ADR: End of Litigation as We Know It?

It's the end of the world as we know it

it's the end of the world as we know it,

and I feel fine.

- REM

Hilarie Bass recently wrote an editorial piece questioning whether we are seeing "The End of the Justice System as We Know It."  See ABA Journal of the Section of Litigation, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Su. 2010).  She opens by citing recent statistics that only approximately 1% of law suits today are ultimately resolved by way of a trial.  The number of cases proceeding to trial used to be more commonly estimated at about 5%, so this represents a shift that is worth considering.

Ms. Bass suggests several reasons for the decline in cases going to trial, including mounting litigation costs, increased uncertainty as to outcome, and the increasing court-mandated use of alternative dispute resolution processes.  All of these are certainly contributing factors.  However, I think the editorial overlooks an even more basic factor, and effectively puts the cart before the horse.

Epiphany

Please allow me to introduce myself:  I am what is known in today's parlance as an "alternative dispute resolution" professional.  Specifically, I am an arbitrator, mediator, and Certified Administrative Law Judge (CALJ), as well as a licensed attorney.  However, I am also a mom to very young children, and I recently had an epiphany as to how those roles can be reconciled.  Hint: Dr Seuss....