At DLA Piper, we specialise in preventing and handling disputes. We understand the conditions under which businesses operate and the importance of handling disputes in an effective and proper manner without unnecessary escalation.
Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations
Our expertise in the area of dispute resolution builds on many years of litigation and arbitration experience in handling often complicated and precedent-setting cases. Our team of specialists represents clients before the Danish courts and national and international arbitration tribunals. The disputes often involve commercial law issues, including issues relating to company, construction and contract law, but also insurance matters and non-contractual liability.
Knowledge of much more than just legal principles is required to achieve an effective and successful dispute resolution process. Understanding and experience of the different dispute resolution models as well as formulation of the right strategy from the outset are regarded by us as essential to obtaining the best possible result.
Our lawyers are skilled litigators, negotiators and mediators and, by virtue of our international network, we are also able to handle cross-border disputes.
Arbitration
Arbitration is increasingly the dispute resolution method of choice in commercial contracts. This means that any future disputes between the contracting parties will be resolved by an arbitration tribunal and not by the ordinary courts. The arbitration tribunal will be composed of one or more arbitrators, depending on the terms of the arbitration agreement. There are several advantages to choosing arbitration as dispute resolution method:
- A final decision will be available sooner as arbitration awards cannot be appealed.
- As opposed to court proceedings, arbitration proceedings are not public.
At DLA Piper, we are very experienced in conducting national as well as international arbitration cases, both under the auspices of various institutes of arbitration and in the form of so-called ad hoc arbitration. In addition, many of our lawyers are certified arbitrators under the programme of the Association of Danish Law Firms.
Alternative dispute resolution
The parties to a dispute are not always interested in having the dispute resolved through the ordinary court system or by arbitration. In those cases, the parties may instead agree on an alternative dispute resolution method such as mediation (in or out of court). In order to do so, however, the parties must agree on an alternative dispute resolution method as this cannot be imposed unilaterally according to Danish law.
Alternative dispute resolution is gaining ground, not least internationally, as it can be very effective and save money as well as time.
The purpose of mediation is to find an agreed solution to the dispute which is acceptable to all parties involved. The mediation process may be managed by a lawyer who is a trained mediator. It is the mediator's primary job to listen to the parties involved, engage them in a dialogue and find a solution to the dispute in cooperation with the parties.
At DLA Piper, a number of our lawyers are trained mediators. In addition, some of them are certified specifically as IT or IP mediators.
