Dispute Resolution Provision Reviews!

How many times have you, or a client, negotiated a contract with a dispute resolution provision? I have seen hundreds and have litigated more than I can count. During the drafting process, did you ask an independent litigator to review the dispute resolution provision? You should – every single time! My experience is that the best transactional lawyers generally stick to papering deals, contracts, and transactions and the best litigation attorneys stick to litigating or arbitrating disputes. Every once in awhile, you find a unicorn that truly does both very well. However, odds are that the transactional attorney drafting a dispute resolution provision is not also regularly (and successfully) litigating disputes. Spend the extra time to have someone in the litigation trenches on a daily basis give you an informed and real world opinion as to what life would be like if the dispute resolution provision is triggered down the road. No one ever thinks that a deal or contract is going to fall apart, but it happens every day. Spend an extra hour or two to get a practical perspective from a litigation attorney on your dispute resolution provision. You will be glad that you did!