Chapter 17: Alternative Dispute Resolution Processes for Managers and Practitioners

April 1976 marks the birth of the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system. More than 200 legal scholars, judges, and leaders of the American Bar Association met at the National Conference on the Causes of Popular Dissatisfaction with the Administration of Justice in what is known as the Pound Conference (Goldberg, Sander, Rogers, & Cole, 2003). The gathering sought to examine and discuss concerns about the fairness and efficacy of the American justice system. The legal system was inundated with litigation, which ultimately bogged down court cases to the point that some took years to reach a judge’s bench for adjudication. Arbitration and mediation became the go-to hallmark processes that were meant to ease the load on the judicial system and help disputants amicably and fairly resolve their differences. The idea was to give disputants a greater role in identifying common interests and then for them to collaborate to create durable, mutually beneficial, and satisfying resolutions.