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Dispute Resolution

Dispute Resolution Solicitors in London

Chun Wong
Chun Wong
Partner
Ruhul Ameen
Ruhul Ameen
Partner
Bahareh Amani
Bahareh Amani
Partner
Karolina Kupczyk
Karolina Kupczyk
Partner
Reema Chugh
Reema Chugh
Partner
Brenel Menezes
Brenel Menezes
Senior Associate
Declan Storrar
Declan Storrar
Paralegal
Finley Levell
Finley Levell
Paralegal
Image coming soon - Help
Lydia Isaacs
Trainee
Mandhir Seera
Paralegal
Rabiah Farooq
Rabiah Farooq
Trainee

Our experienced dispute resolution lawyers can advise and support you through a wide range of civil disputes.

We understand that the last thing you want is for a civil dispute to escalate and become a lengthy court case, unless absolutely necessary. That’s why we help look for arrangements that can settle the dispute before it reaches this level. We’ll always try to avoid unnecessary costs, so you know you can trust us to get the best possible result. 

All of our guidance is individually tailored and based on a detailed understanding of your position. Our team of experienced and highly skilled dispute resolution lawyers in London will provide prompt and effective advice from the beginning, putting you and your needs at the heart of the matter.

What is dispute resolution?

Dispute resolution is the process of resolving a civil dispute between two parties. The type of dispute can vary, from unfulfilled contract terms to a disputed will or professional negligence claims. Whatever the dispute entails, our specialist solicitors can help you achieve a positive outcome. We’ll aim to resolve your dispute without having to go to court, avoiding a complex and expensive legal battle. 

Our dispute resolution team regularly guide clients through a wide range of different disputes, including: 

Contract disputes

Contracts form part of everyday life, from employment contracts to the agreements we have with vendors when buying items online. Whatever the contract, whenever one party does not fulfil their contractual obligations, a dispute can arise. Our experienced contract lawyers can help with all forms of contract dispute, including employment, consumer and land contracts.

Debt recovery

If you’ve agreed to loan money to a person or business and they failed to pay you back, you may wish to open a dispute to claim the money back. Our dispute resolution lawyers can help pursue debtors and negotiate a repayment plan to allow you to recover sums owed to you without the need for a court appearance.

Data breaches & privacy claims

The GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 outlined how companies collect, use and store personal data. If you feel a company hasn’t kept your personal information safe and accurate or has used it in a way you didn’t agree to, you may have a claim.

"Very helpful team, trustworthy and honest. I would recommend highly."

Professional negligence

If you’ve instructed a professional and their work didn’t meet the standards you expected, you may have a claim. Our lawyers are experienced in bringing successful claims against solicitors, barristers, accountants, financial advisers, architects, builders, surveyors and other professionals, with a focus on effective dispute resolution. 

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The work we do

Our experienced dispute resolution team will always aim to resolve issues and claims before they become more complex, no matter the type of claim. We’ll take the time to get to fully understand your situation and handle your case with the utmost priority, seeking an effective and efficient resolution.

We’ll take the time to explain your rights and options, helping you to find the best way to resolve your dispute. Our expert lawyers will also use innovative approaches we know can be effective in coming to a resolution. This may involve negotiation, mediation, arbitration or going to court if necessary. 

Though we try to avoid litigation, if your case does go to court, our solicitors have the expertise to fight your corner and protect your interests.

We’re usually unable to assist in cases where you’re looking to recover damages of less than £10,000, as it may not be in your best interests to pursue claims below this amount. However, we may be able to provide initial advice about your options or the procedures of the court.

“Thank you so much for all of your hard work, and also for your support. It’s been a really tough experience, but your explanations and contextualising of a lot of the processes have really helped."

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What is the dispute resolution process?

As soon as you instruct us to work on resolving your dispute, we’ll strive to obtain as much information as possible. This will include details of the type of case you are pursuing, why you believe you have been wronged and the outcome you would like to achieve. 

Once we have all the information on your case, we’ll advise you on the best options to take. This can include the likelihood of a successful case. From there, we build out a strategy that outlines how we plan our tailored approach to your case. 

Finally, we will discuss with you the variety of funding options available and provide you with a transparent, cost-effective quote. Once this is agreed, we’ll get straight to work in resolving your dispute. 

Contact our specialist dispute resolution team today on
0808 271 9413
or request a call back.
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Dispute resolution tactics

 

Dispute resolution can be a complex process. There’s no single way to approach these disputes, which is why our dispute resolution lawyers employ different tactics to ensure you get the outcome you’re looking for, including: 

Mediation

Mediation sees a neutral third party assist in negotiating and resolving issues. 

