The decision to start legal proceedings can sometimes feel daunting or overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
By asking the right questions early, you can better understand your options and what might be involved in legal proceedings so you can feel confident in your decision to take action.
At Burke Lawyers, we regularly assist our clients in bringing legal proceedings and navigating Court and Tribunal systems. Below are five key questions that we believe every client should be asking and informed on before commencing legal proceedings.
1. What is my cause of action and what remedy can I seek?
To initiate legal proceedings, you must have a valid legal claim and be seeking a remedy (or outcome) which the Court can grant. The nature of your claim and the remedy which you ask the Court to grant will depend upon the specific facts of your matter.
An assessment of what claims may be available to you should be conducted, as different causes of action might entitle you to different and varied remedies.
2. What Evidence Do I Need?
Strong evidence is the backbone of any case.
Consider what documents, witnesses or expert reports you might require to help prove your case.
Good preparation can drastically improve your chances of success and even encourage an early settlement. Accordingly, it’s important to bear in mind that in some situations, taking time to marshal your evidence and prepare a strong case can be more important or beneficial than simply starting proceedings quickly.
3. What about Costs?
Costs aren’t just about your lawyers’ fees. Costs associated with legal proceedings can include Court fees, expert witness fees and other third-party fees (for example, the engagement of a mediator).
Generally, if you’re successful in legal proceedings, the Court will make orders that the other party be required to pay you an amount to compensate you for the costs which you have incurred as part of the proceedings. This may however, not be the case for a Tribunal proceeding.
It is important that your lawyer help you to understand what the possible costs might be, and what you may recover, before choosing to bring proceedings.
4. How can we Settle a matter?
Statistically, most matters don’t reach a final hearing before a Judge. Legal proceedings can settle at any stage including, right up to and during a final hearing.
It is important to understand how offers can play a part in the proceeding, what each of the parties might be willing to compromise to resolve the matter and what terms of settlement might look like.
If you’re successful at a final hearing and the Court makes orders in your favour, it may not necessarily be the orders themselves which you are most interested in, but your ability to actually realise (or recover) the remedy you are entitled to.
You should keep an open mind when it comes to settlement or an early resolution of your dispute, particularly where it may mean that you have a better chance of actually realising a remedy or relief.
5. What Are the Next Steps?
Finally, ask for a clear roadmap of next steps.
Understanding what happens after an initial consultation and what tasks you might have to attend to can help you feel confident and prepared to take the next steps.
Commencing legal proceedings can appear to be a complex or daunting prospect but by exploring these key questions together with a trusted dispute lawyer, you should have clarity and confidence about the realities of legal proceedings and how best to maximise the chances of a successful outcome.
At Burke Lawyers, we work with a broad range of commercial, professional and business clients in their dispute matters. We assist in understanding and identifying the relevant legal issues and provide a clear strategy and direction which can help strengthen your position and best prepare for any legal proceedings which might lie ahead.
For advice or more information about how we can assist you in your commercial disputes, please contact Jack Ryan or Rosy Dean on jryan@burkelawyers.com.au, rdean@burkelawyers.com.au respectively, or by calling +61 3 9822 8588.
Learn more about our Litigation & Dispute Resolution services.
