The commercial litigation aspect in Australia has seen various changes over the years. In this article, we are going to discuss what are commercial litigation and the important developments in this judicial sector and how it is affecting commercial buildings and businesses all round Australia.
Commercial litigation envelopes disputes and litigation which “go to the core of a company’s business strategy and business implementation,” explains Evan Chesler. Commercial litigation is put in practice in order to protect the intellectual property of businesses as well as help business owners know their rights. Some examples of commercial litigation include:
- Securities litigation
- Contract breaches
- IP litigation
- Antitrust litigation
- Regulator run-ins
- Consumer class actions
- And various more
Litigators are generalists or specialists that are usually hired to represent the interest of a business and defend the case if they go to court. Commercial can be quite a complex and time-consuming process, which is why many law firms specialise in this aspect of law to provide their services to businesses in Australia.
Once you’ve established a business, you will likely need a commercial litigation lawyer in case you run into some legal issues with co-owners, members, or shareholders. However, other legal services for business can be very handy as well. Annual forms and fillings can be taxing on business owners with too much on their plate. Luckily, legal services can help reduce that burden and keep things in order for when it comes time to file tax returns.
At the end of the day, having a litigation lawyer on your side is very helpful as they understand the whole aspect of commercial law and can find any points that can help you win a case. Whether it concerns fraud lawsuits filed by investors against issuers of securities or if one company fails to uphold a legal clause in a contract with another, civil proceedings can ensue. Likewise, litigation lawyers can also help a lot in infringements of patents, trademarks and copyright issues.
These intellectual properties are highly important for a company as they are unique and cannot be duplicated by any other corporations. If you ever find your logo, slogan or any other company properties being used by another company, then you know they’ve breached the law and a litigation lawyer will be best suited to deal with a situation like this.
Litigation lawyers also handle allegations that a company’s business practices don’t comply with competitive regulations. This can be highly crucial for monopolies and companies with higher power in the economy and if need the proceedings can be taken to court under the criminal or civil section. It is also important to keep in mind that companies who step outside an industry’s regulations faces investigations, and civil and criminal prosecutions. Law firms usually refer to this litigation by industry, for instance, environmental issues.
Consumers can also file a case against a business if the latter did not respect what they set out to do or what they should adhere to. A group of consumers taking on a company over issues like frauds, mislabelling, privacy violations or defective products can be seem as very serious by the court. That is when a litigation lawyer or legal firm specialising in those specific cases are very helpful. They can bring to light evidence that support your business or if need be find common ground with the consumers to appease them.
Litigators are often involved even before any dispute has arisen, whether that’s counselling clients on the ramifications of business decisions or ensuring compliance with laws and regulators. However, there are other ways to resolve disputes such as arbitration or mediation which are undertaken to solve cases outside of the court. It’s definitely cheaper and affords more control over where disputes are resolved and are most of the time the right thing to do. Going to court can lead to more complexity in the case and more paperwork for your litigation lawyer and company to dig up. With client budgets tightening it’s becoming quite tough and competitive field for litigators as they clamour for fewer maters going around. Companies reluctant to splash the cash are turning to mediation or arbitration to settle disputes or directing their lawyers to keep costs down. While the amount of litigation ay have fallen, cases that do make it to law firms are increasingly complex or of high value. Picking the right firm is half the challenge as you also need to ensure the lawyers are capable of handling these cases. Make sure to verify previous work and ask your partners if they think the law firm is best suited to represent your company’s interest. In the end, commercial litigation works like any other set laws in any country – the only difference is the lawyer is defending a company instead of a person.