Youth Scotland had run into issues with a company delivering a significant IT project and it was clear we were at risk of the situation becoming a stand-off which could cost us a lot of money. We knew that we needed to obtain advice to understand what our options were but also that obtaining this advice could itself be very expensive. Having worked with Inspiring Scotland for many years as part of the CashBack for Communities portfolio we contacted our Performance Advisor to see if there was any support they could offer in this situation. Within a few hours I was put in touch with Elaine. I explained the issues we were facing and very quickly thereafter I was put in touch with lawyers at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP who specialise in commercial contract disputes.
My experience with the lawyers was great. Although they normally deal with massive commercial contract disputes that run into several figures and more, they were generous with their time and understood that while the value of the contract we were dealing with was much less, it was still a substantial sum of money to our charity and the dispute could have significant issues for us if we couldn’t find a way to resolve it – preferably amicably. They listened to the details of the issue, had already reviewed the paperwork which we had shared, and asked me what it was were looking to achieve. I explained that we wanted to resolve this as quickly and easily as we could, avoiding a legal process if at all possible but that we did not want to take any steps that would jeopardise our ability to pursue this as an option if necessary. They explained the steps that we should take and shared their views on the pros and cons of any potential legal process. This gave us the confidence to address the matter with our contractor and led to the issue being resolved without the need for a formal legal dispute.
Overall, our experience of Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Network was great and knowing this type of support is available – which would be prohibitively expensive – to charities and voluntary groups is fantastic.
Mark McGeachie, Head of Partnerships & Sustainability, Youth Scotland
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