Practice areas
Civil and commercial disputes
Legal assistance in civil and commercial disputes covers the assessment of claims and objections, the preparation of a position, and representation at the pre-litigation stage and before the court. Matters may concern in particular the performance and settlement of contracts, payment, contractual penalties, damages, the ending of a business relationship and other pecuniary claims. Assistance may also cover security for claims, appeal proceedings and steps connected with the enforcement of a judgment.
Legal assistance in civil and commercial disputes
A dispute does not always begin with a statement of claim. Often what comes first is a demand for payment, a refusal to perform an obligation, the charging of a contractual penalty, a set-off, a challenge to a settlement, or a declaration of termination on notice or of withdrawal from the contract. At this stage, it is important to establish what each party may actually demand and which documents and evidence will matter if the matter goes to court.
In disputes arising from contracts, it is not only their content that matters. Account must be taken of the way the obligation was performed, of the parties' correspondence, of subsequent arrangements, acceptances, settlements and other events from the period of the business relationship. Only by setting these elements side by side is it possible to assess the grounds of the claim, the objections available and the issues that need to be proved. Not every pecuniary dispute arises from a contract — a separate area consists of damages claims and disputes over the return of a performance rendered without legal basis.
Before a statement of claim is filed, it is worth establishing not only the basis and amount of the demand, but also whether it is due and whether it is time-barred, the evidence available and the position the other party is likely to take. Depending on the circumstances, the next step may be a demand, a reply to a demand, negotiation, mediation, an attempt to reach a settlement, security for the claim, or the commencement of court proceedings.
Assistance may concern both the party pursuing a claim and the party against whom a demand has been directed. It covers preparing the case for trial, representation before the court and the further stages after a ruling has been given. If, however, the problem is not yet an existing dispute but the preparation of a contract or the planning of a business step, the appropriate area remains legal support for businesses and corporate matters.
Contracts and settlements
Disputes concerning contracts and payment
Disputes over payment, the performance of a contract and the settlement of a business relationship, including those concerning the scope, quality, timeliness or manner of performance of an obligation.
Pecuniary claims
Damages and other civil claims
Contractual penalties, damages, the restitution of benefits, recourse and other pecuniary claims, including matters concerning the protection of a creditor.
Before trial
Negotiations, settlement and security for claims
Assessment of the situation before proceedings are commenced, preparation of a position, pre-litigation steps, negotiations and mediation, and security for a claim where there are grounds to apply for it.
Proceedings
Trial, appeal and enforcement of the judgment
The statement of claim, defence against a claim, the taking of evidence and representation before the court, and then the appeal proceedings and the steps aimed at enforcing the judgment.
When can I help?
01
A counterparty has not paid an amount due under a contract
Non-payment does not always mean that it is enough to take an invoice to court. How the matter is conducted is determined by the basis of the claim and whether it is due, by the way the contract was performed, by the documents confirming performance, and by the objections the other party may raise.
02
The other party claims that the contract was performed improperly
The dispute may concern the scope, quality, timing or manner of performance. What matters then is not only the provisions of the contract, but also the documentation from its performance, the correspondence, the protocols, the reservations raised and the remaining evidence.
03
The dispute concerns a contractual penalty, a set-off or another settlement
A penalty that has been charged, a declaration of set-off, the withholding of part of the remuneration, or the settlement of earnest money or a deposit do not in themselves determine the parties' rights. The answer follows from the basis of the particular settlement, the content of the contract, the course of its performance, and the parties' mutual receivables and objections.
04
The dispute concerns termination on notice, withdrawal or the ending of a business relationship
The ending of a contract may lead to a further dispute over the effectiveness of the declaration made, the parties' remaining obligations, the return of the benefits received, contractual penalties, damages or the final settlement of the business relationship. What counts then is not only the basis on which the contract was ended, but also the effects of that on the entire legal relationship.
05
You are pursuing damages or have received such a demand
A damages claim requires an assessment of the grounds of liability, of the extent of the loss and of the causal link between the event and its occurrence. On the other side of the dispute, the assessment covers the same elements, supplemented by the objections arising from the course of the matter.
