Legal disputes can be complex, costly, and unpredictable. Our proactive approach aims to keep you out of a dispute in the first place and, where that is not possible, resolve your dispute quickly and efficiently while ensuring your legal rights are protected.
We promote resolution and settlement over adversarial legal battles. That said, sometimes commencing litigation or defending proceedings issued against you or your business is unavoidable. This is when our litigation skills and expertise come into play. We have experience running all kinds of litigation in the courts and tribunals of New South Wales. We have represented various clients for a range of legal disputes such as:
- Construction related disputes in all courts and tribunals relating to non-payment, contract termination, defect liability, late completion, and other alleged breaches of contract
- Statutory creditor demands and winding-up applications of insolvent companies
- Debt recovery and enforcement of judgments
- Property disputes in the Property List of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
- Local Court proceedings under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act
- Class 1 and Class 4 proceedings in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
- Home building disputes in the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)
- Strata and rental disputes in NCAT
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) refers to a range of processes used to resolve a legal dispute without the parties resorting to court proceedings. The objective of ADR is to provide parties with a quicker and cheaper alternative than going to court. Wherever possible, we will recommend using an ADR process to resolve your legal dispute.
Different types of ADR include:
- Mediation: involves a trained mediator facilitating negotiations between the parties in dispute, but with no authority to make binding decisions.
- Conciliation: involves a neutral third party helping the participants to identify the issues in dispute, develop options and endeavour to reach a resolution. It differs from mediation in that a conciliator may offer an opinion or suggest a resolution.
- Expert Determination: is a process where an independent third party, with expertise in the subject matter in dispute, assists the parties to resolve their matter.
Arbitration
The arbitration process involves parties to a dispute presenting their case to an independent third person (the arbitrator), who makes a binding decision. Arbitration is sometimes used when the methods of dispute resolution have proven unsuccessful. An arbitrator’s award can only be appealed on limited grounds.
Advantages of ADR
ADR processes can deliver efficient and cost-effective outcomes for the parties involved. The parties should be willing to negotiate in good faith to achieve an outcome to the matter. The primary advantages include:
- A less formal, quicker, and cheaper option to court.
- A less intimidating process than litigation, enabling parties to express their grievances without fear of compromising their legal rights.
- Confidentiality – in most cases, ADR processes are confidential.
- More flexible solutions than what might otherwise be ordered by a court.
- Opportunities to preserve commercial relationships through a cooperative rather than adversarial approach.
ADR may not always be appropriate, for example, where a party needs urgent orders such as an injunction or where the process is used as a delaying tactic.
What is Court Litigation?
Court proceedings can be expensive and time consuming but may be the only option where the parties to a dispute are intractable, there is a need for urgent orders such as an injunction, or where parties must defend allegations made against them.
Litigation refers to the commencement of legal proceedings in a relevant court or tribunal with jurisdiction to hear and determine a matter in dispute and order a remedy. Court action must be commenced within a prescribed time, otherwise the claim will become statute barred.
The initiating application filed must relate to a breach of a specific law or laws and be clearly set out. Evidence will be required to support the claim.
Once an action commences in court, the parties must comply with practice directions and court processes regarding the filing and service of documents, participation in dispute resolution (where relevant), the format and filing of evidence, and attendance at directions hearings, status conferences and pre-trial hearings.
Parties involved in a litigated legal dispute may settle the matter at any stage without proceeding to a final court hearing. In such cases they will need to enter a deed of settlement and consent orders to dispose of the proceedings in court.
Resolving a legal dispute, whether through ADR or court proceedings, requires knowledge across various legal areas, complemented with sound negotiation and case management skills. We provide quality representation and advocacy in and out of the formal court setting to deliver workable solutions for a range of legal disputes.
If you need any assistance, contact one of our lawyers at [email protected] or call 02 9279 1179 for a no-obligation discussion and for expert legal advice.