No matter how you feel about your clients, good or bad, it is a dreaded day when two business partners choose to go their separate ways. Sometimes this severance is accompanied by a potential lawsuit, depending on the nature of the split, which only makes matters worse. However, before a lawsuit ever sees the inside of a courtroom, there are alternative steps that can be taken to resolve the dispute.

Many times, this dispute resolution alternative must be built into the contracts beforehand, requiring both parties to try to settle things outside of court. Options for this resolution might include mediation or arbitration. Although slightly different, there are many advantages to each method. More about mediation and arbitration can be read here: Dispute-Resolution Alternatives

The long and short of it is this…do everything you can to keep the dispute out of court, make sure you have alternative dispute resolution ideas built into your contract, and more importantly, make sure you do all you can to maintain great relationships with clients and business partners.