06
You have received a statement of claim, an order for payment or another letter from the court
The first step is to establish what the letter concerns, what response is appropriate and within what time a step must be taken. Only then does the time come to assess the claim and the objections, to gather the documents and to prepare a position matching the current stage of the proceedings.
07
You want to take the matter to court or to secure a claim
A statement of claim begins with the content of the demand, the evidence available and the position the other party is likely to take. If there is a risk that the later enforcement of a judgment may be impeded, the possibility of obtaining security for the claim requires a separate assessment.
08
The matter is already past judgment or another ruling
Once a ruling has been given, the question arises of the grounds for challenging it and of how the matter is to be conducted further. If the judgment is already enforceable, assistance may concern both the steps aimed at enforcing it — voluntarily or by way of enforcement proceedings — and the situation in which it is the client against whom the judgment is to be enforced.
Scope of assistance
A payment case often requires an assessment of the whole relationship between the parties, and not only of the document stating the amount due. What matters are the basis of the claim, the way the contract was performed, the earlier settlements and the other party's objections.
- pursuing remuneration, the price, a commission or other amounts due under a contract;
- defence against a demand for payment;
- assessment of whether a claim is due and whether it is time-barred;
- disputes concerning partial performance or the settlement of individual stages of a business relationship;
- analysis of set-offs and of the parties' mutual receivables;
- disputes concerning earnest money, a deposit, a withheld part of the remuneration or other agreed forms of security or settlement;
- claims for the return of amounts or performances rendered under a contract.
A dispute may arise both while a contract is being performed and after a business relationship has ended. What is crucial then is to establish what the parties actually undertook to do and how they performed their obligations.
- disputes concerning non-performance or improper performance of a contract;
- disputes over the scope, quality, timeliness or manner of performance;
- disputes concerning defects in goods, works or other performances, including rights under the statutory warranty for defects and under a guarantee granted;
- disputes concerning the interpretation, validity or effectiveness of a contract or of its provisions;
- a demand for performance of an obligation, or defence against such a demand;
- disputes concerning termination on notice, withdrawal from, or termination of a contract;
- settlements and claims arising after the end of a business relationship.
Not every pecuniary dispute comes down to the payment of an amount due directly under a contract. The matter may concern liability for loss, other consequences of a breach of an obligation, or an independent basis of claim unconnected with the ordinary settlement of a contract.
- pursuing a contractual penalty, defence against a demand for its payment, and disputes over whether the penalty charged is justified or as to its amount;
- pursuing damages for non-performance or improper performance of an obligation;
- defence against a damages claim;
- claims for compensation for loss caused outside a contractual relationship;
- matters concerning unjust enrichment and undue performance;
- recourse claims and settlements between entities liable for the same obligation or loss;
- demands for the release of an item of property or the return of a performance arising from an obligation relationship or from a duty to make restitution;
- actions for a declaration that an obligation or liability exists or does not exist;
- protection of a creditor against acts of the debtor performed to the detriment of creditors, including matters concerning the actio Pauliana.
Not every matter has to begin with a statement of claim. The stage preceding trial makes it possible to put the position in order, to gather the documentation and to assess whether the dispute can be ended without proceedings or the range of issues requiring a decision by the court narrowed.
- analysis of the claims, objections and material before proceedings are commenced;
- preparation of a demand for payment or of another pre-litigation position;
- preparation of replies to the other party's demands;
- conducting negotiations on ending the dispute;
- preparation and review of settlements;
- participation in mediation;
- assessment of the effects of a proposed settlement or of another way of ending the dispute;
- preparation of the case for trial if no agreement is reached.
Before trial begins, it is necessary to establish the subject matter and basis of the demand, the evidence available and how to respond to the position the other party is likely to take. Where the client is on the defendant's side, the statement of claim received and the assertions and evidence presented by the opponent require an equivalent assessment.
