In this, the fifth of a series of articles which looks at some of the most common perils of contracts and how to avoid those perils, we look at the perils of failing to provide which law governs your contract and which country’s courts have jurisdiction to hear any dispute.

The recent decision in Garritt-Critchley v Ronnan is a stark reminder of the risks involved in refusing to engage in alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”). In this case the defendant repeatedly rebutted the claimant’s offers of mediation, resulting in a punitive costs order being made against them.

Identifying the correct opponent at the outset and assessing their ability to pay is vital, and we here set out some considerations that need to be looked at very early on when a dispute develops.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (the “Ombudsman”) is the independent dispute resolution service for financial services businesses and their customers. This includes private individual customers but also small businesses.

The Supreme Court has, in June 2020, given judgment on a landmark case which sets out the current state of the law relating to the availability or otherwise of adjudication as a means of dispute resolution when one of the parties is in insolvent liquidation.

Human capital, intellectual property and a secure customer base often drive the value of an acquisition. To secure that value, the buyer of a business may want to retain key employees and prevent the seller from competing with the business for a specified period. The acquisition agreement therefore often includes certain restraints. Buyers and sellers may later disagree on the interpretation and enforceability of these terms. Various immediate dispute resolution steps must be taken to protect the value of the acquired business. Our commercial litigation team regularly acts for clients involved in this type of dispute.

It is very rare for any dispute that finds its way to court to be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties; inevitably one party will feel aggrieved that their argument failed to find merit with the judge, even if they were not, strictly speaking, at fault. This was the case with a dispute over an updated will made by an elderly man, Jack Leonard, in which he extended his list of beneficiaries to include his stepchildren as well as his biological children.

The ownership of a farm was at the centre of a dispute between three (of four) siblings after the death of their parents, Mr & Mrs Williams. The reasons for the dispute were depressingly familiar – the partnership agreement was at odds with their father’s will, with one brother claiming that assets gifted under the will were actually partnership assets and thus rightfully his. He also employed a backstop argument, that of proprietary estoppel, on the rather flimsy premise that his father had promised him the farm some forty odd years ago.

This case relates to an estate which comprises of a farmhouse, cottage, land, helicopter and two companies renting out various properties (value £4 million).

Whatever the type of will dispute, our guide explores what you need to consider and what is possible if you are thinking of contesting a will whether this is in relation to the way that the will has been made or the way the will is being executed.