Ahern Sierakowski have advised clients for 30 years on the best methods of commercial dispute resolution, conciliation, mediation, arbitration or court proceedings.
We handle:
- All arbitrations pursuant to the Western Australian Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA);
- All conciliations, mediations and arbitrations pursuant to contracts; and
- Building and Construction mediations and arbitrations.
For more information, see Dispute Resolution.
Ahern Sierakowski provide top tier services and top tier experience at substantially better rates than those of our competitors and we provide fixed fee costs wherever possible for all of our matters.
Further information can be found here regarding our fixed fees.
Business disputes need to be resolved quickly. Because of the delay and expense which may occur if matters go to Court, or if there is a need to preserve business relationships for the future, the better option may be to utilize Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques. There are a variety of such techniques, but the most commonly used ADR technique is mediation.
Many commercial contracts include dispute resolution clauses. These clauses compel the parties to meet, to attend conciliation and mediation conferences and also compel the parties’ solicitors to cooperate in attempting to resolve disputes without the need for litigation. It is vital that prior to the dispute resolution procedure that your case, during conciliation and mediation, is presented to the other side in a detailed and methodical manner. If the case is presented in a strategic manner before the dispute resolution procedures are applied then documents, including letters that set out your claim may be adduced in evidence in legal proceedings in the event the matter is not able to be resolved using the dispute resolution procedures.
Whether you need to recover money or defend a claim either way it is far easier, cheaper and quicker for that to be resolved by following a dispute resolution procedure set out in your contract than by having to conduct Court proceedings.
Our contracts require the parties to meet to resolve the dispute. If the matter can’t be settled an Arbitrator can be appointed to make a decision. Because hearings before Arbitrators are far quicker than Court there is a greater likelihood of settlement because of the early pressure placed on both sides to be reasonable.
Ahern Sierakowski can provide dispute resolution clauses for inclusion in your contracts for a fixed price that can include reviewing all of your existing terms and conditions in your contracts of preparing a new contract for you.
For further information on Alternative Dispute Resolution please see here.
Our legal advice and services in relation to commercial arbitration, conciliation and mediation include advice on:
- Prospects of success;
- Quantification of damages;
- Strategies to improve the client’s negotiating position;
- The legal costs likely to be incurred in the course of the dispute resolution process;
- Merits of offers of settlement and counter offers; and
- Informal and formal conciliation and other mediation processes.
