Why is ADR Encouraged?

Alternative dispute resolution can save financial and emotional costs. Not only is litigation expensive and time-consuming, but it can be very stressful. You may feel that an important part of your life is on hold while you are waiting for a trial date, wondering and worrying about the outcome. If you have to deal with each other in the future, using an adversary process like litigation risks polarizing and embittering your relationship. The emotional wounds from fighting may never heal, and these wounds can complicate your future dealings and make it impossible for you to have a satisfactory relationship.

Going to court can make people anxious because they feel they face hard to understand procedures, unfamiliar legal language and win/lose scenarios. On the other hand, you have more control over the format if you use ADR. For example, mediation is a fairly informal process, conducted in regular English and the solution must be agreed to by both of you. Similarly there is no resolution without agreement in a collaborative law case, and the parties are actively and directly involved in each step of the process including information gathering, evaluation and negotiation.