When will we three witches meet again???

When the battle’s lost, and won!

I do love a bit of Shakespeare – I love the fact that despite how old his plays are, so much of what he wrote about is still true today.

Better three hours too soon than a minute late – I always hate to be late, so I usually allow loads of time in case of emergencies, and so end up exceptionally early!

It’s great to have a giant’s strength, but tyrannous to use it like a giant – only bullies use excessive strength to the detriment of others.

and, of course

Good company, good wine, good welcome can make good people – the world looks very different (and much better) with friends and a nice drink!

But my favourite will always be the witches at the beginning of the Scottish play, which I first saw on stage when I was five years old, and the sudden realisation that something could be both lost, and won – that for every winner, there will be at least one loser (and vice versa!), and that success (or failure) can be subjective, and is often, pyrrhic.

Take, for example, a court claim for damages.  In order to be successful, not only do you have to show that your claim is valid, you must also extract the payment.  Which means that you always run the risk of going all the way through a court case, win, but get a judgment that is not worth the paper that it is written on if the Defendant is insolvent.

It’s recently been reported that of £46m worth of awards made and legally binding settlement agreements entered into in Employment Tribunals, nearly £36m has gone unpaid.

Which means that as well as researching the merits of your case, you should also research the viability of your opponent, and keep your research up to date.  With cases taking longer and longer to get to trial, a company that was solvent at the outset may not be by the date of Judgment.  That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bother pursuing your claim, but that there are steps you can take that can provide some protection against a defendant dissipating their assets.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  If champagne be the food of love, drink on!