Many different grounds can give rise to Business disputes in Washington. Often, businesses will disagree over the exact meaning of terms found in contracts or prior oral agreements. Billing issues and property matters also commonly form grounds for disagreements between businesses.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

If you are involved in a business dispute in Thurston County, Washington you should first review all relevant documents, including past and current contracts. These documents might contain clauses that dictate how and where you should handle a 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. Washington 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 specific set of legal principles is used instead. Each state has different business laws about dispute resolution and contract law. An Lawyer practicing in Thurston County can help you handle your dispute in accordance with the applicable Washington laws. 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 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. 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. If ADR is to be used in resolving your dispute, an attorney in Thurston County experienced with ADR procedures can help you develop your case.