UPDATE Legal Matters
How to resolve disputes quickly and inexpensively, by Bill Molloy, a telecoms litigator at Teacher Stern.
Bill Molloy W
hen clients are asked if they want to resolve
disputes quickly and reduce the fees they pay to solicitors, they invariably answer with a resounding ‘yes’. Yet fundamental steps are still not being taken to resolve disputes at an early stage and minimise legal spend.
One of the principal methods of avoiding a legal dispute with a supplier or end user is to ensure that any contract
governing the relationship contains appropriate escalation provisions. A suitably drafted escalation clause means that in the event of a dispute the matter will be escalated to senior managers in each organisation at an early stage to help ensure that a settlement is reached quickly and without recourse to expensive litigation.
A clause may also be multi-tiered so that if the dispute is not resolved upon escalation to senior management, the parties are required to pursue some form of alternative dispute resolution (for
example, mediation) before recourse to litigation for final resolution. The effect of a multi-tiered clause can be to maximise the chances of resolving disputes early to minimise legal spend and associated management time. It is important to ensure that contracts are drafted and reviewed regularly to ensure that they incorporate a multi-tiered clause.
Bill Molloy is a Partner at Teacher Stern Solicitors and a member of the Technology and Communications Group, headed up by 5 Partners and one Consultant.
www.comms-dealer.com NEWS EXTRA
Opportunity in spending cuts
THE coalition Government’s spending review will create new demand from organisations look- ing to streamline their working practices, creating new opportuni- ties for channel players, according to Lee Shorten, MD of Avaya UK and Ireland. “The spending review is clear evidence that the UK landscape is changing, and this will impact the way businesses operate. Those that leverage these technologies today and integrate them firmly within workforces will reap the rewards,” commented Shorten. “George Osborne’s plan to cut
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b.molloy@
teacherstern.com Major change ahead
THE UK comms equipment industry is on the brink of major change with many more takeovers and a number of high profile failures, claims industry pundit David Pattison, an analyst at Plimsoll. He bases his prediction on research that says hundreds of companies in the comms market are finishing 2010 in financial difficulty. “Having clung on through the bad times many of these struggling companies are running out of time and will fail unless a sustained recovery
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takes hold,” he warns. “Sadly, some of them are just too weak to carry on and there will be a spike of failures in the New Year. On the flipside, their demise will bring a welcome reduction in competitive pressure for those left.”
Pattison believes that the market is due further consolidation with the number of companies in trouble leading to heightened takeover activity. He explains: “With too many companies chasing weakened
demand it is inevitable that there are likely to be a number of high profile mergers and takeovers. Further consolidation is needed to sort out the remaining dead wood.”
However, there are still some good stories in the market despite the gloom. Pattison added: “Good companies simply do not fail in a recession. These companies will lead the industry out of recession with some smart acquisitions to help maintain their recent success.”
CLIENTS and industry friends of Pink Telecom celebrated the opening of the reseller’s latest enterprise, a wine bar and restaurant under the company’s offices in Woodford Green, Essex. Officially opened by Iain Duncan-Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the plush venue is the culmination of four years hard work for Pink Telecom owners Peter Southgate and Sean Linehan. “The venue was designed with a view to creating a meeting place for both business and the public,” said Southgate, Pink’s MD. “We were determined to ensure the ambience mirrors the way clients and suppliers like to do business in 2010 – relaxed, sociable, but professional. It’s been a long standing ambition of both Sean and myself to expand our business interests into food and wine, and in the current economic environment to bring a smile to a few faces in the process.”
Making you an offer you can’t refuse 38 COMMS DEALER NOVEMBER 2010 NINE
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www.comms-dealer.com
billions from the Department of Work and Pensions has significant implications for businesses small and large. It is clear that to accom- modate this more efficient way of operating, organisations will need to implement new tools and strat- egies to maximise their existing operations,” added Shorten. He believes that technology such as videoconferencing will play a key role, citing Gartner research which predicts that 200 million workers will run corporate sup- plied videoconferencing from their desktops by 2015, up from seven million in 2008.
Lee Shorten
“Today’s technologies can deliv- er a personal touch, while saving costs and boosting worker effi- ciency,” added Shorten. “It can also reduce the need for travel, sav- ing time, money and lowering the organisation’s carbon footprint. “It can enhance real-time col- laboration and facilitate commu- nication within companies and across time zones, which extends the reach of a small business to global playing field. “Videoconferencing connects people, and adopting some of these tools today can have significant competitive advantages that can’t be ignored.” See page 28
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