Alternate Dispute Resolution vs. Traditional Litigation
Jane Sully
LAW 531
November 14, 2011
Judith Gray, M.A., J.D.
Alternate Dispute Resolution vs. Traditional Litigation
Alternate dispute resolution, as its name implies, offers an alternative to traditional civil litigation. The time and cost to bring a traditional civil case to trial are enormous. Alternate dispute resolution offers a more efficient settlement of disputes both in terms of time and money and has other benefits.
Time to Trial
The length of time from the filing of a civil case to completion of a trial can, depending on a person’s location, take from one year to more than 10 years. This is due to the complexity of the court system. The defendant must be
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For the attorney to take a case on contingency fee basis the case must be strong enough to win at trial or force the defendant to settle sooner and the defendant must have the resources to pay any judgment. No matter how strong your case is, if the defendant works for minimum wage and has no assets, it is unlikely the plaintiff will find an attorney to take the case on contingency. There is no right to a government provided attorney in a civil case; therefore the defendant must pay all his own legal fees. Even if the defendant prevails at trial, the cost of his defense may be enough to bankrupt him or force him out of business. Alternate dispute resolution can reduce the costs associated with a civil suit. For the most part, shorting the time to settle the case can provide substantial savings in attorney fees alone. Depending on the process chosen, savings on discovery and expert witnesses can also be realized. An often overlooked cost that can be reduced is the defendant’s time and stress expended in a prolonged trial. While dealing with requirements of defending a lawsuit, will a businessman be able to focus on his company? Will they even want to, knowing that they could lose everything in the lawsuit?
Privacy
Usually, information used or filed as part of a lawsuit becomes public information. Opposing counsel has a right to dispose you and
Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) is any method of resolving disputes other than by litigation. Public courts may be asked to review the validity of ADR methods, but they will rarely overturn ADR decisions and awards if the disputing parties formed a valid contract to abide by them. The two major forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation; but we can also
William Fong borrowed Phillip Chang's IBM laptop computer to finish a major report he had for geography. On the way to return it to his friend, he accidentally dropped it on the pavement causing $1000 in damages. William agreed to pay him for the repairs. Two months have gone by and Phillip still has not received the money to repair it.
For instance, one aspect of the Rodriguez v. Firestone case and the first step in a civil case is the complaint. In civil lawsuit there is not a prosecution by the government but instead a plaintiff brings a claim of harm against the defendant. Here the Rodriguez claimed Firestone was responsible for the event that caused Rodriguez’s horrific road accident. Another major aspect of the civil system is the negotiation. This allows overzealous offers to be brought inline with more realistic compensation demands, which can aid in settling a case quickly. According to CNN after the trial started the two sides were able to reach agreement. An out-of-court settlement of ~$6 million was reported just four days into formal civil process (“Firestone suit settled for $7.5 million,”
Which form of alternative dispute resolution occurs when the parties choose an impartial third party to hear and
Alternative dispute resolution is a highly effective instrument in resolving conflict and attaining justice for individuals in relation to resource efficiency and timeliness through utilising mediation, conciliation and arbitration. Mediation is an exceptionally efficacious informal process of dispute resolution, usually confidential and conducted with the assistance of an
Negotiation, mediation, and arbitration are all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that are alternatives that organizations use to avoid litigation in court. According to Valenti Law, negotiation and mediation are forms of non-binding ADR, while arbitration is a binding ADR (2011). Since arbitration is a binding ADR, the arbitrator’s decisions are legally binding and cannot be challenged by either party in the arbitration. “There are limited grounds for challenging the decision” (Valenti Law, 2011).
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is an increasingly popular option that allows people to resolve disputes outside of court in a cooperative manner. ADR can be faster, cheaper and less stressful than going to court. [Most importantly, the use of ADR can provide greater satisfaction with the way disputes are resolved. ADR has been gradually evolving within the Fresno Superior Court for the past several years. In 1999 the Court recognized a need for greater public access to dispute resolution for cases and established an ADR Department. This
Payment in contingent agreements is reliant on the outcome of the case; therefore, no fees are collected unless there is a legal triumph for the client. According to Mesriani (2010), “Usually, attorney fees for a no-win-no-fee lawsuit vary from 20% to 50% of the total compensation that the client has received”. While contingent attorneys stereotypically cherry-pick cases based on the probability of success; most often, they are highly motivated to win in order to receive payment. In some cases, contingency fees are negotiable, granting clients more flexibility, and peace of mind; which suggests that the attorney is willing to venture not collecting a payment, based on the likelihood of a fruitful outcome (LaMance,
The Internet is filled with law firm websites that advertise their areas of practice. Many have blogs that educate the public on why they should pursue a lawsuit and how to go about it. These lawyers provide free initial consultations and take their fee from the damages should they win the case. For some individuals, the opportunity is irresistible.
A civil litigation lawsuit can be filed for multiple reasons. I would like to point out that civil litigations do not encompass any criminal matters. Criminal suits are filed by the State and/or Federal Government and will not be detailed in this project. Civil litigation can be explained by saying that one person files a lawsuit either against an individual or against a company. In an individual lawsuit, a person is seeking a resolution for harm that the defendant may have caused against the plaintiff, which could be in the form of a monetary amount. A plaintiff may file a
Donna Driver unintentionally ran a red light, and caused a car accident with Vic Victim. Vic sustained severe injuries. Donna’s auto insurance policy with Gekko has liability coverage limit of $100,000.00. Vic’s medical bills alone run close to that, and there’s also his loss of work and pain & suffering to be taken into account. Vic wants to settle the entire case for $100,000.00, and Donna pleads with Gekko to do so since it is obvious that he could recover more than that based on the facts of this case. Gekko tells her that they will only offer $50,000.00, and if it’s not accepted, they will take their chances at trial.
So long as the attorney complies with the rules of the court and presents truthful facts and data to support the client’s
This essay will provide a detailed examination of what Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is, particularly mediation, the various techniques of ADR, the advantages and disadvantages of ADR; and whether or not courts should have the authority to compel individuals into undertaking mediation or other forms of ADR. This essay argues against courts having the power to compel litigants into mediation but may be afforded powers to encourage parties to go through mediation at first instance. This essay will base its arguments on whether courts should compel civil litigants to follow the ADR route upon the perceived advantages of ADR and its success rate. The contention of this essay is not that mediation is inappropriately used to settle
Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR refers to a number of various processes that can be used to resolve legal disputes other than by litigation. Recently, methods of dispute resolution which focus on arbitration, mediation and negotiation as an alternative to adjudication have gained notoriety. This notoriety may have been caused by the public perception that ADR methods are less expensive, more efficient, and more satisfactory than the normal traditional course of litigation. The goals of establishing these processes to resolve disputes as an alternative to more formal legal processes include: 1) to make the regular court system more efficient, less costly and more responsive to the needs of the litigants;