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What is Alternative Dispute Resolution & its Types?

On Behalf of | Jun 15, 2022 | BUSINESS LAW

Business conflicts and disputes are as inevitable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It is, therefore, not a question of if but when a conflict will arise involving your business. The dispute or conflict could be with a customer or within the business between owner partners. At the Sterling Law Group, our business litigation lawyer helps clients in the Roseville and Sacramento areas in California to resolve conflicts involving their businesses.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) is a method of resolving business conflicts without litigation. ADR takes the legal process that usually takes place through the court system and simplifies it to make resolving the conflict faster and less costly for all concerned.

There are several types of ADR, but the most common are:

  1. Mediation. The parties in a dispute agree to have a neutral person to help them find a solution that is acceptable to both. The process is less rigid than other ADR methods, and it allows for creative techniques that will not be possible in the other methods.
  2. Arbitration. The parties having a dispute agree to have their case heard by a qualified arbitrator outside the courts. Under federal law, decisions by an arbitrator are binding not much different than decisions by a judge.
  3. Conciliation. The parties try to resolve their dispute in an amicable manner without the involvement of others. Disputes are often due to miscommunication or misunderstanding, so when the parties take time to hear each other out, they may find the dispute is easily resolvable, or if there is any persisting issue, they amicably resolve it.
  4. Negotiation. The parties bargain with each other to find the best way to resolve a dispute between them. Negotiation would have already happened by the time the parties entered into a business agreement, so in the ADR context, the parties will be renegotiating to take care of any dispute that may have arisen under the existing agreement.

What a Business Litigation Lawyer Can Do for You

When a dispute arises in your business, you can count on one of our experienced dispute resolution lawyers to assist you in the ADR process. The first thing we do when you come to us or contact us for consultation is to understand the nature and circumstances of your case.

Once we understand all the facts and examine all relevant documents you provide, we will decide and advise you whether your situation is apt for ADR or traditional litigation. If, for example, you have a contract with a stipulation that any disputes must be resolved in arbitration, then that will be the way to proceed, but this will not preclude you from pursuing the other methods of ADR.

Once a decision has been made as to which of the ADR methods to use for your case, we will help you through the process by directly dealing with the other party or their lawyer, if they have one.

If you have a business dispute you wish to have resolved speedily and less expensively, contact us today for a consultation.