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• "The courts of this country should not be the places where the resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where disputes end—after alternative methods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried..."
  	—Justice Sandra Day O'Conner

What can alternative dispute resolution (ADR) do for you?

Here's a sampling:

.....$49,409,385 and 250,229 hours*

[* Litigant costs and attorney hours saved in 7,900 cases referred to mediation in a five county early mediation pilot study by the California Judicial Council. (1)]

.....$300,000 average company savings*

[* CPR study of 653 responding companies that use alternative dispute resolution systems. (2)]

.....4,000 matters resolved within 8 weeks*

[* Halliburton's experience with non-litigation dispute resolution— most disputes were resolved within 8 weeks of having arisen. (3)]

.....41% reduction in formal complaints
.....90 to 98% satisfaction with process
.....over 70% satisfaction with outcomes*

[*US Postal Service implementation of early dispute resolution systems— Kansas City results. (4)]

These numbers do not include the tens of thousands of days of litigants time saved, thousands of days of court time saved, and improved settlement results. The benefits of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), both before and after initiation of litigation, are substantial— in short, ADR adds value in dispute resolution and conflict management.

The goal of dispute resolution is to reach the best solution for the disputing parties at the least cost— that is, an optimal and efficient result. Such results are best achieved with interest-based bargaining and a problem-solving mindset.

For many disputants and litigators, however, shifting gears from a competitive, “I win, you lose,” mindset to a cooperative, problem-solving one can be difficult.

Russel Murray and the rest of the ADR professionals on the ADR Source roster are trained and effective problem solvers with years of experience helping parties and counsel shift gears to reach optimal and efficient settlements. Their experience, both as neutrals and as dispute resolution counsel, in business and commercial dispute resolution includes:

ADR Source provides a full range of ADR services from neutral fact finding to mediation to binding arbitration.

We also act as settlement or DR Counsel for parties in litigation and design and implement early dispute resolution (EDR) systems for businesses and organizations to address conflicts before they erupt into lawsuits.

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(1) The AOC Early Mediation Pilot Project Report may be found at: http://www.cdrc.net/pg50.cfm
(2) Cavenagh, Business Dispute Resolution, p.46 (West Legal Studies 2000).
(3) Bedman, ADR: The Halliburton Experience, may be found at: http://www.mediate.com/articles/bedmanW.cfm
(4) Cavenagh at pp. 17-27.

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ADR in Colorado - Historical Perspective:

In Colorado, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been a fixture for centuries. The Utes utilized a restorative form of dispute resolution. The family of the victim looked to the family of the offender for redress. It was the responsibility of the elders of the offender’s family to mete punishment and decide on a remedy.(1) Tribal elders or a Tribal Council often performed the same task in other Native American Tribes.

The first Europeans to settle in Colorado, the Spanish, met up with Lt. Zebulon Pike in the Winter of 1806-07, confiscated his papers, held him captive through the Spring, and in the Summer of 1807 dealt him one of the earliest forms of dispute resolution—banishment, by order of the Territorial Governor.(2)

Later, in 1859, another form of ADR was introduced in Colorado. Gold prospector John Stuffle got into a dispute with his brother-in-law, Art Binegraff, while attempting to relieve him of ten dollars worth of gold dust, and killed Binegraff. The next day, with no formal court readily available, an alternative dispute resolution committee formed a “People’s Court,” found Stuffle guilty, and hanged Stuffle from a cottonwood tree on Cherry Creek.(3) Dispute resolved.

Colorado’s early mining settlements quickly developed alternate, and more hospitable, means of resolving civil disputes. As rapidly as settlements sprang up, settlers formed mining districts complete with bylaws drafted by whatever literate miners were present, who generally copied from the bylaws of earlier mining districts in California and New Mexico. Many mining district bylaws contained arbitration clauses, calling for dispute resolution by arbitration—and the arbitration fees were to be deposited in advance.(4)

When Colorado was granted statehood in 1876 and adopted its Constitution, Article 18, Section 3, expressly guaranteed the right to decide differences by arbitration.
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1. Wilson Rockwell, The Utes: A Forgotten People 17 (Denver: Sage Books 1956).
2. Ubbelohde, Benson, Smith, A Colorado History 22-23 (Boulder: Pruett Pub., 7th Ed. 1995).
3. Stephen J. Leonard. Lynching in Colorado 1859–1919 16-17 (Boulder: University Press of Colorado 2002).
4. Bylaws, Walker Quartz Mining District (Recorder V.C. Smith 1863).

Site updated: March 2008

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New addition to ADR Source roster!

	Thomas E. Downey, Jr.

Thomas E. Downey, Jr. recently joined the roster of neutrals at ADR Source and brings over 30 years of experience as a successful business litigator in products liability, malpractice defense, labor and employment, real estate law, land use and zoning, corporate and partnership law, real and personal property taxation, OSHA and MSHA matters, and many others. He is also a trained mediator and arbitrator, with extensive experience in both areas as an advocate and as a neutral.

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ADR Source professional O. Russel Murray will be a featured speaker at the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution 10th Annual Spring Conference, Pacific Currents: Sound Perspectives on ADR scheduled for April 3-5, 2008 in Seattle. The program, Best Practices for Meeting Arbitrator Disclosure Standards, will be presented on Thursday, April 3. It is not too late to register.

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