In Missouri, business disputes commonly occur over a variety of different matters. Most often, businesses can disagree on the terms of contracts and prior arrangements. Property matters and billing issues also frequently form the basis of disputes between businesses.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

If you are involved in a business dispute in Richmond, Missouri you should first review any relevant documents, including past and current contracts. These documents may contain clauses that dictate how and where you should handle a dispute. 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. Missouri 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. There are laws specific to each state that govern how to approach dispute resolution. Attorneys practicing in Richmond are best suited to offer advice in accordance with Missouri law. Discussion with the other business about how to resolve the dispute may also proceed more smoothly under the direction of an attorney, avoiding the need to go to court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Disputes in contracts must often be resolved outside of court according to a dispute resolution clause. Methods of resolving a conflict outside of court are called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. These methods include Mediation, Arbitration and Collaboration. All forms of ADR are designed to reach the same decision a court would have, without needing to actually go to court. They carry their own sets of procedures and protocols, and they often involve a neutral third party listening to both sides of a dispute and making a determination based on local law. An attorney specialized in Alternative Dispute Resolution can help you with your business dispute in Richmond if it is to be resolved out of court.