Few senior corporate executives are willing to give up a chance to win a triumph in court. Here`s how a leading lawyer at a large corporation puts it: “CEOs want to be able to take the other guy to the cleaners if they think they`re right, and they`ll bet on the ranch if they have to.” Often the case itself becomes less important than the principle. In the battle between the electronics giants, for example, Company A`s chief legal counsel said, “If the other party continues its copying strategy, I will continue that prosecution strategy.” At NCR and many other companies we know, including AT&T, US WEST, BankAmerica, and Chevron, senior management has decided that winning at all costs is too expensive. These companies evaluate lawyers, contract managers, and paralegals not only on cases won or lost, but also on avoided litigation, cost savings, and developing solutions that maintain or even improve existing relationships. Legal services use quantified measures and targets to systematically reduce the number of ongoing trials, the time and money spent on each conflict, and the level of financial risk. With this type of attention, the NCR is able to resolve and close more than 60% of cases submitted within one year of opening. We offer the legal services industry a fixed-price alternative with well-known standards and structures and tailor-made dispute resolution processes. If a dispute is necessary to stay the dispute or enforce arbitration, the party unsuccessfully opposing such proceeding shall pay all costs, expenses, and attorneys` fees reasonably incurred by the other party. Ombudsman systems may use more informal methods to resolve a complaint, including mediation or mediation. In other cases, it may initiate a formal investigation procedure and adopt a recommendation or decision. Some decisions may be legally binding. The good news is that a number of companies have learned how to use ADR effectively, and these companies are actually reaping the anticipated benefits of ADR: reduced costs, faster dispute resolution, and outcomes that maintain and sometimes even improve relationships. Legal fees can be significantly reduced if mediation is used in commercial disputes instead of going to court, according to a survey.

The standard ADR clause in all NCR commercial contracts has many features that help ensure that arbitration is truly arbitration and not a disguised dispute. These include guidelines for qualifying the arbitrator, allowing the arbitrator to grant an injunction, an agreement that challenges to arbitral awards or awards are subject to the federal arbitration law (and that the challenger must pay costs and fees if they lose), and restrictions on disclosure. The average cost of a legal action for a commercial case is €200,000 for €53,800 in legal fees – but only €7,000 if mediation resolves the dispute. ADR Ireland facilitates the informal resolution of all legal fee disputes by bringing together an unparalleled panel of cost experts from all professions. The Irish Commercial Mediation Association (ICMA) surveyed 150 law firms and 300 qualified mediators as part of the survey. It noted a “low take-up” of intermediation in banks, insurance companies and the public sector. More than six in ten respondents said their clients were concerned about the cost of litigation in Ireland. But many hostile parties still want “their day in court” and will go to court at all costs, due to factors such as company policy, legal advice, and a preference for letting judges resolve legal disputes. Many companies have developed arbitration, not so much to keep them low, but to hide both costs and unnecessary procedures. As a result, arbitration is more expensive than it should be, and critics claim with some justification that ADR`s cost-cutting capacity is exaggerated. The NCR has established guidelines to address this issue.

It determined that arbitration resembles, feels and functions like arbitration if the parties are willing to pursue the following objectives. Ultimately, a company`s perspective on arbitration and mediation boils down to whether senior management insists on winning at all costs.