Why start just another dispute resolution practice?

I didn't get a traditional start to becoming a lawyer.

A firm no from me

I had worked in a firm while I was in law school and I knew that it wasn't for me. There was something that made me uncomfortable about the fact that a client's ability to have their legal rights realised was something directly related to their ability to pay a legal bill. That didn't seem right to me - it wasn't the way I wanted to earn my living.

I also felt uncomfortable about the disconnect between a lawyer's interests in serving their clients and their commercial interest in bringing in income. The fact is that lawyers profit when a dispute is delayed. When charging on a billable hour basis, every phone call, every review, every email is charged back to the client.

What had happened to customer service? To chatting openly with a client who has having a hard time or being a shoulder to cry on every now and then without running up an enormous bill? This wasn't the way I did things and it wasn't going to be the way I ran my career.

Clients are best served when disputes as solved quickly and as cost effective as possible. Law firms are best served when disputes are delayed and take as long as possible to resolve. That didn't seem right to me.

Businesses that do something

With this in mind, I turned to in-house work and supporting businesses. Realising that I didn't want to work in a firm was great, but it didn't ease of the fact that I had spent 4 extra years sat university and had an $80,000 debt with the ATO. Surely there was a use for my legal knowledge outside of charging clients another fee just because a phone call ended at 8 minutes rather than 6.

I also loved businesses that actually did something - that provided a real, tangible benefit for their clients. Businesses that weren't about selling 'hype' and slogans and jargon with products that their clients didn't actually need. This led me to work in-house in the energy sector, which led me to mining and finally to construction.

At the end of the day, supporting these businesses allowed me to point to the end goal so that I could say 'I'm happy that I was able to help make that happen'. The lights would turn on, materials were being produced and things - real, actual things - were getting made out of them. Buildings were being constructed; schools, hospitals, businesses, homes. This is where I wanted to be. I wanted to help make things happen.

Contracts administration

What does a person's word really mean? What do we owe each other? Why do we need help to achieve our goals and dreams? What is a promise? These questions sound very woo woo and abstract, but they lie at the core of contracts and contract law.

At its core, what is a contract if not a dream; a plan to achieve something more?

In the commercial spaces of energy, mining and construction, contracts are king. Lucky for me (and the companies I worked for), I had a passion for them.

This meant that my work pivoted strongly in favour of contracts administration. Drafting, advising, interpreting, finding gaps that hadn't been considered and trying to solve disputes between the power brokers at the top.

In my time working in contracts administration, I realised that very few of the issues I was dealing with were strictly legal issues. Most of them were relationship issues. Issues with communication, processes, expectations, hardship, respect and intention.

And like most relationship issues, they needed to be resolved.

Quickly. Efficiently. On the parties' terms, in the parties' language. Businesses working in fast paced and high risk environments needed dispute resolution practices that met them where they were at and what they needed.

Mercury Resolutions

That is why I started Mercury Resolutions. I saw that businesses and individuals needed a way to resolve their disputes in a way that was suitable for them, that worked at their speed. This dispute resolution practice is about supporting those that want to get things resolved, move on and get back to doing what they do best.

If you have any questions about how we can support you in a dispute or in any other matter, please feel free to reach out to mercuryresolutions@outlook.com or call us on 0425 646 446.

About Mercury Resolutions

Based in Brisbane and servicing all areas in South-East Queensland, Mercury Resolutions specialises in affordable mediation and dispute resolution services in construction disputes, commercial or contractual matters, relationship disputes and employment and workplace matters. We're committed to helping our clients move forward with confidence, to achieve resolution and get back to what they enjoy and do best.