NCJ Number
96994
Date Published
1984
Length
90 pages
Annotation
Proceedings from the mid-year meeting of the Center for Public Resources discuss techniques of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), legal impediments of ADR, and methods of improving ADR.
Abstract
The applicability of ADR to multiparty, often multisectoral, disputes is considered, and attempts by the Federal Government to foster ADR are noted. The interest of the Government is traced to various issues, including the beleagured state of the judiciary and the costs of government litigation. The advent of Rule 16, which places formidable new responsibilities on the Federal judiciary to manage discovery and aggressively explore new settlement techniques, is described, and lessons learned concerning negotiating are summarized. Additionally, the questions of whether ADR is preferable to arbitration and whether arbitration clauses foster settlement are explored, and attention focuses on mediating corporate disputes. Some guidelines for bargaining are offered, and various legal impediments to ADR are discussed. Ways to protect the confidentiality of ADR proceedings are considered, and the possibility of drafting Federal legislation to ensure confidentiality is explored. Proposals for improving the management and reducing the costs of discovery in complex cases are considered, and the need for the legal profession to be informed about ADR is emphasized. Finally, program participants are listed, and an agenda is supplied.