arbitration are included in the concept of ADR. ADR is designed to reach the same conclusion as a court, but without the cost and inconvenience of actually appearing before a judge. Nevertheless, each type of ADR carries its own set of protocol, often involving a neutral third party that resolves the conflict according to the law. If your business dispute is to be resolved by ADR, an attorney familiar with these methods in Marina can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.