How we resolve a dispute
Escalation is a choice, not an accident. You see the numbers before every next step.
Send the contract and the story. We'll tell you where you stand, what you could realistically recover, and whether it's worth pursuing.
A good letter resolves a surprising number of disputes: the claim, the evidence, and a deadline that means something.
Most disputes settle. We negotiate from prepared positions, and mediate where that gets a better deal for less.
If the other side won't move, we issue and run the claim properly, costs budgeted against recovery at every stage.
Before every escalation you get the same one-page view: likely cost, likely recovery, likely time. Then you decide.
Costs that answer to the outcome
Litigation costs should be controlled, not discovered. You get a budget at the start, and a go/no-go decision before every escalation.
Bring the contract, the key emails and a timeline to your first call: the better the picture, the sharper the advice.
Tell us what happened and what you're owed. A dispute solicitor will call you back the same working day.
Outline my dispute → Free review · Same-day replyWhat we charge
This work is quoted per matter, so we do not publish a fee range for it — the scope varies too much for a range to mean anything. Our hourly rates, and what every quotation covers, are on our fees & service information page. You get a written, itemised quotation with an exact figure before instructing us.
Commercial disputes we handle
First question, every time: what outcome is worth what cost. Then we go and get it.
Broken agreements, missed deliverables, quality rows. We establish your position fast and push for the commercial fix.
Breach · Termination · DamagesFrom a firm letter through to judgment and enforcement, kept proportionate so chasing the debt still makes sense.
Demands · Claims · EnforcementDeadlock, exits and unfair prejudice. We protect your stake and, where it's worth saving, the business itself.
Deadlock · Exits · Unfair prejudiceWhen bad advice cost you money, we build the claim on what the loss actually was, not what it feels like.
Advisers · Valuers · ContractorsDilapidations, rent arrears, break notices and possession, on either side of the lease.
Dilapidations · Arrears · Break noticesDistribution, agency and supply-chain conflicts, handled without wrecking a relationship worth keeping.
Supply · Agency · DistributionThe resolution ladder — and what each rung costs
Court is usually the slowest and most expensive way to resolve a business dispute. The skill is matching the forum to the fight: what's at stake, how fast you need it settled, and whether the relationship matters.
A letter before action sets out the claim, the evidence and a deadline with consequences. It settles more disputes than every other rung combined, and it's required before court anyway.
A day around the table with an independent mediator, without prejudice: nothing said can be used later. Most disputes that reach it settle, at a fraction of trial cost, and courts penalise parties who unreasonably refuse to try.
A private tribunal whose decision binds both sides — often required by the contract, and worth choosing where confidentiality or technical expertise matters. Check your dispute clause before anyone starts a claim.
Public, binding and enforceable: for when the other side won't engage, you need an injunction, or the principle matters. Typically nine to eighteen months to trial; the mechanics are on our civil litigation page.
Late payment: the law is already on your side
On business-to-business debts, late-payment legislation adds statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, fixed compensation on every overdue invoice, and your reasonable recovery costs — automatically, unless the contract substitutes a real alternative.
It changes the arithmetic of a demand letter. It's the first thing we calculate on every recovery file, and it can reach back years.
Partnership & shareholder exits, in order
Bring the agreement and the latest accounts to the free review; they decide the strategy.
A straight talker in your corner
Disputes are decided by preparation and judgement: when to push, and when the deal on the table is the win.
A straight-talking senior solicitor across litigation and property, with a firm grip on the cost–benefit as well as the argument.
Across ReviewSolicitors and Trustpilot, from clients with matters like yours who would come back.
Commercial dispute questions people ask us
The questions we hear most, answered straight. For anything else, call us.
Call 020 7063 9040Outline it today.
Know where you stand.
Send a few details and a dispute solicitor will review your position and call you back the same working day.

