Disputes with suppliers can be costly. Now there's a guide to avoiding them – and defending against them when they do occur. Legal Blacksmith: How to Avoid and Defend Supply Chain Disputes is the title of a new book by Rosemary Coates and Sarah Rathke, our guests on this episode. Rosemary is president of Blue Silk Consulting and executive director of the Reshoring Institute. Sarah is a trial attorney and partner at the international law firm of Squire Patton Boggs. They have collaborated on a comprehensive guide to forging stable and rewarding relationships between buyers and suppliers. Here, they offer advice on minimizing risk throughout the contracting phase – and maintaining harmonious relationships afterward. Their guidance can help companies to manage an aspect of the supply chain that gets too little attention from top executives – yet can have devastating consequences when it goes wrong.