Don’t lawyer people until you actually have toLaw school changed how I think. It honed my critical thinking skills, so I can assess issues from all angles. The good, the bad and the doomsday. That lens is essential when you’re in the midst of an actual legal dispute. But long before legal problems become well….legal problems, they were something else. Most legal issues start out as a communication problem. At some point, a miscommunication, misunderstanding or mismatch (of skills, personality or timing) occurred. The issue wasn’t addressed. And so then it got worse. And now lawyers are involved. There’s money, time, peace of mind and reputation at stake. And you have two parties who won’t ever want to work together again, no matter what the outcome, and the outcome itself is always uncertain. I call that a worst case scenario. Here’s an example. My client had a very legitimate concern with his commercial landlord. My client leased a space to manufacture products sold by his business. A neighbouring tenant started to cause issues that could significantly compromise the quality of my client’s product. My client sent his landlord a few texts to complain, but nothing came of it. His complaints didn’t give much context for how the issue impacted him or his business, he just stated there was an issue and asked for it to stop. The landlord didn’t respond in any meaningful way, so my client moved out and essentially broke the lease. Here’s the clincher - my client didn’t come to me (or any other lawyer) for advice until after he got sued for breach of contract. By then, the landlord was lawyered up, and his lawyer was a fighter. By then, the parties were very much at odds. The legal fees could have very easily exceeded the amount of money at stake. The whole time, I was thinking “HOW did this get to this point?” I asked my client why he didn’t call his corporate lawyer for advice at the time. He said he thought calling a lawyer earlier would make it worse. Maybe he was right. Most lawyers would pore over the lease to find a legal breach or loophole. Then they would send a letter on the client’s behalf, advise of all the legal issues, and threaten some legal action unless the situation was remedied. Sometimes that’s the end of it. But sometimes the other side lawyers up too and the letters would continue. I’m not saying a lawyer shouldn’t ever get involved. They can and should be called upon for advice. But in a case like this, a letter writing campaign and lawyering one another can be premature. First, why not help the client to spell out for the landlord exactly what his concerns are and why? Help him explain the impact on his business if it were to continue. Because that is the human part of this. Give the landlord a chance to understand what is wrong while there’s still a willingness to work together. Try to figure it out as is, between two people, before it becomes a dispute between lawyers. If it doesn’t work? Then yes, perhaps it is time to start lawyering. But it’s almost always a good idea try and mend (or end) a business relationship with a candid conversation. For so many of us, it’s counterintuitive. But why? If you can save yourself time and money and have a good night’s sleep, what other motivation do you need?
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