Why North Carolina Families are Choosing Alternatvie Dispute Resolution
By Gary Cash
Alternative Dispute Resolution describes several processes used to resolve legal issues without going to court. In North Carolina, partially because many district courts provide for it in less adversarial domestic cases, arbitration, mediation, and neutral evaluation have become increasingly popular methods of solving disputes. Clients like Alternative Dispute Resolution for several reasons.
Divorce mediation is statistically more effective and fraught with fewer stresses. In mediation, the neutral (the mediator) will ask about and consider opinions and perspectives from both sides of a dispute, at times each being interviewed separately, in order to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable. In this respect, mediation involves more focused, thoughtful attention on the different viewpoints and, therefore, the different options available for resolution. However, since both parties will also be interviewed together, mediation naturally establishes an environment that allows the clients more control, and which encourages cooperation. Also, rather than “taking someone to court,” divorce mediation is a process that’s agreed upon by both parties and either party may choose to terminate the mediation if they cannot reach an agreement. This kind of client involvement and control generally promotes a more positive attitude toward the process and outcome, and clients leave happier and with a higher chance of maintaining cooperative relationships within Buncombe County families.
Alternative Dispute Resolution is more cost-efficient than court trial for several reasons. The mediator who hears the dispute serves both parties, whereas if the case were to go to court, each party would be paying for their own legal representation. Furthermore, since the resolution takes place outside of the courtroom, the amount of time spent on the case is naturally decreased in the absence of necessary litigation and court costs.
Mediation and Neutral Evaluation offer a more personal, client-centered process and resolution to civil disputes. This is one of the most appealing aspects of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The processes involved here are fundamentally more considerate of the clients' comfort. For instance, there is back and forth conversation between clients, their attorneys and the mediator, rather than longer stints of one-sided testimony on the witness stand. These usually take place in a small conference room with just the clients and mediator. Since courtrooms often allow the public to sit in on legal proceedings, these types of dispute resolution methods offer a degree of confidentiality and anonymity that cannot be found in a courtroom. This is particularly desirable for clients with domestic disputes who want to protect their families.
Flexibility often becomes an issue when trying to resolve a dispute, particularly where there are families involved. Arbitration and Mediation have a lot more give when it comes to things—like time, money, and distance—that often throw kinks into the legal process. Many mediation sessions take place after work hours, on weekends, and sometimes in unconventional places because one of mediation’s attractions is that it accommodates clients with work obligations and other restrictions. Arbitration, mediation, and neutral evaluation also allow for more consideration of the individual needs and situations of clients. There are rarely any cut-and-dry civil disputes, and therefore each case deserves more than the stock solutions that a court may have to offer. Since this is a more up-close process that is not bound by court procedure, things like personal sentiments can be considered more thoughtfully in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
At Fisher Stark Cash, P.A., we are fortunate enough to have former Chief District Court Judge Gary Cash, a Mediator/Neutral with twenty-five years of experience serving as a North Carolina District Court Judge. If you have a civil case or family financial case and are ordered to or offered mediation as an option for dispute resolution, please contact our office for a case evaluation.
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