out-of-court settlement(an agreement to end a legal argument, in which one side agrees to pay money to the other so that the problem is not brought to court → settle something out of court. LDOCE Alexander Demidov)
pre-action protocols(Pre-action protocols are a series of steps to be taken by a person who wishes to bring a claim to court. These steps are intended to be easy to follow and to ensure that everyone involved is aware of the problem in dispute and what each ‘side' states has happened. lawplainandsimple.comAlexander Demidov)
