Archive for the ‘Preventive Law’ Category
Dispute Resolution begins with Preventive Law
December 28th, 2009 | 
Author: Most people involved in a dispute think the first step to resolving it is filing a complaint in court and commencing litigation. Then, you basically turn the case over to your lawyers and wait to hear good news from them about the results. Those unschooled in litigation think that very shortly after that, the case will settle, because “all cases settle”, and they will get a nice chunk of money without much time, cost or trauma.
Others think that within a time about as quick as you can pick up your remote, turn on one of many weekly series’ involving trials, and watch the show, your case will be tried, your lawyer will stand up and make some charismatic closing argument like the ones on TV, and your “slam dunk” case will be won.
Posted in 
Tags: 
A Law Student’s Perspective on Starting Out in Law
I had a job interview this week. It was not my dream job, but it was a paying job, which is enough to cause this third-year law student to pay attention. The interviewer wanted to discuss my experience with alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”). I am earning a Certificate of Dispute Resolution in addition to my JD. I also intern with the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council, so I have some interest with various forms of ADR.
As I enthusiastically explained my viewpoint on the strengths of mediation and other ADR processes and why I think they are advantageous to clients, he interrupted me with a knowing smile and said condescendingly, “Yes, but I like going to court.” He then went on to explain the thrill he gets from the entire litigation process…and I zoned out.
Using Collaborative Practice in business disputes: a few good reasons
Business disputes, especially those involving small closely held or family businesses, almost always include relationships that are ongoing and need to be preserved, and often arise out of issues and unmet interests and needs that lie beneath the surface of the stated positions.
For these reasons and others set out below, Collaborative Law and other non-adversarial approaches designed to resolve business dispute early have been providing value to parties who have used these methods to solve their disputes. In addition to the need to keep business relationships healthy, there are other practical reasons that favor the use of a collaborative process and approach: cost and time efficiency, confidentiality, and the ability for the parties to determine their own options for resolution. For family businesses, mission-based, non-profit organizations, entrepreneurial and social enterprise businesses, the cost, time spent and collateral damage of the litigation process would be devastating to their business goals, operations and budgets. Collaborative process approaches have delivered good results.
