Out of court settlement

There are no prizes for taking a case to trial and going to trial is inherently risky and expensive. In most cases there are much better alternatives to trial such as an out of court settlement or mediation. The vast majority of legal disputes end in settlement. Our job is to apply judgment and secure the best available solution.

Please get in touch for an initial review on how to get the best available outcome for your dispute.  We do provide fee estimates, legal analysis and a range of options and strategies

What's our services and reasons to work with us

• Strategic Settlement Advice – We help you evaluate the commercial benefits of settling early vs. proceeding to litigation.
• Skilled Negotiators – We have the tactical skills and experience to create the right conditions to achieve a suitable settlement to a dispute..
• Confidential Resolution – Settle disputes discreetly, preserving relationships and avoiding public court proceedings.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – We guide you through mediation, arbitration, or expert determination as effective alternatives to court.
• Cost-Effective Solutions – Reduce legal spend and management time by resolving disputes without trial.
• Enforceable Settlement Agreements – We draft clear, legally binding agreements to secure finality and avoid future disputes.
• Tailored Commercial Focus – Settlement strategies aligned with your business goals, risk appetite, and reputational concerns.
• Very few of our cases reach court - We usually achieve settlement out of court. For example, we have found solutions for disputes surrounding the buying and selling of businesses, contract disputes, partnership disputes and disputes between shareholders with experience in acting for minority shareholders.

Reasons not to go to trial

If a case gets to trial or near to trial, it is not uncommon for litigation legal fees to exceed the value of the claim. This makes little business sense and creates huge risk and stress. There are several other reasons why settling is almost certainly better :-

• there is rarely full recovery of legal fees - the general rule is that the winner is awarded legal costs. The English courts rarely make an Order for the full legal fees assessed, typically ordering between 60-80% of the amount claimed and enforcing a costs order against a defendant is never certain.
• inherent risks of litigation - even if you win and are awarded damages at a trial, your opponent may not pay and/or may not have the means to pay.
• you may not be awarded the damages you think you will - English law is fundamentally loss and not compensation based. Losses must be mitigated and proven.There are often technical hurdles which make proving loss very difficult.
• court cases are slow - in some cases going to trial can take years.
• UK legal system is now designed to encourage settlement - this can be either directly between the parties or by mediation (discussed below).   If you do not show that there have been attempts to settle the court can order that you pay some or all of the opponent's legal costs even if the opponent loses.

Ways to achieve an out of court settlement

When dealing with a case, it is our job to conduct a cost/benefit/risk and legal merits analysis. We keep a close eye for opportunities to explore settlement which can occur at various strategic points and in ways including :-

• Without prejudice negotiations - off the record discussions are conducted "without prejudice". This means that the discussions are private and not admissible in court.  They are used to explore pressure points and the appetite for settlement.  Settlement is possible at any time and can even take place once a trial has commenced. The key to successful out of court negotiation is timing and a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your case and commercial reality.
• Mediation - becoming an increasingly common method of dispute resolution. Mediation can be a good option because it is non-binding, quick and inexpensive compared to court proceedings and the process is flexible, sensitive and adaptable.
• Arbitration - arbitration clauses requiring the parties to arbitrate in the event of a dispute are common in shipping, oil, gas, insurance, property, and aviation contracts. Arbitration is more suited to technical disputes involving complex issues on fault. Arbitration is not as flexible as mediation which means that it is less commonly used in practice.
• Using court process to achieve an out of court settlement - In almost all claims that have been issued at court there are tactical and procedural opportunities to seek settlement. Examples of strategically important or best opportunities to maximise chances include where an injunction has been applied for, after the disclosure of documents stage (which is a key stage where the parties get more clarity about the strength or weakness of their claim and the other party's evidence) or where either party makes any other important application to the court, such as a strike out application.
• If a counterclaim is made by the defendant or more parties are added to the claim - often if additional parties are added to a claim this can be a high risk way of increasing what's at stake for everyone and can lead to opportunities to settle out of court.
• Where a costs order has been made following an application made to court as part of the legal proceedings - being ordered to pay the other party's costs of a pre-trial application tends to remind that paying party of how risky and costly litigation can be.

Sometimes we ramp up the pressure on the other side knowing that they do not want the case to end up in court. The reason is this can then open a route to settlement discussions.  Sometimes initial offers are rejected initially only to be re-visited further down the line.

Timing for a settlement offer

There are certain points when we find settlement is most likely to be achieved. The pressure points usually coincide with dates for when the parties have to progress the case and hence incur legal fees - for example when the time comes to prepare witness statements.

Refusing to seek alternatives to litigation

You run the risk of being ordered to pay the opponent's legal fees if mediation is unreasonably refused.