Multi-Tiered Dispute Resolution Systems—Seeking 'Party-Controlled' Resolution Opportunities Before Arbitration Or Litigation

Litigation and arbitration can be time-consuming, expensive, and emotionally draining for all concerned. Although arbitration was designed to be faster and more cost-effective than court proceedings, both are still "rights-based" dispute resolution models at their core. In those models, the parties give control of the outcome of their dispute to someone else—a judge, jury, or arbitrator—who decides who is right and wrong. That loss of control, combined with the inherently adversarial and contentious nature of rights-based adjudicatory processes, may leave everyone dissatisfied, even those who are anointed as the "winners." Moreover, rights-based processes themselves might further escalate the parties' conflict and damage relationships that once worked well. Consider a business that ends up in contentious arbitration or litigation with a long-standing vendor; even if the business wins, the relationship rarely survives.