Partnership Dispute Resolution Options

If you are engaged in a partnership dispute which is damaging your business you have traditional and alternative dispute resolution techniques available to you. If you cannot solve the matter between yourselves in the boardroom you are going to have to get a third party in to help you out.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution techniques are now commonly used by businesses to prevent the matter entering in to the public eye. If you choose an alternative resolution technique you will be able to keep the matter entirely confidential, hence it being the most popular option in the modern business world. When you business relies heavily on the media for advertising and marketing purposes, you do not wish to taint you reputation with bad press. Bad press never goes away and unfortunately one derogatory article can be worth a thousand good articles in the eyes of a potential client. The alternative dispute resolution options you have are:

Mediation is the least invasive of all the techniques on the market it simply requires you to discuss the matter at hand with a mediator present. The mediator will be a non-biased third party. They are not present to offer their opinion on the matter, merely to control the discussion. They will ensure the discussion does not become heated and that each party has an equal amount of time to speak and to get their point of view across in a calm environment. Hopefully this will lead to a mutually accepted conclusion to the matter being reached.

Arbitration is slightly more invasive as it puts the matter in to the hands of a chartered arbitrator. The arbitrator will assess all the evidence pertaining to the issue and will then proceed to offer a legally binding decision on the matter. Both parties must agree to arbitration before it can proceed. This will either be an explicit agreement at the time of the dispute or an implicit agreement made in a voluntary partnership agreement before the dispute.

Traditional Dispute Resolution

This is simply taking the matter to the courts. Traditional litigation is generally accepted to be the last port of call as it has a tendency to be the most time consuming – and therefore most expensive- option available to you. You will also be unable to keep the matter private; it will be very much exposed to the public eye. If you are in the throes of a serious dispute though, potentially involving serious allegations such as fraud, litigation will be your only option.