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Commercial Dispute Advisory
Know what your position actually is before you respond.
When a commercial relationship goes wrong, the first pressure is to act quickly. A written assessment of where you stand, based on the documents rather than the account, gives you something more useful: clarity.
What this service delivers
A document-based account of your legal position.
The assessment we produce covers the arguments available to you, the arguments available to the other side, and the routes forward — negotiation, mediation, formal proceedings, or letting the matter rest — with a cost estimate attached to each.
You are not being told what to do. You are being given the information to decide for yourself, with the weaker parts of your position named as clearly as the stronger ones.
Written assessment of your position
A document you can read, share and return to — not a verbal summary that you have to reconstruct from memory later.
Strengths and weaknesses, both named
An assessment that omits the weaknesses is not an honest one. Both are set out so you can weigh them.
Cost estimate per route
Negotiation, mediation and formal proceedings each carry different costs and timelines. We set out what each one realistically involves.
A recommendation, honestly given
In some cases the right advice is to settle. In others, to do nothing. We say so when that is what the documents show.
The difficulty
Commercial disagreements put pressure on decisions that deserve more time.
The account versus the documents
How a situation is remembered and how the written record reads are often different things. Courts work from documents. Your position depends on what was actually written, signed or agreed.
Pressure to commit early
Solicitors' letters and verbal demands often arrive with short timeframes. Responding before you know the strength of your position can close off routes that were available.
Uncertainty about cost
Many businesses avoid taking a matter further not because they are in the wrong, but because they have no clear view of what formal proceedings would cost relative to what they could recover.
Our approach
We begin with the documents, not the account of events.
Before we draw any conclusions about your position, we review what exists in writing: the contract or agreement, the relevant correspondence, any invoices, delivery records or registration documents that form part of the picture.
What you tell us about what happened is useful context. It is not the basis of the assessment. That basis is the documentary record, because that is what the other side — and any third party involved in resolving the matter — will work from.
The assessment we produce is not structured around what you want to hear. It is structured around what the documents allow us to say with confidence, what they leave open, and what they work against.
Position statement
Who decides what, in this service
You decide
Whether to proceed with any of the routes identified. Whether to share the assessment with other parties. Whether to engage us further after the initial advisory stage.
We determine
The strength of your legal position based on the documents. Which arguments are available to you and which are available to the other side. What each route forward would realistically involve in cost and time.
What working together looks like
A straightforward process across two to three weeks.
01
Initial description
You describe the matter briefly — by email or through our contact form. We confirm whether it falls within commercial dispute advisory and outline what documents we will need.
02
Document submission
You send us the relevant materials: contracts, correspondence, records. We work through them without filtering for what supports your side first.
03
Written assessment
Within two to three weeks of receiving complete documents, we deliver a written position assessment covering the full picture: strengths, weaknesses, routes and costs.
04
Your next step
With the assessment in hand, you decide what to do. If you want to continue to the next stage — negotiation support, correspondence drafting, or representation — we discuss that at this point.
Working languages
Documents
English · Japanese
Meetings
English · Japanese
Correspondence
English · Japanese
Fee
¥39,000 for the initial assessment.
This fee covers the document review and the written position assessment. It does not cover further work such as correspondence drafting, negotiation support or representation, which are scoped and quoted separately if you choose to continue.
The fee is set at the outset. There are no adjustments based on how much documentation there is to review, within the scope of an initial commercial dispute advisory.
What is included
Review of all submitted documents relevant to the dispute
Written position assessment stating strengths and weaknesses
Cost estimate per route (negotiation, mediation, proceedings, no action)
A recommendation — including, where appropriate, a recommendation to settle or not to proceed
One follow-up clarification exchange by email after delivery
How the assessment works
A structured review, not a general opinion on the situation.
We review the documents against the applicable framework: what the agreement requires, what the law provides where the agreement is silent, and what can be shown from the record of what happened.
The written assessment follows a consistent structure. It opens with what can be established from the documents, moves through the legal arguments available to each side, and closes with the options and costs — set out in a way that makes comparison straightforward.
Initial assessment takes two to three weeks from receipt of complete documents. If your matter involves a specific deadline — a response required by a certain date, or proceedings already filed — note this when you get in touch and we will confirm whether that timeframe is workable.
Suited to
Businesses wanting a clear view of their position before deciding how far to take a matter. Companies that have received a formal demand and need to understand what it actually means for them. Those in an ongoing disagreement who are not yet committed to any particular route.
Timeline
Two to three weeks for the initial position assessment, from the date all relevant documents are received. Further stages — correspondence, mediation support, proceedings — are scoped and timed separately.
Our commitment
A written assessment you can rely on, regardless of what it contains.
We do not adjust our conclusions to make the picture more appealing. If the documents put you in a difficult position, the assessment will reflect that. If the case for taking the matter further is weak, we will say so directly rather than finding a way to encourage you to proceed.
If you find that the assessment we deliver is not responsive to the matter you described — that it does not engage with the central question you raised — please contact us and we will review the work. We want the assessment to be useful. That is what you are paying for.
What you can expect
An assessment written for your specific situation, not a general explanation of commercial dispute law
Delivery within the two-to-three week timeframe once complete documents are received
A recommendation that includes the option of not proceeding, if that is what the assessment supports
No obligation to proceed further after receiving the assessment
One follow-up clarification exchange if there are specific points in the assessment you need addressed
Getting started
What happens when you reach out.
01
Contact us
Use the contact form on the main page or email us directly at info@domain.com. A few lines about the matter is enough to start — you do not need to prepare a detailed account at this stage.
02
We confirm scope
Within two working days we will confirm whether the matter falls within commercial dispute advisory, explain what documents we will need, and outline the timeline from there.
03
Assessment delivered
Once documents are received, we work through them and deliver the written assessment within two to three weeks. You then decide what, if anything, to do next.
Other services
Further areas where we advise.
Each service begins from the documents and produces a written assessment. If your matter involves more than one area, let us know when you get in touch.
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Describe the matter briefly.
We will confirm whether it falls within scope and explain what the next step looks like. There is no commitment involved in reaching out.
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