Tag: negotiation

What nobody wants to talk about – but every business owner needs to understand.

 

The Scenario That Makes Your Blood Boil

Picture this: You’re facing a potential lawsuit. You have the evidence. You have the law on your side. You would likely win in court. Then the other side’s lawyer calls with an offer that makes you want to throw your phone across the room:

“We’ll settle for $20,000. It’s going to cost your client a lot more than that to defend this anyway.”

GRRRRR. Frustrating? Absolutely. But also… probably true.

Here’s what I want you to understand: This moment isn’t about being taken advantage of. It’s about you exercising control over your business.

 

Reframing the “Loss” as a Win

Let’s get one thing crystal clear: You always get to decide how this goes.

If you want to go to trial, it’s your right and your lawyer should absolutely follow your wishes. But from one business owner to another, let me share a different way to think about this moment.

Litigation is a business decision. This isn’t about right or wrong. This isn’t about justice or fairness.  Just a business decision.

 

The Real Math Nobody Talks About

When you’re calculating the cost of litigation, most people only think about attorney’s fees. But the real cost includes:

Financial Impact:

  • Legal fees (often 2-3x the settlement amount)
  • Time away from revenue-generating activities
  • Potential expert witness costs
  • Discovery expenses

Hidden Business Costs:

  • Your mental energy focused on litigation instead of growth
  • Stress affecting your decision-making in other areas
  • Team members pulled into depositions and document production
  • The opportunity cost of what you could have accomplished instead

Personal Toll:

  • Sleepless nights thinking about court dates instead of business strategy
  • The emotional drain that affects every other aspect of your life
  • The distraction that keeps you from being fully present for your business

 

The Power of “No Admission of Wrongdoing”

Here’s something crucial: Settlement doesn’t mean you’re admitting fault.

A properly drafted settlement agreement includes language stating there’s no admission of wrongdoing by either party. You’re not saying “you’re right and I was wrong.” You’re saying “this isn’t worth my time and energy.”

Completely different message.

 

Timing Is Everything: The Two Windows

There are actually two opportunities to make this business decision, and the timing matters more than most people realize:

Window #1: Pre-Filing Settlement

  • Clean resolution with no public record
  • Business reputation remains intact
  • Faster resolution
  • Often lower settlement amounts

Window #2: Post-Filing Settlement

  • Court record exists permanently
  • Public access to complaint details
  • Customers, competitors, vendors can all see it
  • Higher costs, more complexity

The key insight: Once that complaint is filed, it’s out there forever. Even if you settle the next day, the court record remains. But handle it at the notice or demand stage? It’s like it never happened.

 

Your Strategic Advantage

You have more control over this process than you think – if you know when to exercise it.

Before filing: You can resolve this quietly, completely, and move on with your business focused on what matters.

After filing: You’re playing defense in a public arena with a permanent record.

The Settlement Agreement: Your Shield Going Forward

A proper settlement agreement doesn’t just end the current dispute – it protects you from this issue coming up again with this person. The right language creates a comprehensive release that prevents the same claims from being raised in the future.

This isn’t just buying peace for today. It’s buying permanent protection.

 

The Real Question

The question isn’t “Should I fight this because I’m right?”

The question is “What’s the smartest business decision that protects my company, my energy, and my future?”

Sometimes the answer is to fight. Sometimes it’s to settle and move on. Both can be the right choice – it depends on your specific situation, your business goals, and what matters most to you.

 

Your Power, Your Choice

Remember: This is your decision to make. Your lawyer can advise you on the legal merits and likely outcomes, but you’re the one who decides what’s best for your business.

If you choose to settle, you’re not giving up or giving in. You’re making a strategic business decision to protect your most valuable resources: your time, your energy, and your focus.

You’re choosing to put your energy where it can actually grow your business instead of where it just protects your ego.

And sometimes, that’s the biggest win of all.

The goal isn’t to always avoid litigation – it’s to approach it strategically, with full understanding of your options and control over your choices.

Don’t wait until you’re in the middle of a heated dispute to figure out what to say and do. I’ve created a step-by-step checklist that walks you through exactly how to handle business disputes professionally—from that first angry phone call through resolution.

The “How to Handle a Business Dispute with Grace” checklist includes:

  • What to document immediately (and what NOT to say)
  • When to involve legal counsel
  • How to recognize when someone is acting in bad faith
  • Strategic communication that resolves issues without admitting liability

Download your free checklist here and keep it handy for when emotions run high and you need a clear plan to follow.

 

Photo Credit: Picpedia.com

Last month, a client called me in a panic. A customer was threatening to sue over a $4,000 project gone wrong. “What do I do?” she asked. “I already told them I’d make it right and refund everything. Will that stop the lawsuit?”

It was too late. She’d already made the classic mistake that turns manageable disputes into expensive legal battles.

