No matter which side of a legal dispute you are on, going to court can be stressful. And while litigation can be the best course of action depending on your case, you may find yourself getting ready to go to mediation, arbitration, or a judicial reference hearing for numerous reasons. Each form of alternative dispute resolution has its benefits, but in comparison to litigation, most of them usually prevail in terms of affordability, flexibility in scheduling, and greater ease in reaching a resolution as the parties can have a more relaxed discussion outside of the conventional courtroom setting.
Mediation is known as one of the more popular forms of ADR, with a completely neutral source serving as a mediator, and assisting in helping the parties involved come to an agreement between themselves. Because you and the other party involved can choose your mediator, you will be aware of the costs ahead of time, which in some cases are less than half what litigation would cost. Legal fees can add to the process however, if you are also consulting with an attorney during the mediation. This may be necessary in some cases though, throughout the entire process—and especially at the end for review of the final agreement/settlement.
Judicial reference is one of the lesser known forms of alternative dispute resolution and is unique to California—often encouraged to relieve congestion in civil courts. While this process may be less expensive than litigation, it may cost more than mediation or arbitration due to higher fees being charged by the referees (who may be retired judges or attorneys).
Arbitration has come under much greater fire recently as a process though due to clauses that may be written into many contracts, giving some consumers relatively no choice about how disputes will be settled. In many cases, they may not even be aware that they signed an arbitration clause. And while this is usually considered to be much more affordable than litigation, it could be enormously expensive when the deck is stacked against an individual coming up against a major corporation. Disputes between businesses who have equal resources (and plenty of legal advice to draw from) are a different story, but arbitration costs can still be high—and in many areas have continued to inflate. The cost is further multiplied if an entire panel of arbitrators is deciding the case, rather than just one. Administrative costs and filing costs can be high too.
If you have a legal issue and want to learn more about the best alternative dispute resolution process for your case, please call Shane Coons now at 949-333-0900 or feel free to email us at Shane.Coons@seclawoffices.com.