The courtroom before the courtroom: Alternative Dispute Resolution

By Gary Cash

Alternative Dispute Resolution—generally the processes of arbitration, mediation, or neutral evaluation—is what many North Carolina families are turning to in order to resolve family disputes. The need for family dispute resolution can arise in child custody, child support, spousal support and equitable (property) division cases. In light of the nationwide economic crisis, people with legal differences are opting for this quicker and more practical solution in order to avoid high court costs or inordinate amounts of time off work. Most divorcing couples find that Alternative Dispute Resolution in North Carolina is the more frugal, less time-consuming way to settle their domestic disputes.

Arbitration, mediation, or neutral evaluation usually takes place in a conference room where the parties to the dispute, as well as the Neutral (the mediator or arbitrator), discuss the specifics of the disagreement. Both sides summarize their case, with their lawyer if they have one, in the presence of the neutral. They are able to freely talk about what they believe their evidence will show, what their witnesses will testify to and what their feelings are about their position. The Neutral then helps the parties assess the strengths and weaknesses of their case so that they can come to a negotiated settlement.

This is usually considered a win/win situation by the people who have chosen Alternative Dispute Resolution instead of a court trial. These processes save time and money and allow the people involved in the dispute a significant amount of control, where a courtroom functions to remove power from both parties by allotting sole responsibility to a judge and/or jury. In a court trial, the evidence is presented in long form, unlike the summarizations you’d hear in mediation. This is problematic in more than one way: for instance, in a courtroom, each witness testifies, even though their best face may not be put forth due to their nervousness, their fear of having to answer a lawyer's questions or their being simply uncomfortable with having to appear in court. In Alternative Dispute Resolution, the parties agree to take part in the decision-making process and to allow that process to occur with more simplicity and cooperation than it would if it were fought out in the courtroom.

At Fisher Stark Cash, P.A., we are fortunate to be able to offer the services of a top-quality Mediator, Gary Cash, whose thirty-five years of legal experience allows parties to walk away from Alternative Dispute Resolutions feeling that their views have been heard and respected. Gary spent twenty-five years as a North Carolina District Court Judge and, for the better part of a decade, served the Asheville area as Buncombe County’s Chief District Court Judge.

Judge Cash, and the rest of us at Fisher Stark Cash, P.A., are committed to helping the people in our community solve their legal problems with as little inconvenience as possible. We know that legal troubles, particularly domestic disputes, can be overly-complicated and sometimes nasty affairs. We’re here to offer you a dignified settlement process that's as painless as possible. Call us at (828) 505-4300 to see if Alternative Dispute Resolution may be the right choice for you.  

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