#1: Signing Contracts and Envisaging Dispute
“A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit.” George Herbert, British Poet
It is quite cliché to refer to the world in 2018 as a global village. We have evolved from the internet connectivity hysteria to the digitization of goods, markets, businesses and systems. However, one thread of difference that has remained a delineating factor of world borders has been: The LAW. While globalization has continued to trend, jurisdictions have remained separate and distinct, leaving a clear space for disputes and defining methods of their resolution. Asides the clear identity problem most businesses in developing countries must deal with, early in their existence and establishment, a “forwards” approach would definitely binge on the thoughts, strategy and model for collaboration and the all inevitable subject: dispute resolution.
If the figures say that micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria have employed 60 million people from a total of about 37 million enterprises, and further accounts for about 48 percent of the nation’s GDP according to 2015 reports, then it means that corporate law awareness must be on the increase, the focal point being the principles of contract law. So far, there is no knowledge of how much of commercial disputes exist in the court system but every litigation lawyer is familiar with the popular phrase from the bench that the “docket of the court is full”. This and the usual tactics of procedures delay cases that are for adjudication before the court. This poses two problems: ignorance of the correct legal position on commercial issues (regardless of the scale) and the tardy judicial process for actions pushed for dispute settlement.
They totally leave the young entrepreneur with a great deal of confusion when he is confronted with issues called legal battles along the line of his hustle towards staying afloat or transiting from small scale to large scale. Would such an entrepreneur need to be proactive or reactive to these issues? We would suggest the former. To do so, would be to understand the space, possess the right knowledge and definitely continue to the deploy the rightproactive strategy towards dealing with conflicts. This space will discuss the pertinent topics around contractual principles and explore in depth alternative dispute resolution methods available to young entrepreneurs, albeit with simplified anecdotes and relatable experiences.
To kick off however, let’s start with the flirting phase of business stakeholder engagement. At this stage, both parties have a very acquaintance-like approach. Pretty, positive, all north projections, and everything looks good. Stakeholder and project selection might undergo certain checklist for justification to sponsors for larger projects and for smaller size tickets, the demand may already have been created for vendor “plug-in”. It is critical that issues like contractual terms and conditions must be settled, drawn out and agreed to either by negotiations or implication. It is best to have some form of terms of reference whether you are a designer, mechanic, artist or retails store seller. Innovative ways to do this might be by wide conspicuous notices in your space, quick T&Cs on the labels of your wares or receipts of services, or even by well drafted contracts that would be exchanged, reviewed and settled before execution.
The above step is critical for future engagement of the stakeholder in the event of a dispute to either fast track the process, make it complex or unbundle the complications involved. From the method of the dispute settlement, to the time frame involved and even the place of settlement of disputes. These issues might seem very trivial until you engage in more complex transactions as you scale. Some of them including customers, suppliers and other stakeholders from several jurisdictions of the world. Remember how they
say that when you are faithful in little things, big things come? Start from where you are and put the right legal cautions so that you master the art as you move on.
We will be discussing more interesting topics that help young entrepreneurs tidy their businesses from a legal standpoint when it comes to contractual terms negotiations and dispute resolution methods and issues. Knowledge is a great tool in the hands of the one who acts on every bit acquired. Start today, start right and stay cautioned, a law suit is far more expensive than caution!
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