Alternative Dispute Resolution Services

Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) refers to any method of resolving disputes without litigation. ADR regroups all processes and techniques of conflict resolution that occur outside of any governmental authority. The most popular ADR methods are the following: Mediation, Arbitration, Conciliation, Negotiation, and Transaction. 

The main advantages of ADR are rapidity, confidentiality and flexibility.

All ADR methods have common characteristics – i.e., enabling the parties to find admissible solutions to their conflicts outside of traditional legal / court proceedings, but are governed by different rules. For instance, in negotiation there is no third party who intervenes to help the parties reach an agreement, unlike in mediation and conciliation, where the purpose of the third party is to promote an amicable agreement between the parties. In arbitration, the third party (an arbitrator or several arbitrators) will play an important role as it will render an arbitration award that will be binding on the parties. In comparison, in conciliation and mediation, the third party does not impose any binding decision.

Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") typically includes early neutral evaluation, negotiation, conciliation, mediation, and arbitration. As burgeoning court queues, rising costs of litigation, and time delays continue to plague litigants, more states have begun experimenting with ADR programs. Some of these programs are voluntary; others are mandatory.

Settlement Conference Facilitator 

A Settlement Conference (“SC”) is a voluntary, collaborative process intended to assist disputing parties in negotiating a legally binding solution to their disputes. It is facilitated by a Settlement Conference Facilitator (“Facilitator”). The process is informal. The parties may discuss with the Facilitator and the other parties the factual and legal issues and any other matters that they deem pertinent. All parties will have a full opportunity to be heard. The parties or their representatives should have authority to agree to a legally binding solution. The parties are not required to reach a settlement. Any of the parties may terminate the SC at any time prior to reaching a settlement. However, if the parties do reach a settlement and execute a written agreement, the agreement is enforceable in the same manner as any other written contract.

Settlement conferences can be convened by agreement at any time where there are matters to discuss, and can be a quick and less expensive option to resolve issues with out court involvement.