If there is something many people and business organizations fear is litigation. The adverse effects of litigation can be detrimental to personal growth as well as business growth. Litigation cases no matter how petty they look can damage relationships, cost too much money and time, and tarnish reputations. In the modern era, there are numerous cases of lawsuits directed to individuals and business organizations, some necessary others unnecessary. For smart individuals, using alternatives way of resolving disputes is a better way of avoiding lawsuits. You can nip lawsuits in the bud by taking alternatives that will cushion you from the impacts of a lawsuit. By utilizing alternative methods, disputing parties can manage to resolve the issues and even come up with win-win solutions for everyone. It is possible to avoid fights that would leave warring parties counting damages.
Every year, individuals and business organizations are spending billions of dollars on litigation. Apart from the fees and other cost charged by lawyers, litigations have a way of creating more damage to a business. Whenever you have a litigation case, you’ll have to divert your personnel from doing productive activities and focus on fighting the litigation charges. It is clear that litigation has a way of destroying a profitable business by driving the goals away from the success of a business to winning court battles. By using alternative dispute resolutions methods, you are agreeing to use all other possible mechanisms other than litigation. It is important to note that more than 90 percent of lawsuits are resolved out of court.
Different alternative dispute resolution mechanisms work differently, but they all have two similar characteristics. They tend to take away the adversarial attitude in dispute resolution and helping the aggrieved parties to save money and time. With alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, settling disputes should be painless to the parties involved. There should be good communication and some trust among the parties. Since dispute normally creates distrust and animosity, the first time step towards accomplishing a resolution through alternative disputes mechanisms should be to create and generate trust in the process. Here are seven tips to de-escalate a potential legal battle.
For alternative dispute resolutions methods to work, one must first understand how they work, why they are used and the possible outcome with them. If an alternative dispute resolution mechanism is appropriately utilized, it will create mutual benefit for the parties involved. The common alternative dispute resolution mechanisms include mediation, arbitration, rent-a-judge program, mini-trial, proper communication, and neutral evaluation.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a method through which warring parties agree to use a third party in designing a binding solution. This method resembles litigation due to the element of a third party. Arbitration is usually used after a conflict has already happened. For parties that have it in the agreement that in case of a dispute they will pursue arbitration as the method of resolving the disputes, this method can be handy. The disputing parties create the rules of arbitration. Through this method, disputants can decide either to have a single arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators. The arbitrator will listen to arguments from both parties and make a legally binding decision. Although arbitration has a definite resemblance to litigation, it is an alternative method to avoid challenging each other in court. In the case of arbitration, it is not necessarily that the arbitrator has experience in legal work or even follow the formal rule of law. To summarize, arbitration is more of a process that consumes less money and time.
Mediation
Mediation is different from arbitration in that a third-party does not create a solution on behalf of the disputants. A mediator has the role of helping the warring parties to resolve the disputes amicably. There is no set of rules that should be followed by a mediator when trying to resolve disputes; it will depend on the personalities involved, the nature of the dispute and the skills of the mediator. A mediator can try to convince the warring parties to talk to each other, help them understand possible solutions they can consider, provide a suitable environment for engagement and even persuade the parties to accept a certain resolution. Mediation has been used to settle personal, national and international conflict without going to court.
Rent-a-judge program
In this case, the warring parties choose a retired judge to listen to the dispute. This program uses the standard trial court procedures, but they could be modified depending on the case. However, it is important to note that such a method has a legally binding judgment. In jurisdictions where this method has been applied, it has been noted to have a significant measure of success. This method creates privacy and helps warring parties to save money and time.
Mini-trial
This method is almost similar to the litigation process, but it is more of an advanced mediation process. It is a voluntary procedure that disputants can initiate to try and resolve the problems outside the court. Mostly such a process involves representatives from warring parties and a neutral advisor.
Proper communication
Individuals can also stop the possibility of taking disputes to court by engaging in constructive communication. For people in business, it is important to be compassionate to others, listen and understand the needs of others as well as respect the wishes of others. If you engage other parties respectably, the chances are that you won’t end up in unnecessary disputes that might end up in court.
Fact-finding methods
A fact-finding method involves the process of determining the dispute. When parties know the cause of the dispute, they can manage to resolve such issues without necessarily going to go to. A fact-finding mission will also see both parties look at the negative impacts of engaging each other in a court of law.
This method is typically used in early stages of a dispute. In this method, disputing parties will receive advice from objective third parties who might have experience and expertise in matters related to the dispute.
Neutral evaluation
Consulting CNG Traffic Law Firm can help you understand the best-suited method to resolve potential disputes without going to court.
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