Can alternative dispute resolution assist the board?

Certain advantages of alternative dispute resolution and its relevance to boards.

Can ADR assist the board?

Corporate Disputes Magazine, Apr-Jun 2016

Disputes are an unavoidable part of doing business. Indeed, businesses are subject to ever increasing risks of litigation; ranging from class actions to employee causes of action to actions by regulators. Traditionally, disputes were resolved by the parties either directly or with the assistance of their lawyers, engaging in positional bargaining discussions with a view to reaching a negotiated outcome. If those discussions failed to resolve or narrow the issues in dispute, then the parties in effect relinquished control of their dispute by submitting it to a judge to determine according to his or her views of the merits and the applicable law.

In this article, Barrister, Mediator and Arbitrator, Anthony Lo Surdo SC, and Deputy Executive of the Governance Leadership Centre, Louise Pocock, examine processes which provide an alternative to litigation for the resolution of disputes, and make a case for boards to adopt policies to give prominence to those processes.