Define a useful outcome

Are you seeking payment, performance, a continuing supply relationship or an orderly exit? Rank the objectives and distinguish essentials from matters open to discussion. Explain the business context to the lawyer. An otherwise useful remedy may not meet the need if it arrives too late.

Reconstruct the relationship

Bring together the agreement, orders, confirmations, deliveries, invoices, payments and complaints. Separate the total value of the relationship from the amount actually in dispute. Identify common ground and the points on which the accounts differ. Questions about proof require a link between each position and the facts supporting it, rather than an undirected collection of attachments.

Compare routes and constraints

Ask what needs immediate attention and which routes should be assessed: correspondence, an agreement, any preliminary process required by law or court proceedings. Particular matters may be subject to specific preliminary requirements. No route guarantees an outcome. Costs, timing, deadlines and practical enforceability need to be considered together.

Make any agreement precise

Invented example: a customer disputes part of a delivery but accepts the remainder. A proposal might distinguish the amounts, arrange technical checks and clarify the effect of payments. Signing authority, security, releases and the consequences of non-performance must be examined before acceptance. The value of a discussion depends on the precision of the resulting commitments and the ability to fulfil them.

What to prepare

  • Objectives ranked by importance
  • Agreed and disputed facts and amounts separated
  • Deadlines and alternatives assessed with the lawyer
  • Authority and consequences of any agreement examined

Sources for further reading

Legal review and an update of the references are required before public release.

These guides provide general information. They do not assess a personal case. Examples are invented. The texts are drafts; no authorship or approval is attributed to the professionals.

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