This is known to be a cost-effective and quick way of resolving any differences. Anything said in mediation is confidential and without prejudice, which allows parties to speak freely with the intention of coming to an agreement. 

Arbitration

Arbitration is a form of private litigation. In these instances, the two parties agree to be bound by the arbitrator’s final decision. This agreement can happen prior to a dispute and may be mandatory if included in a contract between the parties. 

Negotiations

Negotiations are usually conducted on a ‘without prejudice’ basis allowing the parties to be frank, which helps facilitate genuine attempts to settle.

 

It’s highly probable that in any dispute a client will be encouraged to resolve the dispute by negotiation, which is the least formal method of dispute resolution. While you may not get the full settlement you were looking for, negotiation means you can get a positive result without the cost, time and stress of going to court.

Litigation

If all other avenues of dispute resolution prove fruitless, then a civil dispute can end up in court. In these cases, both parties will present their case to the court, which will make a final decision on the outcome. 

We try to avoid complex and costly litigation processes where possible, but our solicitors have all the experience and expertise required to represent you in court if no other resolution tactic can resolve the matter.

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The London Legal Podcast

Purchasing A Property

Chun Wong and Claire Kitchen of our Dispute Resolution team look at the legal issues you should consider when purchasing a property. This episode looks at Stamp Duty Land Tax and the different ways in which you can legally own property.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

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Featured Cases

Trust of Land Claim

The client and his ex-partner (“X”) purchased a property with the intention that it was a shared venture. They paid the price jointly and met the mortgage payments. X moved out soon after with the given balance of monies left in their joint account. The client paid off the mortgage and treated the property as his own. He then found out that X’s name remained on the title, which X refused to remove. Proceedings were issued for a declaration that X had no beneficial interest in the property.

The outcome: We successfully negotiated for X to sign a transfer the property in the client’s sole name.

Professional negligence against a barrister

The client instructed a barrister to represent her at a family hearing where a settlement was achieved which was less than expected. A letter of claim was sent. Expert evidence was obtained to prove the loss suffered and the amount required to rectify the negligence. Although a settlement was not achieved at mediation or a subsequent without a meeting, these paved the way for further negotiations wherein settlement was agreed and embodied into a court order which avoided the need for a trial.

The outcome: The client received over £150,000 damages and over £60,000 costs.

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Featured Cases

Dispute Resolution

The client and his ex-partner (“X”) purchased a property with the intention that it was a shared venture. They paid the price jointly and met the mortgage payments. X moved out soon after with the given balance of monies left in their joint account. The client paid off the mortgage and treated the property as his own. He then found out that X’s name remained on the title, which X refused to remove. Proceedings were issued for a declaration that X had no beneficial interest in the property.

Outcome:
We successfully negotiated for X to sign a transfer the property in the client’s sole name.
We successfully negotiated for X to sign a transfer the property in the client’s sole name.
Dispute Resolution

The client instructed a barrister to represent her at a family hearing where a settlement was achieved which was less than expected. A letter of claim was sent. Expert evidence was obtained to prove the loss suffered and the amount required to rectify the negligence. Although a settlement was not achieved at mediation or a subsequent without a meeting, these paved the way for further negotiations wherein settlement was agreed and embodied into a court order which avoided the need for a trial.

Successful Outcome
The client received over £150,000 damages and over £60,000 costs.
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Frequently asked questions

What can I do if I instructed a solicitor to pursue a personal injury claim, but they failed to issue the claim within the time limit?

If a solicitor has failed to issue a claim within time limits, and subsequent efforts to submit a claim were rejected, you may be able to make a professional negligence claim. The burden is on a claimant to prove, on the balance of probability, that the solicitor’s negligence has caused loss. 

You may be able to recover damages based on the loss of the chance of making a gain. In such cases, the court trying the professional negligence action can usually only speculate about the outcome of the original proceedings.

I instructed a solicitor to pursue a personal injury claim but feel that they settled the claim for less than it was worth. Can I pursue a claim against the solicitor?

When you instruct a solicitor to pursue a claim for damages, you rely on the solicitor to advise you on what losses you can claim and what these are worth. If a solicitor has failed to include certain losses within your claim, or incorrectly valued your claim, causing you loss, then you may be able to pursue a claim for professional negligence

In order to pursue such a claim, we consider the solicitor’s file relating to the personal injury claim. We would need to assess what information and evidence they had available and whether the advice and valuation the solicitor gave you was within a range of what a reasonably competent solicitor would advise. If it wasn’t, then you may have grounds to pursue a claim.

The leaseholder has breached the terms of their lease. As the landlord what can I do?

As the lease is a contractual agreement it would be possible for you to take legal action against the leaseholder in the county court. The potential options would be to seek an injunction, order for specific performance and/or damages. The ultimate sanction could be to seek forfeiture of the lease.

