Alternative Corporate Dispute Resolution: What Is It? Is It Right For Me?

What is it? Does it work for me?

When there is a legal dispute, the first thing people think of is having a judge decide on who is right and who is wrong. This involves a process where the conflict eventually ends up in a court room.

Hollywood has convinced us to think that it takes less than 3 hours from start to finish by the time a judge makes a decision. In real life, disputes that rely on the traditional trial system can take years to resolve, and hundreds of dollars in legal fees.

There are other alternative ways to resolve a dispute – the three most common are negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Often times, though, in my opinion, not enough times, one or more enough of these methods are used concurrently when a file is moving through the court-litigation process.