Only a minority of cases end up in court, usually when one side won’t see sense. But representation starts as soon as we pick up the phone to the other side.

Negotiation, letters and drafting court papers are all steps which, if done skilfully, reduce the opposition’s will to fight.

The first shot fired is usually a “letter before action” explaining why the opposition are wrong and what will happen if they do not back down. A devastatingly worded court form called “Particulars of Claim” will make the other side wonder how they could ever defeat every argument and so avoid paying your costs and wasting all their costs.

For example, as a tenant claiming a £1,000 deposit refund but who has accidentally caused £1,000 damage to the flat, how would you feel about suing when told the landlord is claiming treble damages under the Statute of Gloucester, leaving you with the risk of paying him £2,000 even if you win?

If you are a landlord, how sure would you be about resisting a minor repair worth £500 when we tell you that rather than go to court the tenant will be forced to ask the council to carry out a Housing Act 2004 inspection which could leave you with a £50,000 renovation bill or the building being condemned or rent confiscated by the council?

The key to negotiation is to paint pictures of two doors. Door A, “fight” conceals a scary, time consuming, embarrasing, stressful and expensive nightmare. Door B, “settle” reveals a comfy, quick, private, easy and cheap exit. Then we invite the other side to choose a door.

Going to court is complicated but is a day’s work for solicitors. To get an idea of what is involved and why it is best to leave it to us, see the “civil procedure rules” on how to run a court case and bear in mind there are judges who made rules too not mentioned in them, plus of course you need to know the law you are arguing in your case.