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When you need to go to court over a business debt

Written by Amanda Hamilton, Patron of the National Association of Licenced Paralegals (NALP)

When your business has a debt, before proceeding to court to chase it, consider the length of time and cost involved, and also the stress. Mediation is usually a good avenue to explore possible settlements, but only if both parties are willing to meet halfway. If all attempts to compromise fail, what do you do?

You can represent your business yourself, as a litigant in person (LIP), but you need to understand the steps and know where to get help if needed. Help doesn’t necessarily mean a solicitor or a barrister. You can engage the services of a licenced paralegal practitioner to help you. They are much more cost effective and can do almost all the same jobs as a solicitor, with a few exceptions, known as ‘Reserved Activities’. For example, they cannot ‘conduct litigation’ meaning that they are not able to be an agent for you to receive service of documents or letters on your behalf, nor can they sign or file court documents on your behalf.

However, they can assist you in your role as a LIP, for example by completing forms and drafting documents on your behalf, but you will need to sign and submit them yourself.

First steps

You must comply with Civil Procedure Rules and this means that the other party (the potential defendant) must be sent a letter describing what the issues are and what is required to resolve them, and to give a date by which this needs to be done. Failing to comply with such resolution or timeline will mean that court action will be taken without further notice. This is known as the ‘pre-action protocol’.

If there is no response, or the matter has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the claimant, then proceedings can be commenced.

Size matters

On one hand, collecting a debt is one type of case that can be dealt with relatively simply if the debt is not more than £10,000, as this can be heard by a District Judge in chambers rather than in open court. On the other hand, anything with a higher claim or more complexity will be dealt with in open court.

When a claim from is issued, it is done so in triplicate: one is kept by the court, the other is given to the claimant and the third is sent to the Defendant with a response pack. This requires the defendant to respond within 14 days, either by producing a defence or by acknowledging receipt and stating that a defence will follow. Of course, the defendants may just decide to settle the case at this point, but if a defence is filed, then the ball starts rolling and the costs start to pile up.

At this point, the next stage is very much dependent on what type of case it is. The case will be allocated to a court ‘track’, and this will depend on the subject matter of the case itself.

Various tracks

There are three tracks. Essentially track allocation depends on the value and complexity of the case and the CPR overriding objective which relates to ‘representation’, ‘fairness’ and ‘proportionate cost’.

With more complex cases, there may even be a requirement to have a ‘costs budget’ hearing requiring the parties to assess the costs they may incur throughout the court proceedings, and this will include, lawyers’ costs for drafting and attendance at hearings, expert witness costs if required and permitted, and can include your own LIP costs in dealing with the matter personally, plus any incidental costs incurred. At such a hearing the judge will decide what may be fair in the circumstances and adjust the draft budget produced by both parties.

Thereafter, the court case will unfold according to the Direction Order of the court which gives precise dates and times when each stage has to be completed.

Know when more help is required

If you are dealing with a complex case, you need to ask yourself whether you need to instruct a solicitor or a direct access barrister to assist. There are many areas where a paralegal practitioner can help you, but sometimes a level of specialised expertise may be required. Consider whether a barrister could be instructed directly. This may cut out a huge amount of cost, but there is a downside. As a LIP, you will be receiving all communications from the other side’s solicitors, and this could add extra pressure in what may already be a stressful situation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Hamilton is the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit membership body and the only paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres around the country, accredited and recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for those looking for a career as a paralegal professional.

Web: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk

Twitter: @NALP_UK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-association-of-licensed-paralegals/

News

Training your paralegal employees can boost your business

There are many people who do not have the world paralegal in their job title, but they are part of the paralegal profession. Paralegals are found in a large number of industries. Many businesses, regardless of sector, have someone in their team performing tasks with a legal element to them. This could be drafting employment or commercial contracts or ensuring that debts are chased and collected.

In the legal sector, many law firms employ paralegals, some of whom may want to eventually become solicitors but there are many who do not – they wish to retain their paralegal status as a career in its own right. It is quite common for a law graduate to apply to a law firm for a ‘paralegal’ position. However, just because they have gained a degree, it does not mean that they necessarily know the practice and procedure of law. A law degree means that they should have knowledge of academic and substantive law. However, it requires further training to be an effective and useful paralegal (i.e. one that can offer genuine service to your firm and not just do the filing, make the tea or carry out a bit of research). To be trained and educated to perform certain tasks is the key to the success of any employee and therefore ultimately of any company. This is why sponsoring your staff to gain further knowledge is a must.

A very famous entrepreneur (Sir Richard Branson) once said that as long as you keep your employees happy, they will make your business successful. The businesses that retain their employees are those that regard them as ‘the business’ and without them, there would be no business. Far too often you hear about individuals who say, ‘I am only in this business to cream off the income and make myself a fortune’. It is usually these businesses that have a huge turnover of staff and fail to be sustainable.

But legal training is not just about retaining employees, important as that is. It also about giving confidence to the person carrying out the tasks. With greater knowledge and greater confidence, they will be more effective, will need fewer hours spent managing the work they do, and ultimately, they will instil trust in the clients they work with. In addition, proper training helps to ensure that tasks are carried out accurately and thoughtfully, and potential problems are identified because the person doing the job has a deeper understanding and knowledge of their work and its implications.  Following the right legal procedures is not only the right thing to do, but it will also ensure that should an issue need to be taken further, perhaps all the way to a tribunal or court, you can be sure of your legal position and have a stronger chance of winning the case.

Paying for your employees to be trained and qualified must be budgeted for if you are to sustain the objectives and aims of your business. In employment law terminology, as an employer, you owe a duty of care to your employees, and your employees owe a duty of loyalty to their employer. A duty of care means that you must nurture your staff, make them feel secure and safe in their employment and give them a reason to be happy to wake up with a smile on their face. A duty of loyalty needs to be earned and by looking after your employees, you will see that loyalty grow.

So, whether you are a business needing that extra legal expertise or a law firm wanting to retain your paralegal staff, it is a good strategy to sponsor them through some extra training.

Training courses can now be delivered in many different ways – in-house, remote at set times, remote at times to suit you, and in-person in a college setting. They can be anything from short intensives to longer term courses carried out alongside normal working hours. There are so many options that there is really no reason not to sponsor an employee to boost their skills. And training does not need to be expensive either. For example, NALP Paralegal qualifications start at £450 at the basic level.

So, ask yourself two questions: Do you want to nurture your paralegal employees to encourage them to help your business grow? Do you want your customers and clients to gain more confidence about liaising with your well trained and qualified staff?

If the answer to both questions is ‘yes’, you know what to do.