Find information about mediation, arbitration, conciliation, negotiation and other aspects of alternative dispute resolution.

Parties involved in a dispute, or ‘disputants’, may prefer to avoid litigation and resolve their disputes in other ways. This can be for a variety of reasons including confidentiality, cost and speed. Alternatives to litigation are collectively known as ‘alternative dispute resolution’ or ‘ADR’ for short.

Resolutions can be achieved cheaper and faster than litigation in some cases, and the parties may agree to keep matters raised in the course of the dispute confidential. The confidentiality aspect of ADR can be very attractive where parties are reluctant to air their dirty laundry in open public forums such as the courts. ADR can also hold attraction for those hoping to preserve a productive relationship despite a problem. That relationship may be able to be maintained if the problem can be resolved by cooperation, whereas there might be little chance of that once an adversarial court case is filed.

Alternative dispute resolution options include:

1. negotiation;

2. conciliation;

3. mediation; and

4. arbitration.  Continue reading How could I avoid a law suit?