Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Armstrong & Co have a strong litigation team with many years’ experience of conducting litigation in the full range of civil courts and tribunals.  Our negotiating skills mean the vast majority of our work is settled out of court.  We aim manage costs and reduce risk for clients.

 Our Areas Of Expertise Include:

    Contractual disputes

      Partnership disputes

      Professional negligence

    Debt Recovery

      Property disputes

    Termination of business tenancies

    Forfeiting of commercial leases

    Leasehold Valuation Tribunal matters

Our services will include:

  • Discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate action for you to make and what other options may be available to you;

  • Giving you advice about the requirements of the Civil Procedure Rules and whether you meet the criteria;

  • Considering the supporting evidence you have provided, which we anticipate will take 1-5 hours;

  • Where necessary, helping you to obtain further evidence, such as expert reports or obtaining witness evidence;

  • Preparing your claim and submitting it on your behalf, which we anticipate we anticipate will take 3-5 hours;

  • Attendance at court, we will give you clear advice (and discuss the possibility of us attending with you) at the appropriate time or arranging representation for you by a barrister. This could be between 5-50 hours of work;

  • Giving you advice about the outcome of the claim and any further steps you need to take; and

  • Advising of any enforcement options available following a successful outcome.

Key Stages

The key stages to any litigation or debt collection process is as follows:

1 - Letter before action
Action starts with a letter to the debtor stating the grounds for the dispute or the value of the outstanding debt and reserving the right to proceed to court action. Often debts are quickly settled without the need to take the matter further.

2 - Court proceedings
Should the litigation not be resolved or if payment not be received, court action can be issued at Court.

3 - Defence

If the dispute/debt is not accepted, the other party will have an opportunity to enter a formal defence document setting out their reasons.

4 - Directions

The Court will then consider the claim, either on paper or by way of a court hearing, allocate it to a ‘track’ and set a timetable for the claim for the parties to exchange their documentary and witness evidence. In substantial cases, the Court will also set costs budgets limiting the legal costs the parties are allowed to incur.

5 - Trial

The matter will then proceed to a final hearing at which a Judge will make a final determination. There may be a short procedural hearing in advance to check the matter is ready for trial. The court will examine the documentary and witness evidence, listen to legal argument and decide the case. At this stage the court will also decide who will bear the legal costs the parties have incurred.

6 - Enforcement

If the judgment is not complied with, an application for Enforcement can be made. There are a variety of ways in which a judgment can be enforced, such as, applying for a charging order to secure the judgment against a property, applying for an attachment of earnings order so that payment is made directly by the debtors employer or instructing bailiffs to recover goods.

Time Scales:

T: 020 8699 3477

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