As human beings, conflict and disputes inevitably occur.  Be they business or personal or family related, disputes cost time, energy and money.  Relationships often break, sometimes irretrievably.

 Traditionally, disputes if not quickly resolved escalate to lawyers at 20 paces.  Nasty letters head in both directions.  Positions are taken, never to be retreated from.  And the natural course of events is both parties end up in court.

 The net result?  Lots of money spent – mainly on the lawyers.  And generally neither party is totally happy with the outcome.

 But it doesn’t have to be that way.

 As a Barrister since 1991, Chris Whitelaw realised the litigation path for resolving disputes should only be the last resort.  And there were many ways to resolve disputes (or even prevent from occurring) via alternate dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.

 Which is why he created the Commercial Disputes Management Centre (CDMC).

 CDMC consists of a team of highly experienced male and female negotiators, dispute managers, mediators, lawyers and experts in dispute/conflict management and resolution.  They specialise in commercial disputes, and wherever possible the early management and cost effective resolution of disputes.

 They have developed a unique specialised set of services in the following areas:

 SME (Small to Medium size businesses) disputes

Workplace disputes

Building and Construction disputes

Intellectual Property disputes

 IT disputes

Franchise disputes

Family Law Property Settlement disputes

Wills and Estate disputes

Dispute Avoidance Policies and Strategies

heir expertise provides an “on tap” resource to ensure you don’t get into a dispute in the first place by writing your policies and your contracts in a way that creates a firewall between your business and those who might try to threaten you with litigation to get their way, possibly damaging or even destroying your business along the way.

 If a dispute does occur, you can call on CDMC to nip it in the bud and resolve it quickly, with minimum fuss and without damage to important relationships.

 They will ensure the dispute will not disrupt your business, distract you from your main focus or place a burden on your cash flow.

 If a dispute is more complex or intractable, they can triage the dispute, create a tailored blueprint that provides the best possible chance for early resolution and avoidance of unnecessary litigation.

 Want to avoid Litigation Hijack?

 As a woman in business it’s an unfortunate reality that you’re more likely to be disrespected by certain types of people who believe they can take advantage because of a stereotype that says “women are less likely to fight” and would simply roll over.

 While this certainly isn’t true for the majority of women, women as a general rule would prefer negotiation over litigation wherever possible.  You want to keep relationships intact, but do so without appeasing the other party and giving up the farm.

 Which is where CDMC can help you pre-emptively bullet proof your business so that you’re never held hostage by unscrupulous parties intent on doing you harm.  Go to www.cdmcnational.com.au to learn more.

Renae Thompson