Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Mediation
It is one of lawyers’ key tasks to develop strategies assert their clients’ claims successfully or to avert any claims made against them.
We at SKW Schwarz believe that litigation and dispute resolution proceedings are not the only way to successfully and stringently protect our clients’ interests. However, if useful talks and negotiations get bogged down or fail we regard litigation as a useful tool to protect and push through our clients’ economic and legal interests.
In very confidential cases, particularly sensitive matters and internal company conflicts or complex conflicts between companies SKW Schwarz also offers mediation services. Mediation means that we, as a neutral third party, help the conflict parties to find a solution on their own by identifying their own interests more clearly.
Litigation
SKW Schwarz represents its clients in all national and international civil-law proceedings with a link to commercial law. To us, litigation is not a goal in itself. Together with our clients we define the goals, set the strategies and talk about risks – procedural risks, potential expenses etc. Following a careful analysis we inform our clients about the potential success and the probable costs of court proceedings. Thanks to years of experience our estimates are relatively precise. The proceedings are not over once the court has pronounced its judgement. We help our clients to enforce it as well.
SKW Schwarz has specialised on the preliminary protection of rights. Preliminary injunctions and attachment proceedings help to protect our clients’ rights, permit them to start an orderly strategic planning process and give them better chances of success in asserting their rights. Such measures are often crucial in competition law, commercial and corporate law and in intellectual property, trademark and copyright law.
Dispute resolution
SKW Schwarz not only supports clients in court, but also in dispute resolution proceedings. Dispute resolution proceedings are particularly important in cross-border contracts, i.e. contracts whose parties are domiciled in different coutnries.
The parties to cross-border contracts often do not agree on a national court, but on dispute resolution proceedings and include an arbitration clause in the contract. This arbitration clause may provide for an ad-hoc procedure, under which the parties will agree upon the details once a dispute arises, or for particular rules of arbitration. There are numerous arbitration regulations, for example by the ICC in Paris, the WIPO in Geneva or the DIS in Germany. Arbitration regulations and arbitration institutions are currently competing more heatedly for arbitration procedures. We closely observe the developments so that we can choose the best model for each client and each case. We support our clients in agreeing upon an arbitration procedure, during the dispute resolution proceedings and in the assertion of arbitration rulings.
In addition, we act as arbitrators ourselves. The experience from this activity certainly influences our advice to clients which we support as lawyers in dispute resolution procedures.
Mediation
De-escalating and discrete conflict management is particularly important in disputes among partners or in internal conflicts in a company. We offer mediation to entrepreneurs, partners or HR heads who want to intervene efficiently and in a solution-oriented way. Mediation is an out-of-court method to resolve conflicts. Under it, a neutral third party (the “mediator”), who has no authority for decisions in the case, supports the conflict parties in finding legally binding solutions.
Examples
Dispute resolution
On behalf of a large US reinsurance company we, as lawyers, conducted two ad-hoc arbitration procedures against German reinsurers. The proceedings dealt with potential claims of the German reinsurers under retrocession agreements due to the crash of several US planes. A high double-digit million amount was at stake.
In the information technology sector we last acted on behalf of a US software producer against its German authorised dealer in a large dispute resolution procedure and obtained a favourable judgement for our client. After the distribution agreement had been terminated there had been large-scale disputes about continued distribution fees.
On behalf of a large German film company we conducted an ICC arbitration procedure against the Italian co-producer on the basis of the ICC arbitration rules. In cooperation with our local colleagues we are currently enforcing the arbitration judgement in favour of our client in Italy.