Business Dispute Resolution Solicitors
We will fight your corner if your business faces a dispute
We understand the world of business and the commercial pressures under which business owners and managers operate. A dispute, whether internal (for example, between directors and shareholders), or external (such as with a supplier), cause distraction and potentially significant cost.
Longmores act for a wide range of businesses, some very large, some very small and many in between. Clients include company directors and shareholders as well as business owners. We help them to find speedy and cost-effective ways to resolve disputes that serve their commercial interests and minimise business disruption, saving management time and keeping costs under control.
We work with businesses on a range of issues, including:
- Business mediation and arbitration
- Commercial property disputes
- Contractual disputes
- Corporate insolvency, including claims against company directors
- Debt recovery
- Intellectual property disputes
- Partnership and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) disputes
- Search orders and supervision, including injunctions, freezing orders and imaging
- Shareholder disputes, including ‘unfair prejudice’ petitions
We have extensive experience in matters relating to the recruitment industry, including regulatory compliance issues and theft of confidential information such as databases.
Our approach is no-nonsense, intelligent and commercially astute. We take time to understand the background and underlying cause of any dispute so that we can offer clear, concise and objective advice as to your options and likelihood of success should you decide to litigate. That means you can take an informed decision as to how best to proceed.
Where possible, we encourage clients to opt for alternative approaches to resolution, such as mediation, so long as this delivers the right outcome for you and serves to minimise business risk. We routinely represent clients in a variety of forums, from the small claims track of the County Courts to the Supreme Court. In doing so, our approach is rigorous, robust and tenacious.
Speak to our business dispute resolution solicitors in Hertford
To discuss your business dispute with our sympathetic, proactive team, please get in touch.
Meet our Dispute Resolution Team
We are litigation experts with a wealth of experience in a wide range of commercial disputes. Our Dispute Resolution team is headed by John Wiblin, a Legal 500 recommended Solicitor-Advocate who specialises in advising businesses and professional individuals in all types of disputes, from commercial contract disputes to civil fraud and theft cases.
As well as being able to represent clients at all civil court levels, John is a qualified mediator and arbitrator, able to help businesses come to positive, out-of-court solutions using tried and tested alternative dispute resolution techniques.
Our Dispute Resolution team also includes Partner Nat Young, who is our resident insolvency expert. Nat specialises in all types of business disputes with a particular interest in matters involving insolvency and winding-up proceedings. Nat is also a qualified court advocate with experience litigating at all court levels.
We also have Lauren Mackenzie, whose extensive experience includes a particular interest in contentious probate and inheritance disputes, including cases involving business interests and trusts. Lauren has a great temperament for dealing with these complex and often emotional cases, providing a steady level of support and a listening ear for her clients. She is also a qualified mediator.
John, Nat and Lauren are supported by Marija Sukyte, a junior solicitor with a broad practice.
We also have a dedicated Property Litigation team headed by John Wagstaffe. Visit our Property Litigation page for more information.
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- John Wiblin
- Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution
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- Lauren Mackenzie
- Partner specialising in Dispute Resolution and Mediation
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- Marija Sukyte
- Dispute Resolution Solicitor
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How our business dispute resolution lawyers can help
Business mediation and arbitration
Our team includes qualified and highly experienced commercial mediators and arbitrators who can help your business resolve its dispute amicably out of court. Mediation and arbitration offer a faster, more private, and often more cost-effective method of resolving disputes.
Visit our Business Mediation and Arbitration page for more information.
Commercial property disputes
We advise commercial landlords, tenants, management companies, managing agents, and other parties on a wide range of commercial property disputes. Our commercial property dispute solicitors specialise in helping clients resolve what are often complex and high-value issues constructively, minimising costs as far as possible. Our expertise includes:
- Property Management Advice
- Commercial Lease Advice
- Landlord and Tenant Disputes
- Property Rights Disputes
- Possession Claims
- Co-ownership Disputes
Visit our Property Litigation page for more information.
Contractual disputes
Contract disputes can affect even the most well-prepared and risk-averse businesses. Dealing with the dispute early and in a carefully considered way is the key to reducing the impact on your business and preserving important commercial relationships. Our commercial contract dispute solicitors can assist with all types of issues, including:
- Breach of contract claims
- Breach of warranty claims
- Corporate disputes with shareholders
- Directors’ disqualification
- Injunctions and asset protection
- Partnership and LLP issues
- Professional negligence claims
- Contract disputes in property litigation matters, such as breach of covenant.
Visit our Commercial Contract Disputes page for more information.
Corporate insolvency
Our insolvency experts can assist with disputes arising from winding-up proceedings or restructuring processes, such as:
- Claims against directors in relation to company insolvency
- Advising liquidators, insolvency practitioners and other insolvency professionals
- Defending winding-up petitions or bankruptcy petitions
- Recovering assets on behalf of insolvency practitioners or creditors.
Visit our Corporate Insolvency and Claims Against Directors pages for more information.
Debt recovery
If you have exhausted your credit control procedures and your debtors still will not repay, our debt recovery solicitors are here to provide an efficient, cost-effective debt recovery service to save you time and maximise your chances of recovery. We offer two debt recovery schemes:
- A fixed fee debt recovery scheme that works for the vast majority of debt cases
- A bespoke debt recovery scheme for particularly unusual, complex and/or high-value debt recovery claims.
Visit our Debt Recovery page for more information.
Intellectual property diputes
Intellectual Property (IP) is a valuable asset that you must protect to prevent others from taking advantage of your business’s work, brand and innovation. Our intellectual property solicitors’ expertise includes helping businesses resolve disputes arising from issues such as alleged breach of copyright or a licensing agreement.
We can make and defend intellectual property claims, taking all possible steps to achieve a positive outcome, whether that is an injunction against someone using your IP or compensation.
Visit our Intellectual Property Disputes page for more information.
Partnership and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) disputes
Entering into a partnership with your associates can be a positive experience, promoting a culture of trust, cooperation and collaboration. But when a dispute arise between partners, it can have personal repercussions as well as financial and operational. Our business dispute resolution lawyers can advise on a wide range of partnership disputes, including:
- Partner and member rights
- Fiduciary duties and governing issues
- Dissolving or terminating partnerships
- Valuations and profit distribution
- Terms of partnership deeds
- Insolvency issues
Visit our Partnership and LLP Disputes page for more information.
Search orders and supervision
We have experience in applications for search orders and order for delivery-up in a wide variety of matters, including civil fraud and theft of confidential information or intellectual property. Such orders are complex and difficult to obtain, so having the advice of our legal specialists is essential.
Visit our Search Orders and Supervising Solicitors page for more information.
Shareholder disputes
We have specialist expertise in resolving shareholder disputes, with Partner, John Wiblin, being particularly recognised for his skills in this area. Our experience includes:
- Advising on minority shareholder rights and bringing unfair prejudice petitions
- Representing shareholders in claims against directors
- Defending claims by shareholders against senior managers
- Advising on insolvency issues.
Visit our Shareholder Disputes page for more information.
Case Studies
- Defending a small manufacturer whose products were sold in £1 stores against an intellectual property infringement claim from a household name detergent manufacturer.
- Resolving a dispute between shareholders of a family business over the company’s dividend policy and the wages of its most senior employee.
- Our team executed a search order on the premises of a recruitment business and competitor of our client and found our client’s database of thousands of candidates’ names and contact details, unlawfully taken from our client by an unscrupulous former employee.
Speak to our business dispute resolution solicitors in Hertford
To discuss your business dispute with our sympathetic, proactive team, please get in touch.
