Promises promises!

One of the things I love about law is that it is not an exact science. I could argue that black is white if it suits my (or my client’s) purposes.

One of the things I hate about law is that it is not an exact science. My opponent could argue over the colour of air if it suits them or their clients.

Which is why if you come to see me about a dispute, I’m never going to give you a straight yes or no answer to the question, will I win, because I simply don’t know.

And if any lawyer tells you otherwise, you might want to ask them to re read the case of Bates -v- The Post Office. We can learn much from this case (mostly how not to do things) but the most important thing we can all learn is that no lawyer, no matter how senior, respected and experienced gets it right every time. In that case (amongst other things) Lord Neuberger (form Supreme Court President – so he’s expected to know his stuff) advised the Post Office that it had reasonable grounds to apply to have the trial Judge removed. The application failed. To add insult to injury, Lord Justice Coulson described the application as “misconceived”, “fatally flawed”, “untenable” and “absurd”. So he didn’t just get it wrong, he got it really really wrong!

As a litigator, you may think that this is a strange thing for me to be sharing with you, because it’s likely to discourage you from wanting to bring court proceedings.

Good.

Do you know why?

Because law isn’t an exact science. No matter how good your case is, how certain you are of success and how well prepared you (and your legal team) are, there are never any guarantees in my world.

Which is why I advocate prevention is better than cure.

I can never guarantee that you won’t end up in court and if you do, I can never guarantee what the outcome is, but there are steps you can take to limit your risks.

For example, a well drafted contract that everyone follows means that you’re much less likely to end up accidentally breaching it and being landed with a court claim.

A well drafted employment contract with a good handbook which everyone follows means that you are much less likely to end up in an Employment Tribunal.

And a well drafted shareholders agreement or joint venture agreement that everyone follows means that you are much less likely to fall out with business partners and end up in companies court.

And if you do end up in court, having those documents properly prepared and properly followed means that the risks of a poor outcome are reduced.

And one thing I can guarantee is that if you want my help with any of the above, I’ll always be happy to help you.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors. The full service law firm. And that’s a promise – we pinkie swear!