Can you help me with a small claim?

A small claim is one which is valued up to £10,000 and would be dealt under the County Court Small Claims track if the claim is defended. Regardless of whether the claimant or defendant is successful at the final hearing, the court will rarely order the losing party to pay the winning party’s solicitors’ costs apart from court fees. Therefore, we don’t usually act for clients in small claims because we appreciate that the legal costs can become too much when weighed up against the likely benefit, including the amount of compensation a winning party can get back from the losing party.

Can you provide simple initial advice?

We fully appreciate that the court system can be daunting and intimidating for ordinary members of the public. Added to that, the court’s procedures and terminology can cause more confusion. For that reason, we are more than happy to provide simple initial advice in the early stages of the claim, which can be limited to helping you draft a claim form or a defence depending on whether you are claimant or defendant. We can also provide general advice regarding court procedures including what preparation you need to do for the final hearing.

How can I pay for my case?

We will always explore all possible ways of funding your case.

We check with clients whether they have the benefit of legal expenses insurance (also known as before-the-event insurance). This type of insurance is normally found on household or motor insurance policies, but we would always advise you to check all your insurance policies. Some premium bank accounts and credit cards can also provide it too. If you do have such cover then you should notify the insurance provider straight away.
We also carry out some legally aided litigation work subject to you passing all eligibility criteria set out by the Legal Aid Agency, but legal aid is very limited for dispute resolution cases. 

I can't afford to progress my case, is there anything you can do?

If you can’t afford to progress your case, we might be able to act on a conditional fee agreement basis, sometimes known as a “no win, no fee” agreement. This would normally involve a percentage deduction from any compensation you receive. We may also be able to broker after-the-event insurance to provide cover against liability for the costs of the opposing party if your case is unsuccessful.

There are some types of cases that we handle, which you may be able to progress through a third-party funding arrangement. This type of arrangement is usually between a specialist funding company and, more typically, the claimant in a case. The third-party funder agrees to pay some, or all, of your legal fees in exchange for a proportion of the damages that you recover from your opponent.

I'm a privately paying client

For privately paying clients we charge for work based on time spent on a case. At the outset of a case, you will be provided with details of the relevant lawyers’ charging rates as well as being provided with estimates of time and costs throughout the duration of your case for each specific stage of work.

My next door neighbour has erected a structure which is partly located on his land and partly on my driveway even though he has no right of way to access my land. What do I do?

You may need to apply to the Court for an injunction and to issue proceedings on the basis that your neighbour is trespassing and committing a nuisance on your land. You should seek legal advice if you are in any doubt.

An elderly relative asked me to move in with them to help look after them. I was promised a share in their property & I looked after them for 4 years. However when they died I was not included in their will. How can I get my share of the property?

Ideally any such arrangements should be registered on the property’s title entries held by HM Land Registry at the time they are made, though often this isn’t done.

For your claim to be successful you’ll have to prove that the promise was made to you and that you reasonably relied on that promise, to your detriment.

How can I prove that I relied on my elderly relatives promise?

This will often involve talking to other members of the family and people that were close to the deceased about what they may have said about their property and you caring for them. If it can be established that a promise was made then consideration will have to be given to whether it was reasonable to rely on the promise, as well as to your employment prospects (i.e. what opportunities you may have turned down or missed as a result of relying on the promise that you would receive a share of the property).

These situations are rarely clear cut and often involve a long history of complex facts. If you’re in this situation, it’s a good idea to seek legal advice.

When should I get advice from a dispute resolution lawyer?

If you’re involved in any kind of legal dispute, we would always recommend that you get advice as soon as possible rather than let the dispute escalate or remain unresolved.

Once we’ve had an opportunity to meet with you to find out all the relevant facts about your case, as well as consider all the key documents and correspondence, we’ll be able to assess whether you have a strong case or not.

If you have a case with good prospects of success we will help you advance your claim as economically as possible. But there are times when our advice may be that your case is not strong and we will endeavour to resolve the dispute as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Ultimately, we will try our best to achieve the optimum result for you given all the circumstances of your case and keep in mind ways of trying to settle the case so that legal costs are kept down and remain in proportion to the amount/issue in dispute.

With the broad depth of knowledge in our experienced Dispute Resolution team, you can be assured that your case will be allocated to the lawyer best suited to your case, who will help you throughout.

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"QUICK, RESPONSIVE, ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND ADVISE ON ISSUES IN A TIMELY WAY AND COMPLETELY ON TOP OF THE RELEVANT LEGAL CONTEXT. RECOMMENDED WITHOUT HESITATION.”

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