Often, the best way to resolve a legal dispute is outside the courtroom. Litigation can be time-consuming and expensive. Parties to a dispute increasingly prefer resolving them through mediation, arbitration and other alternatives to traditional litigation. Manning Fulton lawyers are skilled practitioners of these dispute resolution techniques.

Our firm has been a leader in establishing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in North Carolina, and we have extensive experience conducting mediations and arbitrations, and in representing parties involved in them. Each of these forms of ADR has its own advantages:

• Arbitration before a panel of experienced arbitrators with appropriate legal and technical training is faster than civil litigation (usually taking only a few months to complete). It is frequently less costly because arbitration involves no appeals or re-trials, and most pretrial discovery and procedural requirements are streamlined.
• Mediation involves structured settlement discusions, and may take many different forms. Mediators often follow their own paths to develop an understanding of a dispute and supervise settlement discussions. Typically the mediator will meet with each side in a dispute to develop an understanding of the issues, and then will supervise discussions to help the parties move toward a resolution.

A number of Manning Fulton lawyers are certified Superior Court mediators who have successfully completed the extensive training required for certification by the Dispute Resolution Commission. Our certified mediators apply their skills both to court-ordered proceedings and to other forms of ADR.

Manning Fulton trial lawyers know the most appropriate and effective strategies to follow to defend your interests in litigation. When arbitration or mediation will produce the best results for you, we have the knowledge and experience to work for a resolution best designed for the future you want to build.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Contact Lawyer: Michael S. Harrell