Commercial disputes and the economy

Financial legal disputes are usually a forerunner of a full recession and we saw a spike in enquiries coming through during the final quarter of last year. We have seen a rise in businesses looking to exit contracts but also firms asking us to assess the merits of claims for damages under contract clauses. The other enquiry area that has seen a large increase is that of pricing increase provisions in contracts. Unless these are drafted correctly, a business can find itself tied in to supply goods at a price that has become commercially unviable. Never has it been more important to ensure commercial contracts are drawn up by professionals. We regularly see contracts that have been downloaded from the internet, many of them from US sites, which are at best a struggle to enforce.

There’s always a direct correlation between the state of the economy and disputes. When the economy tanks, businesses want invoices paying and there’s more disputes, about service delivery, quality or cost.
I’ve seen an increase in enquires in landlords seeking to repossess residential property, employees being made redundant, advice on contracts regarding termination and of course unpaid debts. But frankly all is not bad, and for those that are struggling there’s also opportunities. I’ve had the highest monthly instructions for new business sales in three years, meaning buyers see an opportunity even if the economy isn’t booming.