Staying Out of Court: Alternative Dispute Resolution as a Business Tool

Canadian businesses are turning to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as an alternative to lengthy legal proceedings. Results from this approach are often immediate and dramatic.

Document Highlights

ADR is gaining popularity and rapidly becoming an important tool for Canadian businesses, because for most companies, ADR provides a valuable means of settling disputes, without the formality and expense of the court system. There are only a few instances where ADR may not be the best option. ADR has three primary forms:

1. 1. Negotiation—the process of discussing or bargaining to reach an agreement;
   2. Mediation—voluntary and informal process wherein parties to the conflict employ a neutral third party to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable settlement;

and

1. Arbitration—a process that involves a third party or parties (usually one or three) who are mutually acceptable to the parties in dispute.

ADR can provide corporations with significant savings in three areas: time, money and interpersonal relationships—and we all know the value of these business commodities.