The first 72 hours of a commercial dispute

Hours 0–4: stabilise the situation

Appoint a small core group with one decision-maker and clear responsibility for legal, operations, finance and communications. Record who may speak to the counterparty and how internal updates will be distributed.

Capture every known date immediately: contractual notices and cure periods, court correspondence, arbitration deadlines, payment and delivery dates, limitation periods, and threatened enforcement or protective measures. Treat no deadline as extendable until that has been checked.

Hours 0–12: preserve evidence

Preserve records showing the formation, terms and performance of the relationship: agreements and amendments, email, chat, project files, approvals, invoices, payment data, system logs and physical items. Existing automatic deletion should be suspended in a controlled way for clearly identified data sets.

Preservation should remain proportionate and traceable. Do not alter originals; record the date, source and responsible person for copies. Data protection, trade secrets, employment constraints and legal privilege must be considered when collecting and granting access.

Hours 0–24: review the contract and performance

Create a working contract file including amendments, orders, statements of work and relevant correspondence. Check governing law, jurisdiction or arbitration, notice formalities, escalation steps, liability, security, withholding rights, termination and continuing obligations.

Payments, deliveries, access or services should not be stopped simply in reaction to the dispute. Any right to withhold performance, terminate or set off depends on the contract, statutory requirements and the facts. At the same time, document loss and reasonable mitigation.

By hour 24: control communications

Internal instructions should be short and neutral: preserve records, avoid speculation, do not move discussions to private channels and do not delete. Employees need a clear contact person, not a premature legal conclusion.

Communications with the counterparty should distinguish operational coordination, formal preservation of rights and settlement discussions. Every message should take account of its purpose, sender, approval and possible later use.

Hours 24–48: connect the legal position with the commercial objective

The initial analysis should consider claim and counterclaim, evidence, the counterparty, solvency, forum, time and cost together. The commercial objective may be performance, an interim arrangement, payment, exit, confidentiality or preservation of a long-term relationship.

Classify facts as evidenced, still to be confirmed or disputed. This shows which assumptions support an option and what investigation is required next.

Decide separately on urgent relief

Where evidence may disappear, assets may be moved, publication is imminent or another harm is not readily remediable, interim or emergency relief may be relevant. The requirements, competent forum, possible security and consequences of an unjustified application require immediate review with disputes counsel.

The Swiss Civil Procedure Code provides, among other things, for precautionary taking of evidence and for interim—and in cases of particular urgency, ex parte interim—measures. None is automatic: the appropriate remedy depends on the threatened right and available evidence.

Hours 48–72: deliver the decision paper

The core group should give the decision-maker a short paper that can be updated as facts develop.

• Established facts and key uncertainties
• Next fixed deadline and responsible person
• Principal legal and commercial options
• Immediate measures and operational effects
• Expected cost, time and enforceability
• Communication position and settlement authority
• Decision required before the next review point