by Judy Joyce

Created on: August 03, 2009

While resolving a civil dispute or diffusing a criminal justice matter through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution has many advantages as compared to the time and expense of litigation, those advantages are only available if the matter at issue is ripe for one of 22 ADR processes available to someone facing a triable matter.

A Checklist for Choosing the Right Form of ADR.

While the terms Mediation and Arbitration sound the most familiar to the general public, many citizens are still unclear about the characteristics of each and what distinguishes them from each other.

Add to that lack of clarity many other ADR process and decisions become more complicated. Some of those choices can include the use of Special Masters, Mock Trials, Mock Juries, Restorative Justice (peculiar to criminal matters) and, yes, even what is the tongue-in-cheek form of ADR called Rent-a-Judge.it is best to consider some rules of thumb before the advantages of ADR can be fully exploited and used to anyone's benefit.

A checklist can be helpful.The first thing to consider is whether or not sticking points between or among the parties is an issue or an interest.

Considering the Interests and Issues

If there are only two parties to the matter, it might seem as a pretty cut and dry consideration as to how many interests are at stake when choosing ADR. But even with only two parties at the table or in the mock setting or before a master a hidden interest might effect the outcome. As an example consider an auto accident. If a driver hit another vehicle, The actual ADR process may involve only the drivers of the two cars if there were no passengers who were effected. But, if one of those cars was lent to Driver #1 by a different owner, then the owner is another interest In any settlement where the driver who borrowed the car is concerned. So, there are three interest to consider to achieve the best outcome.

A second thing to consider is whether or not the matter primarily revolves around only one major issue or several issues. While all issues might not be resolvable through ADR, the right process can help reduce five issues down to only one or two. An example of this might be where the auto accident scenario includes the issues between the car owner and the car borrower. Owner and Borrower may be arguing about whether the matter should go to trial because they have a difference of opinion about damages, whether a counter suit should be filed, and whose insurance company pays

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