- preparation of the statement of claim;
- preparation of a statement of defence, an objection, a set of objections or another appropriate procedural pleading;
- representation of the claimant or the defendant before the court;
- preparation of further pleadings and procedural positions;
- analysis and presentation of the evidence;
- participation in hearings and sittings;
- representation in interim security proceedings — both of the party applying for security, where there are grounds for it, and of the party against whom security has been applied for or granted;
- participation in negotiations or mediation, including after proceedings have been commenced;
- representation on the conclusion of a court settlement.
The giving of a judgment or another ruling does not always end the matter. The next stage may require an assessment of the grounds for challenging it, a response to a measure lodged by the opponent, or steps aimed at enforcing the judgment.
- analysis of the ruling and of its statement of reasons;
- assessment of the grounds for lodging a means of appeal;
- preparation of an appeal or of a response to an appeal;
- representation in the appeal proceedings;
- assessment of whether, once the ordinary course of instances has been exhausted, a further legal measure is available in the particular case;
- preparation of the steps needed to enforce the judgment, where it is enforceable;
- representation of the creditor or the debtor at the stage of court enforcement;
- participation in disputes and proceedings arising in connection with the enforcement being conducted.
What to prepare
A dispute is best assessed on the basis of the documents created in the course of the business relationship, before the conflict arose, and not only on the basis of the letters exchanged after it escalated. What may matter is the contract itself, the schedules, the correspondence, the documents confirming that the performances were rendered, and the materials showing how the parties understood and performed their obligations.
If the matter is already before the court, priority goes to the documents showing the current stage of the proceedings. What is important is which letters have been served, which deadlines are running, and which assertions and evidence have already been presented.
There is no need, however, to organise the whole documentation yourself according to the legal provisions, or to prepare an elaborate legal description of the matter. At the outset, what matters more is reconstructing the facts and the chronology and gathering the material that actually documents the course of the parties' relationship.
Prepare, if you have them:
- the contract together with any annexes, schedules and documents setting out the terms of the business relationship;
- invoices, protocols, orders, confirmations that the performances were rendered and other settlement documents;
- correspondence with the other party concerning the performance of the contract and the dispute that has arisen;
- demands, complaints, declarations of set-off, of the charging of a penalty, of termination on notice or of withdrawal;
- documents concerning the loss and the costs incurred to which the dispute relates;
- if the matter is already before the court — the statement of claim, the order for payment, the reply, the judgment or other letters received, together with the date on which they were served.
What the support involves
01 /
I establish the subject matter of the dispute and the stage of the matter
I first establish what the client or the other party is demanding, what relationship the dispute arises from and what events led to it. I also check the current stage of the matter and the deadlines that may call for prompt action.
02 /
I analyse the documents, the claims and the evidence
I review the contract, the correspondence, the documents concerning its performance and the settlements, and the remaining material. On that basis I assess the grounds of the claims, the objections available and the issues that need to be proved.
03 /
I agree how the matter is to be conducted
I set out the possible courses of action and what they mean for the course of the matter. Once the direction has been agreed, I prepare a position or take the steps appropriate to that stage.
04 /
I conduct the matter and keep you informed of its progress
I represent the client at successive stages and adjust the steps taken to how the matter develops. I report the significant steps and rulings and the decisions requiring the client's position.
Legal support for businesses and corporate matters
Where the parties are not yet in dispute and the assistance concerns preparing or negotiating a contract, changing a business relationship or another planned business step.
Banking, finance and payment services
Where the provisions on credit, financing, security, bank accounts or payment services are of material significance for the assessment of the dispute.
Capital markets and investment services
Where the obligations concerning a financial instrument, the capital market or the way an investment service is provided are material to the resolution of the dispute.
Liability of management board members, shareholders and partners
Where the subject matter of the case is the personal liability of a management board member, a conflict between shareholders, or a dispute concerning the exercise of corporate rights.
Liability of management board members, shareholders and partners
Contact
Discuss the dispute and the possible next steps
The first conversation makes it possible to establish the current stage of the matter, the issues requiring an urgent response and the options for proceeding. Get in touch to discuss your situation and establish the scope of the analysis needed.