Here’s what most business owners don’t realize: you’re not just running a business—you’re wearing a target.

The Reality About Business Disputes

The statistics are sobering. Research shows that business litigation impacts 36% to 53% of small businesses annually, with roughly 45% of small companies currently dealing with some form of legal dispute. Even more striking? 90% of all businesses will face a lawsuit at some point.

But here’s the part that keeps me up at night: most of these disputes could have been handled differently if the business owner had known what to do in those critical first 24 hours.

Why This Matters: The average cost to defend a lawsuit ranges from $3,000 to $150,000. Even if you do everything right. Even if there isn’t a strong case. Even if at the end, “you win.” And in many jurisdictions, including California where I defend business owners, the business MUST have a lawyer.  As the owner, you cannot proceed on your own, “pro se” or “pro per.” So, there are legal fees and filing fees even if you end up with a settlement or if the case is ultimately dismissed.   

Why Consumers Target Businesses (And It’s Not What You Think)

There’s a legal concept called the “deep pocket theory.” Simply put, when someone feels wronged, they’re more likely to sue the party they perceive as having money to pay—regardless of who’s actually at fault.

What consumers assume about your business:

  • You have business insurance that covers everything
  • You have cash reserves or “deep pockets”
  • Legal costs are just “business expenses” to you
  • You have lawyers on retainer ready to fight

The reality: Small business owners often have more personal financial exposure than the individual customers suing them. But perception drives litigation decisions, not reality.

This means that handling disputes isn’t just about customer service—it’s about legal strategy. The same response that works great for a negative Yelp review can be a disaster in a potential legal dispute.

The Moment Everything Changes

I’ve seen it happen dozens of times. A business owner gets an angry email or confrontational phone call. Their instinct is to:

  • Apologize immediately
  • Offer to “make things right”
  • Try to fix the problem over text or social media
  • Admit fault to de-escalate the situation

Every single one of these responses can be used against you in court.

That apologetic email you sent to calm down an angry customer? It can be presented as an admission of liability. The quick offer to refund everything? It might be seen as evidence that you knew you were in the wrong. The casual “I didn’t mean for that to happen” text? That’s an admission that can cost you thousands.

What Professional Dispute Response Actually Looks Like

The businesses that rarely end up in my office for litigation defense aren’t lucky—they’re strategic. They understand that the goal isn’t to avoid all disputes (impossible), but to handle them in a way that prevents escalation.

Professional dispute response has four key elements:

1. Immediate Documentation Before you say or write anything, preserve every piece of evidence. Screenshots, email threads, contract terms, payment records—everything. If it’s not documented, it can be twisted or forgotten later.

2. Strategic Silence Your gut will tell you to respond immediately. Resist. Taking 24-48 hours to craft a thoughtful response prevents emotional reactions that often make situations worse.

3. Professional Communication When you do respond, everything goes in writing, and every word is chosen carefully. You can be empathetic without admitting fault. You can be solution-oriented without accepting liability.

4. Early Legal Consultation This doesn’t mean lawyering up immediately. It means getting a quick strategic consultation to understand your real risks and options before the situation spirals.

The Grace Factor: Why Professional Response Reduces Lawsuits

Here’s something most business owners don’t realize; how you handle disputes affects whether you get sued in the future. Businesses known for professional, fair dispute resolution become less attractive targets for opportunistic litigation.

When you respond with grace under pressure, you’re not just resolving the immediate issue—you’re building a reputation that protects you from future legal problems. Word spreads in communities and industries. Customers and competitors notice how you handle conflict.

Your Next Steps

If you’re reading this and thinking “I need to be better prepared,” you’re right. The time to develop your dispute response plan is before you need it, not when someone is threatening legal action.

Every business owner should have:

  • A clear documentation system for disputes
  • Templates for professional dispute communication
  • A relationship with a business attorney for quick consultations
  • A step-by-step plan for those critical first 24 hours

The good news? None of this is complicated. It just requires knowing what to do and having the discipline to follow the plan when emotions are running high.

Download Your Business Dispute Response Plan

I’ve created a practical, step-by-step checklist that walks you through exactly how to handle business disputes professionally and strategically. It’s the same framework I recommend to all my clients—and it’s designed to help you protect your business while maintaining your professional reputation.

The checklist covers:

  • What to document immediately (and how)
  • When to respond (and when to wait)
  • How to communicate without admitting liability
  • When to involve legal counsel
  • How to negotiate professionally if needed

Download your free “How to Handle a Business Dispute with Grace” checklist here. Print it, bookmark it, and keep it handy—because when disputes happen, you’ll want to have a clear plan to follow.

Remember: You can’t prevent all business disputes, but you can control how you respond to them. And how you respond today determines whether small problems stay small or become expensive legal battles.

