If you were involved in a dispute with anyone would you want to use ADR?

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Shawn Fagundes-Hansen: MA
BrainMass OTA #102898
07 September 2006

Problem Posting #94574:

Your request as I understand it:

You have been asked to respond to the following questions:

1. "If you were involved in a dispute with anyone would you want to use ADR?"
2. "What would be some of the issues to consider in determining if the ADR process is the way to go?"

Response from OTA Shawn Fagundes-Hansen:

While I cannot do your work for you, I can suggest some ideas and issues for you to consider as well as a resource for your review.

The following Web site provides excellent information regarding the specifics of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) as well as links that describe the four major court-supported ADR processes, and a guide to choosing the correct option for the situation. Please note that this is a site specific to "civil cases filed in the Northern District of California"; however, a Google search using the string "about ADR process" yielded a number of additional resources.

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
<http://www.adr.cand.uscourts.gov/adr/welcome.nsf/main/page>

The above site details the following processes:

1. Arbitration
2. Early Neutral Evaluation
3. Mediation
4. Settlement Conferences

The "How to Choose" link provides the following advice:

Each ADR process meets different needs and circumstances. When selecting an ADR process, you should carefully consider the needs of your particular case or situation and identify the goals you hope to achieve through ADR. Then select the ADR process that appears to maximize the potential for achieving your goals.

The court has prepared a chart that may help you select an ADR process. The chart summarizes the court's general observations about the major benefits of ADR and the extent to which the court's four major ADR processes are likely to accomplish them. These are generalizations that the court believes are accurate in many, but not all, cases. [. . . .] The likelihood that a particular ADR process will deliver a benefit depends not only on the type of process, but on numerous other factors including: the style of the neutral; the type and procedural posture of the case; and the parties' and counsel's attitudes and personalities, level of preparation, and experience with the particular ADR process. (United States "How")

I have created a .pdf file of the chart for you and uploaded it for your review.

The answer to your first assigned question lies in evaluating the above processes and the accompanying major benefits chart.

The answer to your second assigned question may be found by reviewing the following details:

1. Arbitration: ...