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Alternative Dispute Resolution

“To win without fighting is best”

Sun Tzu, Chinese military philosopher and strategist in The Art of War, 2,500 years ago.

At Clerwood Legal Services we believe that where possible litigation is best avoided because:-

• it can be prohibitively expensive
• it takes energy away from those involved which causes the business to suffer
• it is stressful, often impacting upon the personal health of key personnel
• being adversarial, there is usually little chance of maintaining or regaining the business relationship with the other party

The Alternative

There are various forms of alternative dispute resolution. The best-known formalised forms are probably Arbitration and Mediation, though there are others. We can advise on which is likely to be most suitable for a particular situation.

We can assist in resolving ‘situations ’ (a euphemism but a useful one – we don’t believe in using charged terms like dispute unless and until they really develop into one) in a way that seeks to maintain the business relationship without prejudicing the client’s position if litigation subsequently becomes unavoidable.

We can:

• carry out the necessary analysis to identify the sources of the problem
• assess options, exploring the appropriateness of litigation and alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation
• propose solutions
• assist with negotiations
• draft any required letters or other documents
• where specialist input is required, identify appropriate practitioners to take matters forward
• guide the resolution of the situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

Resolving ‘situations’ is likely to be less expensive in the long run than confrontation.