Photo Credit: Photo by Kampus Production: https://www.pexels.com

Ready to bulletproof your business against legal disputes? Beyond just handling disputes, smart business owners proactively protect themselves with the right contracts, policies, and legal structures. If you’re interested in a comprehensive business protection strategy, let’s talk about how we can help you build a legal foundation that prevents problems before they start.

One of the most common question people search online related to contract negotiations on Answer the Public is, “Can you negotiate a contract after signing?” Since that is such a frequently researched topic on the internet, I am going to assume that there is probably quite a bit of buyer’s remorse out there in the world.  And that people are getting into agreements that they end up not feeling good about performing or completing. Or the other party isn’t performing and there’s a risk of breach.

A Little Contract Law Background

Before we talk about potentially changing a contract after it is signed, let’s get a quick (legal but not legal advice) background about contracts.  All contracts must contain a few “elements” or parts to be legally “enforceable.”  These are “mutual assent,” “consideration,” and “lack of defenses.”  In a nutshell, a legal contract needs two or more parties who are legally able to enter into a contract (not a minor, for example) who commit to and agree on all of the essential terms (like price), both sides are giving something in exchange they do not legally have to (like money for goods), and there isn’t any circumstance that would prevent the contract from being enforceable, like fraud.

If these are all present at the time you sign, or shake, or exchange hugs, the court would likely find a legally enforceable contract. Depending on the jurisdiction (you know a lawyer cannot write an article without the word “depends” or some form of it) verbal contracts are just as enforceable as written ones. So, for the purposes of our discussion here, we are going to start from the presumption that the contract you want to change is a legal contract and that it is fully executable and enforceable.

Changing Contract Terms through Modification

To modify a contract is to just change some terms.  In most written agreements, there will be a statement that “any changes must be in writing and signed by all parties.”  That’s a modification.  The biggest thing about a modification is that both sides agree to the change or changes.  Negotiating changes can be for one thing or for multiple things.  And in some instances, new “consideration” may be required (such as more money) to make the modification legally enforceable. But I suspect if people thought they could get the other side to agree to a change in terms, they might not be researching “Can you negotiate a contract after signing?” on the internet.

Reformation and Recission

There are some legal remedies available after contracts are signed. These sometimes need to be sought in court.  The first is called, “reformation” which is where the contract is rewritten to match the “intent” of the parties or to correct what we might call an “ambiguity.” You and the other party agree to buy and sell each other, “citrus fruit.” You intended to sell limes, he intended to buy lemons but you both agree that the contract was for “limons” (the hybrid), so the contract is rewritten or clarified so that the written agreement reflects the actual intent of the parties. 

A recission is where we walk away from the contract entirely and pretend it never existed. Taking the same example above but this time you cannot agree on the citrus fruit, so the contract is “withdrawn” as if it never existed. This is because you intended limes, he intended lemons, you never agree, so there is no legally enforceable intent.

There are a few legal requirements around the use of reformation and recission, and if you were either the lemon or the lime person in this short example, please consult with an attorney to look at your options.

Should You Even Try to Change the Agreement?

When you are looking to change the terms of an agreement once it has been executed, negotiation, if possible, often results in the best outcome for everyone.  In the current economic climate, I have helped numerous businesses rework a contract so both sides benefit.  Maybe someone needs a longer payment plan or a different delivery date. When you are asking for a sit down to negotiate new terms, be clear about what you need and why.

There is also a percentage of us who might realize the contract we signed is flawed, but we aren’t going to try and change it.  We’re the ones who will just, “suck it up” and not make a noise about it. Those of us who will not try to change “what it is” may do so because on balance, the change we would ask for does not actually make that much of a difference in the outcome. Or maybe there is a long-standing business relationship. Or hope for future business.

How did We Even Get Here?

Finally, I want to talk a little bit about how we get into these agreements in the first place.  Many times, we get caught up with emotions or hope for an outcome; either can prevent us from reading closely the terms of an agreement. Even if we are engaged in the dryest and least emotional transactions, our trust in others can sometimes cause us to enter into an agreement that, well, we’re not happy with. This can happen when the parties to an agreement assume that what was discussed and agreed to in person or on the phone is memorialized properly in the contract writing.  That is not always the case.

Why do I point these scenarios out? Because we’ve all gotten into agreements at one time or another that weren’t exactly what we expected or wanted. There is sometimes some shame around terms we agreed to that maybe we shouldn’t have, and sometimes we may feel stuck with a contract that doesn’t really serve us or is just outright not delivering the promise of the agreement.  

It’s a good idea to have legal support and advice when you are navigating contracts for your life and business. If you have a contract agreement that isn’t serving you or your business, and you want to look at some type of renegotiation after signing, consider hiring an attorney to help you negotiate, draft and review any changes.

**Photo by energepic.com**