In Colorado, 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 Lafayette, Colorado 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. If there are no dispute resolution clauses in the contracts, or there are no attending documents at all, the parties might always resort to the courts to resolve the dispute. Where the parties have not agreed beforehand about how to handle disputes, legal principles have been designed to determine the resolution. When they are called upon, Colorado courts try to discover the best resolution by looking to the facts of the specific situation presented. There are laws specific to each state that govern how to approach dispute resolution. Lawyers practicing in Lafayette are best suited to offer advice in accordance with Colorado law. An attorney's knowledge of the law may also lead to a more streamlined discussion with the other business about how to resolve the dispute. Negotiations might even enable you to resolve the dispute without going to court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Contracts occasionally 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 eradicates the need to go to court, while attempting to reach the same resolution that a court would have. Different types of ADR involve their own procedures, however, and they often include a neutral third party making a decision based on local law. If ADR is to be used in resolving your dispute, an attorney in Lafayette specialized with ADR procedures can help you develop your case.