Going to court has never been something everyone fancies due to the time it consumes and subsequent results that can reveal injustice. Dealing with contractual disputes, complex civil litigation, or an asbestos liability case often requires the legal assistance of a lawyer. So, you have to take your time to hire a competent lawyer who will defend you passionately and deploy the necessary strategies for you to win that employment discrimination case. However, the ruling will not always go in your favor. Corruption and lack of due diligence from your lawyer are some limitations to getting justice. So, you are left to deal with losing the case and money paid as legal fees.
Due to the limitations presented by going to court for dispute resolution, there has been a significant shift toward alternative methods of solving conflicts or disputes. Mediation, arbitration, facilitation, and negotiations are now taking center stage as the preferred alternative dispute resolution methods. But why do people opt to let an arbitrator or mediator handle a contract dispute rather than go to court? Below are some of the benefits that confirm this preference:
Avoiding Long Court Battles
A contractual dispute or criminal case can be long and time-consuming. The proceedings can even get longer when the case goes to the appellate court or the next court in line. Such events require you to spend more time in court or thinking about the case. The long court battles also present their fair share of repercussions. For instance, escalation of conflicts due to a resolution not forthcoming.
With alternative dispute resolution methods, there is a reasonable chance of reducing the long cases. Opting to hire a mediator will mean there is no need for an appeal. A judgment that is fair to all will be arrived at within a short time. So, the parties that were once locked in a disagreement can find a resolution to get back to their daily lives without any conflict.
No High Attorney Fees
Paying attorney fees can be stressful and draining, especially if they keep soaring as your case advances to the next court. However, you can avoid this instance by resolving your case through a mediator. In this case, you do not have to stress over hiring a lawyer. Paying the high attorney fees no longer becomes your concern. Besides, you avoid the chance of being exploited by a lawyer who will not ensure you get justice.
Finality to Disputes
Disputes handled in a court of law can escalate with appeals. The parties involved in the dispute only end up spending more time and money conflicting on issues they could handle through an alternative method such as negotiation or facilitation. By getting the right negotiator on board, they could resolve their dispute seamlessly, and have the right compensation agreed upon.
Alternative dispute resolution methods present an opportunity to solve a case once and for all. There will be no need for an appeal if every party involved is happy with the decision arrived at after thorough mediation or arbitration to reach the bottom of the matter.
Right to Fair Hearing
During the alternative dispute resolution process, every party is given sufficient time to be heard. That allows them to tell the entire story and lay all facts bare. The other members of the negotiations will also get the time to respond. This ensures that the dispute is exhausted at all fronts so that the decision arrived at is fair. No individual will feel they have been discriminated against at the end of the resolution process.
Conclusion
Alternative dispute resolution methods offer an opportunity to deal with a dispute within the shortest time possible. Besides, there is the assurance of ending a conflict for good. Besides other benefits, such as not paying high attorney fees, methods such as arbitration and mediation continue to become popular. Going to court to handle a dispute is losing its formality as more people now opt to resolve disputes through other methods. However, there is always the need to have the right professionals on board to oversee the conflict resolution exercise. The mediator should also not show any leaning toward a particular party, hence ensuring that the judgment is fair.
