There are several grounds that can lead to business disputes in Maine. Business may disagree about the terms of contracts and prior arrangements. Billing issues, property matters and other grounds can also give rise to disputes between businesses.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

If involved in a business dispute in South Portland, Maine, reviewing any relevant documents, especially contracts, should be the first step. These documents might decide how the dispute will be resolved. 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. Maine courts will look to your particular case and try to discover the best resolution. In determining the outcome, they will use a specific set of legal principles designed for situations where the parties have not agreed beforehand on how to handle a dispute. Disputes over contracts and other agreements are handled differently depending on the laws of each state. Lawyers in South Portland know the laws of Maine, and can offer individualized advice for those involved in business disputes. With an attorney's knowledge of the law, the parties of a dispute might be able to avoid going to court entirely, since negotiations often proceed more smoothly with representation.

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 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 South Portland, Lawyers practiced in ADR can help if your business dispute is to be resolved out of court.