Business disputes and who handles them

My work is transactional, which means selling a business, buying one, and the agreements that hold a company together. I don’t run disputes, court claims or tribunal cases, and I would rather say so at the top of the page than take on something that somebody else will do better.

That doesn’t mean you’re on your own. I’m a consultant solicitor and all my legal work is carried out through Nexa Law Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (number 633024). Nexa has consultant solicitors across England and Wales who litigate every day, and some of them are colleagues I’ve used on real matters.

What happens when you send me a dispute

I read what you’ve sent and work out who at Nexa is the right person for it. That depends on what the matter needs, who has the capacity to start on it and whose pricing suits the size of the argument, as a £15,000 debt and a £2m warranty claim call for quite different people. I then introduce you, and from there my colleague runs the matter, quotes their own fee and is your solicitor for it.

Sometimes I’ll tell you that it isn’t a job for a solicitor at all, or at least not yet. A lot of smaller arguments are better dealt with by a firm letter from you and, if that doesn’t work, a small claim which you run yourself. I’ve written a small claims guide for that, and I’ll say so if I think it applies to you.

Shareholder disputes

A falling-out between shareholders is close to my own work, as the answer usually starts in the articles and the shareholders’ agreement. I’m happy to give initial advice on where you stand, and if both sides want a negotiated exit (one buying the other out, or the company buying shares back) I can handle that as a transaction. If it becomes a full dispute then it goes to a colleague, and there’s more about that on the shareholder disputes page.

Time limits and trying to settle first

There are two things worth checking before you do anything else, and the first is limitation. Most contract claims must be brought within six years of the breach under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, and some claims have far shorter limits (six months from the grant of probate for an Inheritance Act claim, for instance). If anything in your situation has a date attached to it, please tell me when you get in touch.

The second is that the court expects you to have tried to sort it out before you issue a claim. The Practice Direction on pre-action conduct describes litigation as a last resort and lets the court penalise a party in costs for ignoring it, even one who goes on to win. Since Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 the court can also order the parties to try to settle outside court, and the Civil Procedure Rules now list ordering alternative dispute resolution among the court’s case management powers, so it’s usually worth making an early and sensible offer to talk.

It’s also worth checking whether you have legal expenses insurance on a business or home policy before you spend anything.

What to send me

To tell you who should be dealing with it, I need a few paragraphs on what has happened, the contract or other document the argument is about, the amount at stake, the key dates and whatever the other side has said in writing.

Get in touch with those details and I’ll come back to you with the right person.