Here Graham Tyler discusses Dispute Resolution and how as a firm we work for you.
Transcript:
I’m Graham Tyler. I’m a senior solicitor in the Dispute Resolutions team here at Newtons, and I work out of the Darlington office. I deal with disputes for individuals, disputes for businesses, and all sorts of things that come across the desk. It’s a wide variety.
Why use Newtons to settle a dispute?
Newtons’ structure is very good for us for a number of reasons. One is its size across North Yorkshire and into the Durham area, which collects a lot of work from a large geographical area.
We also have a great range of services and expertise across the region that we can call on, so if we’re stuck on a particular problem, there’s always somebody else who has come across that kind of issue before. We do have genuine expertise in a very large number of areas.
The Newtons Client Relationship
Relationships with clients are extremely important. We try to develop a relationship to become their go-to firm. We can deal with all their requirements, whether related to conveyancing, wills, and probate, if they have a dispute or if they’re a business dealing with lease issues. We’ve also got employment specialists.
We can cover all of their requirements, and what we want to do is engender the relationship so that we become a very important part of their business or somebody that individuals can turn to when they feel that they need help.
What are the costs of litigation?
I think one of the fears clients have regarding dispute resolution or litigation is the cost. We try to be very upfront with cost; we don’t shy away from it, but at the same time, we’ll provide enough information for you to make economic decisions for yourself by giving you advice on what it would cost.
Then, you can, to a large extent, undertake the cost-benefit analysis. We try to do that by working out what the problems are early, working out whether there is a solution which is practical, affordable and realistic. If we end up in Court, to some extent, we have failed, but it does happen, and when that happens, we have the expertise to take a client through the fairly complex procedures that Court work requires.
How do you keep the costs of litigation down?
My target is certainly resolution and resolution as quickly and cheaply as possible, but sometimes the cost is incurred upfront, but it’s the best time to spend it. You do not want to be going to litigation all the way through to a Court hearing, settling on the doors of the Court. If you could reach that settlement early, then it’s cost-effective.
Are contracts important?
Well, as a litigator, I don’t become involved in drafting contracts. My role is to sort out problems which arise as a result of those contacts. It does, of course, lead us to the consideration as to what could have been done to avoid the problem in the first place.
And we do have a great deal of expertise right the way across Newtons in assisting you in drafting those contracts where the commercial contracts, property contracts, or employment contracts, for example, are all areas which could end up coming across my desk. With a bit of time and money spent at the right time, you could avoid those problems occurring at all.
Would you recommend using a contract that’s available online?
There was a great danger in working off precedents, particularly those available online to the world at large. They have to be tailored; you have to apply changes to legislation, and you have to make sure that they’re implemented at the right time and in the right way for the right person.
A classic example is an employment contract where an employment contract for an office junior will be extremely different from an employment contract for a senior member of the management team. The covenants from them leaving will be very different, so you cannot say a standard employment contract would be, for example, one contract fits all.