ADR needs teamwork

I read with interest your article heralding the launch of the civil and commercial mediation panel (see [2002] Gazette, 30 May, 4).

I would naturally agree that solicitors need to be at the forefront of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and that they have a significant part to play in shaping its future direction.

However, some of the reported comments seem to demonstrate a lack of a grasp on one of the principal advantages of ADR over the alternatives.

It is an inevitability that ADR will allow 'other professionals' to play a greater role in dispute resolution, and I would argue that it is essential to the success of ADR that this is not only allowed to happen but that it is promoted by solicitors as well as by other professionals themselves.

Earlier and more direct involvement between the parties and experts in the specific area of dispute is surely the principal route to a solution that is 'quicker, cheaper and more beneficial to parties', albeit that the expert must have sufficient grounding in the law or legal support.

Arbitrators, adjudicators and mediators in our field all have to submit to a significant amount of training and, in some cases undergo pupillage, to meet the requirements of the ADR system.

Experts are beholden to act in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules, and will rarely become involved in a case without the direct involvement of a solicitor.

ADR is a process whereby teamwork between the legal profession and experts is essential.

BA Hamer, manager, Dispute Resolution Group