Personal Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Are you in dispute with a neighbour or a problem landlord?  Do you need to claim against a retailer for faulty goods?  Would you like to dispute a Will?  We can help.

Dealing with a legal dispute can be a time-consuming and stressful experience.  It is easy for matters to become personal and heated, and concerns about the costs of enforcing your rights certainly don’t help.  Our litigation and dispute resolution specialists will help you assert your rights and give expert, cost-effective advice to get your problem resolved.

How can we help?

Here are some of the areas in which our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team can help:

  • Disputes with a Supplier or Retailer – where goods or services you have purchased are not to the right standards

  • Landlord and Tenant disputes – where you are in dispute with your landlord or a tenant you rent property to

  • Inheritance Disputes – disputing what you should receive from the Will of a deceased person (covered in more detail on our Inheritance Disputes page)

  • Cohabitation Disputes – disputes with partners and ex-partners about family matters

  • Employment Disputes – resolving issues at work (covered in more detail on our Employment Law pages)

Our approach

At Backhouse Solicitors we are experts in litigation and can help you enforce or defend your rights in the face of an injustice.  Our expert team will work with you to establish the right solution for you, taking account of your budget and your appetite for risk.

In some cases, a dispute might just need a legal letter to get things moving.  It can be easy for the other side to ignore your letters and emails, but a formal letter from your solicitors will usually prompt them into engaging properly with you.

Every case is different, and from there our skilled negotiators could reach an informal agreement on your behalf, seek a formal agreement through mediation or alternate dispute resolution, or if that fails we can start court proceedings.

Negotiation and Mediation

The first step will usually be to try and reach a negotiated agreement without going to court.  Many cases settle this way and it is usually (although not always) cheaper than formal court proceedings.  It does rely on both parties being prepared to negotiate, and if there have already been heated discussions, or differences are too large then this may not be an option.

If initial negotiation is unsuccessful, we can suggest a more formal approach of Alternative Dispute Resolution, such as mediation or arbitration.  A mediator is an independent third party who acts as a go-between and helps both sides reach an agreement.  We can arrange for good mediators and would usually help you put your case forward in the negotiations.

Litigation through the Courts

If we can’t resolve matters through negotiation then the next step is to issue court proceedings on your behalf.  This is a formal process, with strict timetables and requirements to file the right documents at the right time.  There will be up-front court fees to pay and there are no certainties when it comes to court cases so we will always give you a realistic assessment of your chances of success.  You can then decide whether it’s right for you to commit the time and money needed.

If you decide to go ahead, our litigation experts will guide you through the process.  We will prepare your case to give you the best chance of success and either represent you in court ourselves, or in more specialist cases find the right barrister to achieve the best outcome for you.

If you win your case then we can help you enforce the court’s judgement, using bailiffs where necessary to recover money or goods.

Contact Us

If you are suffering due an ongoing legal dispute then the Backhouse Solicitors team are here to help.  Contact us today to book a free, no-obligation, initial consultation with one of our litigation experts.

Tel:          01245 893400
Email:     info@backhouse-solicitors.co.uk
Visit:       17 Duke Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1JU
Or send us a message through the Contact Us page on this website.