Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR")
"The entire legal profession--lawyers, judges, law professors--has become so mesmerized with the stimulation of the courtroom that we tend to forget that we ought to be healers of conflicts. For many claims, trials by adversarial contests must in time go the way of the ancient trial by battle and blood. Our system is too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for a truly civilized people."
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
1984 State of the Judiciary Address
Mediation and arbitration are two of the most common alternatives to the traditional method of resolving disputes in this country, which is litigation. Although mediation and arbitration are very different from each other, they are commonly lumped together under the heading of "alternative dispute resolution" or "ADR". They offer one thing in common: cost effective, informal methods of resolving disputes out of court.
Mediation
In its simplest form, mediation is negotiation facilitated by a third-party. The process is private, voluntary, informal and non-binding. The mediator has no power to impose a settlement. For a more detailed discussion of mediation, click here. For information regarding the cost of mediation, click here.
Arbitration
Arbitration is the most traditional form of private dispute resolution. Like mediation, arbitration involves a third-party's intervention in a conflict resolution process. In arbitration, however, the third-party intervenes with the power to make a decision. Because of the power to make a decision, arbitration may be classified with litigation as an adjudicatory process. Arbitration differs from litigation, however, in that it may take place outside the court system and may not be subject to courtroom procedures such as rules of evidence or appeal. For a more detailed discussion of arbitration, click here. For information regarding the cost of arbitration, click here. For a complete listing of arbitration rules for Paul Pierson, click here.