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Woolley & Co E-Zine

Tips and ideas for keeping your business on the right side of the law

It’s a busy month for us here at Woolley & Co. We are pleased to announce that Gary Cousins a specialist insolvency and commercial disputes lawyer joins us on 17 September. Gary is particularly keen to make contact with any accountants and insolvency practitioners amongst our readers and I am sure will be pleased to receive an email from you. (gc@e-lawfirm.co.uk).

I will be dashing around the country talking to clients and contacts on a wide variety of issues this month. Starting with the Six Degrees Business Networking evening in Manchester, when I’ll be giving an overview on the legalities of e-commerce, I then move to the wilds of Staverton Deer Park where I’ll be talking about Data Protection at a Euro Software event. With a number of award dinners thrown in as well I may even see some of you out there.

This month’s E-zine is dedicated to an issue that clients often bring to our attention – and one which many lawyers fail to recognise as a concern for clients. It’s the issue of why and when a case might need to go to Court.

We welcome your feedback – if there is any particular legal issue you’d like to see covered send the details through to marketing@e-lawfirm.co.uk.

Andrew Woolley

Andrew Woolley, Principal, Woolley & Co

Does going to a lawyer mean going to Court?

Many people believe that if they decide to “go to” or “use” a lawyer about a dispute, it means they will end up going to Court. This is not so.

If we take the financial side of divorce as an example, we believe that nationally lawyers solve 79% of these cases without going to Court. At Woolley & Co, we believe we solve nearly 96% of our client’s divorce cases without their having to attend a final Court hearing!

In fact the sooner one of our lawyers is involved the less likely it is that the case will get to the “dug in positions” stage and thus the less likely it will go to a Court hearing to decide the result.

Does going to a lawyer mean going to Court?

Lawyers are well used to negotiating a settlement. It is often much cheaper to do that than have a Court case and we must not forget how much less demanding it is emotionally. But, it takes two to make a settlement. You cannot reach an agreement with somebody who doesn’t want to agree or is not prepared to be (or is unable to be) reasonable. These cases do have to go to Court.

With this in mind you’ll want to be sure your lawyer has strong negotiating skills but also the Courtroom ability if necessary. Not least because as soon as the opposing lawyer senses our ability in Court, then a sensible settlement offer often follows!

Advice to Keep You on Top

It’s not just the lawyer who plays a big part in the successful negotiation of a settlement. If the other party gets any hint that you are uncomfortable about the idea of going to Court if necessary, they will often see that as a major sign of weakness and make worse offers to settle the case. Our advice is that you should work as a team with your lawyer and ensure they keep you fully informed at all times - often best by e-mail of course.

So, some quick pointers and reminders:

Going to a lawyer definitely does not mean you’ll end up in Court - indeed it can mean the opposite.
Ensure your lawyer has good negotiating ability (bullies are not good negotiators!)
Negotiating ability is often found in people who are strong but able to communicate well and see another’s point of view.
You can often find out a lot about your lawyer by asking them about their view of “mediation”. We suggest they should consider it an important possibility - if they sneer or seem to dismiss it, worry about them.
Ensure your lawyer has good Court skills (that often comes from experience, we would say after about 10 years of qualification as a rough guide)
Make sure you are kept informed.
Make sure you work together as a team and send a consistent message to the other party.
Agree if the other party contacts you direct, how to handle this. A good lawyer would normally anticipate this and raise it with you. Worry if they don’t!
If you have to go to Court, go well prepared and determined to see it through. “The Court door” is not normally a good place to settle, when under pressure.

Woolley & Co include a trained, qualified mediator and also relationship counsellor in our team. We set out to achieve for you what you want. We regard Court, negotiation, mediation and compromise as important possibilities all of which need to be considered bearing in mind your case and the nature and approach of the other party.

For advice on how best to settle disputes – out of court – contact Woolley & Co today on info@e-lawfirm.co.uk or 01789 267377.

New Network Designed to Grow Your Business

If you are a business in Warwickshire – or if you’d like to do business in Warwickshire why not join a new on-line networking group set up by Andrew Woolley of Woolley & Co. For details visit click here. The group is unashamedly about helping its members get more business and make more contacts. Although most of the networking is on-line a meeting is planned soon to get members together.

To find out more about these and other legal issues visit the Woolley & Co website at www.e-lawfirm.co.uk.

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