It seems that legal disputes are a dime a dozen these days. There are the typical slip and fall accidents at your local shopping mall, or a celebrity getting into an ill-advised brawl at a nightclub, or perhaps you crashing into another car that was parked at a stop light. At least one person, if not both people, is at fault for causing the accident, but unfortunately the resolution is never as easy as placing the blame.
Consider that you are driving behind a vehicle that suddenly slams on their breaks to stop at a red light. This sudden stop then causes you to abruptly run into the back of their car. Whose fault is the accident? This answer can actually vary by location. In my state, if you rear end a car the circumstances don’t matter, you are at fault regardless. Some other states view this differently, and a number of factors can shift the blame to the other party. Even though the traffic violation itself is determined by the law, any civil suits often are not.
A civil suit involves two or more parties, where one is suing the other for some form of wrong doing, and in some cases the latter party is countersuing. It’s often been said that the only winners in a lawsuit are the lawyers. The more I think of this old adage the more it rings true. Lawyers can be a costly bunch, and often times the lawsuit doesn’t go as you expected. You may be the defendant that finds themselves on the wrong side of the judgment, owing both the damages and the legal fees for both parties. Whereas, you could be the plaintiff and find yourself out the damages altogether because a jury rules against you, or at the very least a 30% reduction in the awarded amount due to legal fees.
Sometimes it’s just best not to gamble with the outcome of a courtroom or jury selection, and to mediate into an agreement. Companies like Global Mediation (which can be found at http://www.globalmediation.co.uk/) offer unique money saving services that allow two parties that are in disagreement to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. This takes the guess work, uncertainty, and hassle out of a lawsuit. They even provide education and training that will allow you to facilitate these disagreements on your own. The best part is that their services are relevant across all arenas, both personal and business.