In Illinois, there are many 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?

If a business dispute should happen in Belvidere, Illinois, you should review any documents that are relevant to the disagreement, especially contracts. These documents might have clauses that must be followed when considering how to resolve the dispute. However, the dispute might need to be taken to court if contracts do not have resolution clauses, or if there are no documents relevant to 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, Illinois 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 Belvidere are best suited to offer advice in accordance with Illinois 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 often have terms requiring that a dispute be handled outside of court. This is called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR, and it includes Mediation and Arbitration among others. 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. In Belvidere, Lawyers specialized in ADR can help if your business dispute is to be resolved out of court.