A friend called me the other day to ask my advice on a dispute with a new business partner.

The story involved the fact that her business partner had agreed to put a certain amount of money into a new venture to be a silent partner. He had become anything but silent, trying to veto some of my friends decisions, and hadn’t even put the full amount of agreed-upon money in yet either.

My friend was due to attend a meeting with him the next day and wanted my view on what she should do.

The background to the story doesn’t really matter; my view is always the same. When relationships have broken down and two people are on very different pages, life is too short to spend it arguing; you need to find a way to separate as quickly and amicably as possible.

Amicably is the key word there. When things go wrong in business, 99% of people default to getting lawyers involved and taking entrenched positions. I find that this usually does nothing but create further barriers between the two parties and starts running up legal fees that ultimately achieve nothing but line the lawyer's pockets.

I am sure there will be lawyers reading this who will disagree with me, but I firmly believe that it doesn’t matter what a contract says or how well it is documented; if you are dealing with a bad character, then you will never get a good outcome.

Now I am absolutely not saying you shouldn’t have contracts or that you shouldn’t document things—you should. But what is much more important than the documentation is picking the right people to deal with in the first place.

When I meet people today, after 25+ years of dealing with crooks and scumbags, I think I am pretty good at making fast decisions on who has a good character and who is likely to be dishonest and try to screw me.

You may think that judging a book by its cover is unfair. But that’s my right as an entrepreneur and as a lender to make gut-based decisions; after all, it is my money, reputation, and time on the line.

But sometimes I still get it wrong. I go into a deal with someone, and it doesn’t work out. Circumstances change—a person who was once honest and cooperative is no longer so when big money is at stake.

Sensible and Friendly Conversations Don’t Work, and There is No Option but to Litigate.

So what is my advice in these situations? As of today, I am currently suing or being sued in over 10 legal cases. All are large, six-figure sums; one is worth over £1.3 million. While this is a particularly busy time for me with legal disputes, it isn’t unusual for me to be dealing with 2 or 3 litigation matters at any one time. So I have learned a thing or two about it over the years!

Expect Things To Go Wrong.

No matter how well prepared you are or how carefully you select the people you deal with, things will go wrong. Suing and being sued is just part and parcel of being a business owner. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. Don’t let it derail you from your core job of running your business. Just expect that one day you will be hit with it. But if you follow my advice, the disruption and impact on you should be minimised.

Don’t Take It Personally.

When you are emotional, you tend to make bad decisions. And one surefire way to become emotional is by taking things unnecessarily personally. When someone is suing you, it is just business. They think they have been wronged or that they have found an angle to make some money. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you! It doesn’t mean they have been slagging your kids off!

When you see their witness statements and accusations, which bear no resemblance to how you see things, it’s just business! You will be doing the same thing to defend your position. People will say black is white if that’s what it takes to better their case—just don’t take it personally! Keep your head straight and concentrate on the task at hand.

All Lawyers Are Not Built Equally.

Oh, did I learn this one too late in life? I used to think that the law was the law. One party was right, and one party was wrong—and that’s how it would ultimately play out. How wrong was I!

Just like in every other area of law and life, there are good litigators and shit litigators. There are lawyers who lose sleep at night trying to find a unique angle to win a case, and there are lawyers who clock off at 5 p.m. and couldn’t give a fuck about their clients. There are experienced litigators who are battle-scared and can map out a strategy for your complex case in seconds, and there are snowflakes who have done little more than send a couple of slightly stern letters and then caved at the first sign of stress.

You need the right lawyer! Invariably, I have found that litigators at big practices are never the right play. They are usually tied up in politics and bureaucracy, and they are often more concerned about what lost commercial opportunities there may be for other departments in their firm than actually winning your case!

I prefer to work with specialist, boutique litigation law firms. I have two go-tos at the moment, one in London and one in Leeds. Neither are cheap, but like most things in life, you get what you pay for; don’t scrimp on budget for your legal mercenary!

Use a Barrister as Early as Possible.

I used to get pissed off about this and thought it was just my lawyers running up fees. But I have learned that unless you have a bog standard claim or defence on your hands, it pays to get the best advice off the big guns as early on as possible.

Barristers are the ones in court every day, arguing out cases and witnessing first-hand what decisions judges make. If you have a complex case or something with a little nuance around it, then it pays to have the best information as early as possible so that you can formulate your strategy accordingly.

They can also help you understand your chances of winning your case, because if you are fighting a lost cause, you need to know that ASAP. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be walking away. Maybe you are using litigation as a tool to buy time or to posture, but you still need to know the best way to map out that plan.

Go Fast and Hard.

When it comes to taking action against someone, particularly in the world of collecting debt, go fast and go hard! There is rarely anything to be gained by giving the other side time or sitting on your hands.

I was taught this years ago by a horrible man! He ran a finance business, and there wasn’t a single likeable thing about him, but he was an excellent debt collector!

When someone can’t pay and you are lending from a secured position, every day that goes on, the value of the asset relative to the loan decreases, and the chance of assets being misappropriated increases.

Get in fast, and take emotion out of the game. Any time I have ignored this, trying to give the other side a chance to perform, I have been fucked! Every single time, without fail.

And if your litigation matters are something different from debt collection, the same rules apply. Don’t be on the back foot; throw the first punch. And keep punching! Show your enemy you mean business.

I hope you don’t need any of the above tips. But the reality is that you will. So go back and read them again; let them digest! Despite everything I have said above, I still prefer to resolve everything over a friendly cup of green tea and a nice chat. But when that isn’t possible, I am never afraid to draw the first blood!

So, as I've been banging on about in my column, it's just the nature of the game. I mean, we're talking about small business owners here – the little guys hustling to make a living.

Now, I'm not saying they're all out there throwing punches in the legal ring every day, but whether you're the one doing the suing or the one being sued, it's all part and parcel of the business world. It's like a rite of passage. Running a small business is no walk in the park, and you're bound to step on a few legal landmines along the way.

So, don't go thinking it's just you – everyone's been through the wringer. It's how you handle it that sets the winners apart from the rest. Keep your wits about you, stay sharp, and maybe, just maybe, you'll come out of it all in one piece.

Lincoln's idea that as a peacemaker, a lawyer has a superior opportunity to be a good person aligns with the notion that embracing ethical conduct and resolving conflicts amicably can lead to personal and professional wins.

So it looks like Lincoln and I have the same thoughts, so if you don’t want to take the advice from me, take it from him. After all, great minds do think alike. So, whether it's my insights or Lincoln's, the message remains clear: sometimes compromise and peace-making are the keys to a successful and easy life!

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