Litigation & dispute resolution
Disputes worth running, and the ones that are not
Most commercial disputes are settled. The question is not usually whether you will win — it is what the fight costs, how long it takes, and what you would accept today to stop it.
The first conversation
Before you decide to fight
Four questions, in this order. They are the ones we will ask on the first call, and you can usefully think about them beforehand.
Is the money there?
A judgment against a company with no assets is an expensive piece of paper. Enforcement prospects belong at the start of the analysis, not at the end of it.
What will it cost to get to trial, and what proportion of that will you recover?
Even a successful party rarely recovers all its costs, and in the lower tracks it may recover very little. A dispute worth £40,000 and a dispute worth £400,000 are not the same decision.
What does it cost you in time?
The expensive part of litigation for an owner-managed business is usually not the legal fees. It is the months of your attention that go into disclosure, witness statements and instructions.
What would you take today?
If the answer is meaningfully less than the claim, the case is a negotiation with a deadline rather than a trial — and it should be run that way from the first letter.
We would rather have this conversation with you at the start than three months and £30,000 later.
Where we act
Six kinds of dispute
01
Commercial and contractual disputes
Breach of contract, supply and service agreements, terms that turn out to say something other than what both sides assumed.
02
Shareholder and partnership disputes
Unfair prejudice, deadlock, exclusion from management, and what a minority holding is actually worth when somebody has to buy it. Frequently these arrive alongside an employment dispute, because the person being removed as a director is also being removed as an employee.
03
Professional negligence
Claims against solicitors, accountants, surveyors and other advisers. The question is rarely whether there was a mistake — it is whether the mistake caused the loss.
04
Debt recovery and enforcement
Recovery of sums due, and enforcing judgments that have not been paid.
05
Contentious probate and inheritance disputes
Challenges to a will, claims for reasonable financial provision, and disputes between executors and beneficiaries.
06
Public law and judicial review
Challenges to decisions by public bodies where there is no other route.
How we work
How we run a dispute
A view on the merits early, in writing
Not “you have a good case” but what has to be proved, what evidence exists for each element, and where the weaknesses are. If the weaknesses are fatal, we say so then.
A costs estimate by stage
So you can decide to stop at a stage boundary rather than discovering the position after the fact.
Settlement treated as the likely outcome
Because it usually is. That shapes the first letter, what is disclosed and when, and whether to make an early offer that puts the other side at costs risk.
A partner on the file throughout
Disputes turn on judgment calls made quickly, and those are not delegable.
Fees
What it costs
£400/hr
plus VAT, with a scope and estimate agreed in writing before we start and a call when the work approaches it.
Litigation is hard to fix as a single fee because the other side’s conduct drives much of the cost. We can fix discrete stages — an initial merits assessment, a letter before action, a mediation — and conditional fee arrangements are available for some claims depending on the merits.
Court fees, counsel’s fees and experts’ fees are additional and we set them out before they are incurred.
Questions
Questions people ask us
How much will it cost to take this to court?
More than most people expect, and the honest answer depends on whether the other side fights. What we can do at the outset is give you a stage-by-stage estimate — letter before action, issue, disclosure, witness statements, trial — so you can decide to stop at a boundary rather than finding out afterwards. Most commercial disputes settle before trial, which means most clients never reach the largest numbers.
Will I get my legal costs back if I win?
Some of them, usually not all. A successful party is generally awarded costs, but assessment reduces them, and in the lower tracks recovery can be very limited. Treat cost recovery as a partial offset rather than as part of the value of the claim.
How long does a commercial dispute take?
If it settles after a letter before action, weeks. If it goes to trial, realistically one to two years from issue. That gap is why the early strategy matters more than almost anything else in the case.
The other side has no money. Is it worth suing?
Usually not, and this is the question asked last when it should be asked first. Before spending anything, it is worth establishing what assets exist and whether a judgment could be enforced. Occasionally there are other routes — a personal guarantee, a director’s liability, an insurer behind the defendant — and those are worth looking for at the start.
What is a Part 36 offer?
A formal settlement offer with costs consequences attached. If your opponent rejects one and then fails to beat it at trial, they can face significant additional costs and interest. Used properly it is one of the few ways to apply real pressure without going to trial, and the timing of it is a tactical decision.
Do we have to go to court, or can this be mediated?
Most disputes can be mediated, and courts expect parties to have considered it — an unreasonable refusal can have costs consequences. Mediation is usually faster and cheaper than trial and it can produce outcomes a court could not order. It is not a sign of weakness, and it is rarely a wasted day.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
For most contract and tort claims, six years from the breach or the damage — but there are many exceptions, and some claims run from when you could reasonably have discovered the problem rather than when it happened. Professional negligence in particular has its own rules. If you are anywhere near a limitation date, take advice immediately: it is one of the few things in litigation that cannot be fixed afterwards.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Limitation periods are strict — take advice on your own position.
Start with a conversation
A free 20-minute call. Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether it is worth running.
No charge
A free 20-minute call
Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost. No advice is given on this call and there is no charge for it.
£350 plus VAT
A paid strategy session
One hour with a partner, followed by a written summary of your position and options. For people who want proper advice without instructing a firm yet. Credited in full against your fees if you go on to instruct us.
Or reach us directly
We answer enquiries the same working day.