Dispute Resolution

From the hire of company cars to the shipping of goods, the term 'bailment' encapsulates one of the most common forms of legal relationship for those operating a business.

All company directors have one overarching duty which is to promote the success of their business. This duty on one hand seems a simple notion but, as Mark Glenister a specialist in Commercial Law at JPP Law explains, differences of opinion about how success will be achieved can lead to boardroom disputes and have a detrimental effect on the company's success.

If your business is involved in a dispute and it is proving impossible to reach an agreement, then it may be time to seek professional advice from a third party. Rather than heading straight to court, an alternative approach is to attempt to seek a resolution via mediation.

Online fraud is now the most prevalent crime in England and Wales, affecting both individuals and businesses of all sizes to the tune of around £10 billion a year. The complexity with which cyber fraud can be carried out and the increasingly clever ways that criminals conceal themselves make the threat very difficult to manage.

If your business is expanding, then you may find yourself contemplating building an extension or even new premises. Whatever the scale of the project, any construction work will be a major distraction from your usual business activities and you will not want further disruption from a potential dispute with your contractor.

Power among the shareholders of a company is generally measured by the size of their shareholdings and accordingly their voting rights. Usually, the more shares you hold the more power you have over the company itself.

A retention of title clause can be a useful way to protect yourself in business if you supply goods on credit, as it provides you with a form of insurance if your customers fail to pay you. Depending on how the clause is drafted you will either have the right to take your goods back or to claim a stake in any money the customer has received from selling them on. Used appropriately they can be very effective.

As a general rule the courts try not to interfere in commercial contracts when a dispute arises as they rightly believe that businesses are best placed to negotiate the terms on which they will deal with each other and, save for in very limited circumstances, that they should be bound by the deal they have struck.

If someone takes the time to complain about your business they are clearly disappointed with the service they have received. Recognising this is important if you want to preserve customer relations and avoid a serious complaint ending up in court.

The Insolvency Service says that corporate insolvencies are at a four-year high and that in 2017 nearly 100,000 individuals were declared bankrupt. For businesses left out of pocket when a customer fails, the consequences can be devastating. One only needs to look at the trail of devastation caused by the recent collapse of Maplins, Carillion and Toys R Us to see this.