The legal process and litigation is a tool that must be used with care. It is not an accident that Justice is symbolised by a blindfolded woman with a two edged sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other.
Three quotes for your consideration:
1. “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” Idiom
2. “I saw in details while she saw in scope. Not seeing the scope is why I am here and she is not. I took each element separately and never looked to see that they never did fit together properly.” Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
3. “If you just focus on the smallest detail, you never get the big picture right.” Leroy Hood
Litigation is a perilous endeavour over which there is little control. Once undertaken it is, in my opinion, imperative that attention must be always given to both the macro and micro details. As the litigation unfolds consideration must always be given to the result that is desired along with the costs associated with that achievement. Litigation has many twists and turns such that with each twist and turn it is easy to lose sight of the case as a whole and the long-term goal that is desired. As a civil litigation lawyer I have two scenarios which I wish to share:
a. The first matter concerns a contract dispute which commenced in a tribunal along with an associated matter in a court. Our firm was brought into the matter to deal with the proceedings before the court. Our instructions were regarding the court matter with scant details regarding the tribunal proceedings. As the litigation progressed, issues concerning the tribunal proceedings infringed upon the court litigation and we quickly realised that the issues were interwoven. It was not until we were fully apprised of the tribunal matter that we were able to successfully coordinate a satisfactory result for our client. The result that we achieved was due to carefully examining each of the proceedings and incorporating all aspects of the two proceedings which were then melded and moulded to our client’s long term goals.
b. The second matter involved an employment dispute regarding a restriction clause on regarding future endeavours. Our client had a viable case and in our opinion her pursuit of her rights had every prospect of success. Our advice in this case was to consider all the longer-term goals. The long-term goal was to build a new and thriving business. When taking all matters into consideration any decision to proceed with litigation would have to include the probability that the next 12 to 18 months, or longer, would involve preparing and running her case. The decision was not whether or not the legal case was strong or not but rather whether the energy and time in fighting for rights would be better spent in building the new business. After full reflection and considering all options our client decided the better path was to pour her energies where the greatest rewards lay, and that was into the business.
In all cases one must consider not only the legal strength of your case but the cost in time and resources that litigation brings. It well may be that those resources which would be spent in litigation, could be better spent elsewhere, despite the strength of the legal position. If you require the assistance of an experienced civil litigation lawyer please get in touch, our Sydney CBD based law firm is here to help. For further online information please visit our civil litigation section. Source : http://www.jcllegal.com.au/blog/civil-litigation-law-april-newsletter
