Given the cost, complexity and commercial risk involved in full-blown litigation, businesses and good lawyers are looking at other ways of resolving disputes.
Taking a dispute to court is not just expensive and time-consuming - it usually destroys the trading relationship and can result in highly damaging publicity.
ADR, on the other hand, is informal and conducted in private in front of a neutral third party.
ADR has been around since the 1970s, but it has been in the last five years that it has really taken off, as people realise how effective it can be (85% of cases using ADR settle, the majority in a single day). Last year the number of mediations more than doubled, with growth mainly in the higher value cases - £500,000 or more.
Using ADR is a way to reach a win-win conclusion; going to court is, at best, a win-lose ending, and often lose-lose.
Research into 40 recent cases showed estimated cost savings in professional fees alone of £250,000 per case
For further information please contact Mike Henley, e-mail: Click Contact Link , Tel: + 44 113 284 7000
This article was first published in a special supplement to the March 1999 Hammond Suddards Commercial Dispute Resolution Newsletter
The information and opinions contained in this article are provided by Hammond Suddards. They should not be applied to any particular set of facts without appropriate legal or other professional advice.
Taking a dispute to court is not just expensive and time-consuming - it usually destroys the trading relationship and can result in highly damaging publicity.
ADR, on the other hand, is informal and conducted in private in front of a neutral third party.
ADR has been around since the 1970s, but it has been in the last five years that it has really taken off, as people realise how effective it can be (85% of cases using ADR settle, the majority in a single day). Last year the number of mediations more than doubled, with growth mainly in the higher value cases - £500,000 or more.
Using ADR is a way to reach a win-win conclusion; going to court is, at best, a win-lose ending, and often lose-lose.
Research into 40 recent cases showed estimated cost savings in professional fees alone of £250,000 per case
For further information please contact Mike Henley, e-mail: Click Contact Link , Tel: + 44 113 284 7000
This article was first published in a special supplement to the March 1999 Hammond Suddards Commercial Dispute Resolution Newsletter
The information and opinions contained in this article are provided by Hammond Suddards. They should not be applied to any particular set of facts without appropriate legal or other professional advice.
