Business disputes in Rhode Island often happen in many different areas. Frequently businesses disagree on the exact terms of prior contracts or arrangements. Also, billing issues and property matters can give rise to disagreements in the business setting.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

In a business dispute in Barrington, Rhode Island, the parties should first go over any relevant documents, especially contracts. There might be terms in these documents that decide how to handle the dispute. 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. Rhode Island courts may use legal principles to determine the outcome when the parties have not agreed beforehand about how to handle a dispute. In so doing, they look carefully to a specific case to discover the best resolution for all involved. The laws designed to settle contract disputes are different in each state. Lawyers practicing in Barrington are versed in the contract law of Rhode Island, and can help you to handle the dispute should it go to court. Negotiations might also proceed more smoothly when an attorney is consulted, which may even lead to a resolution outside of 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. All types 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 decision based on local law. An attorney experienced with ADR in Barrington can counsel you through the process if your business dispute is to be resolved by ADR.